Hey, I have a horrible looking red mettalic (stock paint color) 88 GTA, paint is nice on the sides, except where it bottomed out by the old owner, I think 3 out of 4 corners have paint chipping, and I believe the owner tried waxing it while the sun was out,(thats what he said caused it) the hood, top of the roof (has t-tops) and part of the rear deck has white blotches on it, and is dull but they dissapear when I wash the car, but reapear when the car dries.

What would you reccomend to fix this, prefer to stay all in one product, maybe even a complete kit, but not TOO expensive. Anything some one can reccomend to make it look good?

Compound? Clay bar? wax? I have very basic detailing experiances, as in I can wash a car, lol. But never tried to really detail it. Anything IDIOT PROOF? or am I just stuck? I know some of you will say re-paint it, but Maaco special isnt even in my budget as a thermostat is costing me $700, (I only paid $600 for the whole car ) long story...

I dont expect the car to look like it just got a fresh coat of paint, but I would like to shine it up a lil, and get rid of the white blotches.Thanks for any info

 

My Iroc has original paint on it. What worked for me to bring some life back to the paint, even the faded spoiler, was:

Wash with Dawn or similar dish soap. This will remove most of the wax as well.

Clay bar. This will remove any remaining wax and any other contaminants in the paint. As the Mother's box says, You can feel the difference!

McGuire's 3 stage polish. Yep, this mean polishing the car 3 times. First step I believe cleans the paint even more. Second step puts vital oils and moisture back in the paint. This really made the difference on my car. Third step is your protective wax.

I'm sure lots of people will recommend Formula 113, but McGuires is probably the best you can get in any auto store.

I do recommend an electric buffer and at least 3 bonnets for this job. Unless you want numb arms.

I'd post pics of my result, but it was dark when I finished, and the car was dirty again when I got home the next day.

 

From the sounds of it, you need something more agressive than a 3 stage wax kit. Having it buffed would be your best choice, but if you want to keep it cheap and don't mind putting some elbow grease into it, you can rub the whole car with a hand glaze or a FINE cut rubbing compound, like the 3M Fine Cut compound. The hand glaze takes more work, but it's safer because it's not as agressive. With enough time you can bring back anything that's not too far gone to come back.

 

I hear good things about Zaino

 

What do you guys think the going rate would be to have the car buffed/compounded/waxed profesionally?

 

it's about 300 bucks canadian here... very long job... labour costs alot

 

wow, I could do maaco for cheaper, lol

Anyone know from US? or maybe even NJ/east coast?

Thanks

 

doing a throughout compound and prepping a car for a new paint is mostly the same process... both need sanding.. that is the longest... compounding a car professionally takes almost 8 hours

P.S.: 300 CND bucks is about 150 US :P