Dull Evo VIII Paint/What do I do?

RP-350Z · 09-28-06, 06:24

I detailed my friends EVO VIII last week washing/claying/polishing/sealing. Most of his car looked great after I was done. However the hips and his drivers side door were really lacking in depth. Hell, they were flat out DULL. The only thing the polish did was remove the swirls. I then tried Mothers Pre-Wax cleaner which says it removes oxidation which is what I thought it was. That seemed to only very slightly help. I then tried Meguiars Color-X which didn't do any better. I applied both of these products with a PC and orange Propel cut pad.

I'm at a loss, he was a little dissapointed that I couldn't make them shine better but I told him I would do some research and here I am.... researching. Please someone help. What can I try?

His car had no wax on it for about a year and a half and sat in the sun most of the time. Does this sound like oxidized paint? I just don't know what to try. Hopefully these images might help a little to see how the paint is dull.

Is there any way to save this paint?!

The hips in this shot show the dull lifeless paint.

Look at how there is no detail in my halogen lights.

RP-350Z · 09-28-06, 07:58

Don't know if this helps, but I do believe the Mitsu EVO paint is a single stage paint.

Ben Kenobi · 09-28-06, 08:27

It's white too so it's more diificult to get it to have depth. You have to use a better polish then a sealant like 4* UPP or PB's EX-P. Then look at topping it with Natty's or some other carnauba.

sneek · 09-28-06, 08:52

maybe some meguiar's #80 on a polishing pad?

justin from MOL posted this
http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15539
I think he's a member here and at DC but not 100% sure, but hes good!

themightytimmah · 09-28-06, 09:19

Looks like it could be a lot of things - in the first pic it looks like you didn't cut the paint deeply enough to remove all swirling, and instead you rounded off just the surface scratches, providing gloss but no depth.

Jason M · 09-28-06, 09:56

First off, I would go to a product that is meant to be applied by DA. It looks to me like you have some micromarring. Possibly from using products that are not meant to be applied by DA drying up too quick so the pad is leaving the marring? I would go to some Meg's #80 on a polishing pad. The SS paint should start to come around with this and #80 leaves a great shine. I would follow with either NXT or #21. I also have a white Mitsu. and my standard process is #80, #7, NXT X 2. Just going with #80 and then NXT will leave a great shine but I like adding in #7 to give the white at least a little depth and reflection. Another option is #80, #9, NXT X 2. #9 has very little cutting ability but has a lot of "trade secret oil" and might be a good stepping stone from #80 to LSP if the #80 leaves a little marring of it's own.

hadboosttroy · 09-28-06, 11:15

I'd try sonus sfx 1 2 and 3 and some AIO too.

fishbonezken · 09-29-06, 12:21

Has the car been repainted?
I am experiencing the same problem ony my dad's MPV,
on the re-painted panel, there is no clear reflection of almost anything, like the halogen lghts in your picture.
Don't think it could be improved, more of the paint's characteristic.

Z K · 10-02-06, 04:47

03 and 04 non-metallic color Evos have single stage paint.