Hey, Kevin.
to Autopia!
Although I have huge respect for Mike and his paint polishing skills, and I agree that the article contains a great deal of useful, factual information, I totally disagree with the
opinion that white paint is boring.
It’s easy to be seduced by the delights of deep, dark colors. But even some of us Autopians can (and I’m sure most
normal people do) still see paint as part of the larger whole of the car. And lots of cars look great in white, especially big Benz’ (it’s a German thing).
White is the perfect color fur ein grosse Panzerwagen cabrio. It positively oozes class.
Contrary to popular belief, flaws in white really can jump out and smack you in the face. They just don’t do it constantly, in all light, from every angle like they do in black. They lay low, waiting in ambush until the light hits it just right. Then they leap out and ruin the look of the car.
And even the flaws that people don’t see overtly can still profoundly affect how they see the car. A finish that’s oxidized or swirled just doesn’t shine like a clean, clear one. People will see that. They might not be able to point to exactly why a swirled car doesn’t look as good. But they’ll know that a clear, glossy finish looks better.
The trick with white is knowing how it works. White has little (or no) depth in the sense of the deep liquid pool of a black finish, so what you’re after is
gloss on the paint and sharp contrast with the other elements of the car.
You want the paint to “glow” and all the trim to be crisp and clean. Chrome and aluminum should be clearly polished, wheels free of brake dust. Tires and rubber trim should be uniformly dressed and free from and dingy smudges like wax residue.
Without seeing the finish in person I can’t begin to give you an accurate guess about what potential it has or what a good process for reconditioning would be. But if it’s been stored out of the sun for a large percentage of its life and hasn’t been abused in other ways there’s a good chance it has the potential to look fantastic. It will take some experimentation.
Griot’s products are of high quality but major reconditioning isn’t what they’re about. So how effective they can be really depends on the condition of the finish and its workability.
PC.