PC pad and polish selection for oxidation cleanup.

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Hello! I'm looking to restore some badly-oxidized paint on a '94 Miata, and the choices of products are overwhelming! It seems that the 7424 is a good choice for a basic tool, so I'm going to order one today. Trying to pick some pads and compounds for this work has been a much bigger challenge, so I'm hoping you can point me in the right direction. I also have some re-painting to do.

If you're familiar with Miatas, you'll know they fade quite a bit, especially the clear-less red like my car. The formulation used on the plastic bits is much less resistant to sun than the paint used on metal surfaces, so it goes first. Fortunately, the metal on my car is great, and it really just need a little touch-up paint work in a couple spots, and a quick polish and wax. I got some spray bombs from Tower Paint mixed up, and I'm going to attack the nicks and scratches with that. What pad/polish should I use to clean up the fresh paint (after letting it cure for a week or two, of course)? How about the original paint - what should I use to buff that up? It's in great shape right now, so it just needs a little gloss so it matches the areas I'm going to be working on.

Now, the tricky bit: the oxidation. It's bad, almost white in places, but it seems the paint is thick and people have good luck bringing it back. I assume I need a cutting pad - yellow? Any brands that are better? What compound? Should I wet-sand the really bad spots first with 2000 grit?

This is a race car and not a show piece, so I'm looking for a cheap, fast solution. I'll put in the elbow grease to make it look nice, but spending a lot more time and money to get that last little swirl or orange peel gone isn't a priority.

Thanks in advance, any product recommendations for this application would be much appreciated!

[joshtpa]

P21S surface restorer would work quite well for this.

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I see the Lake Country foam pads come in quite a range. Would an Orange pad be enough to pull off some bad oxidation, or should I get a Yellow? Can I use a yellow and then a Blue and make it a two-step process? Would an Orange followed by a Black or White be a better choice?

[Joshua312]

I would suggest getting some Cyclo Deoxidizer it worked wonders for me with just a polishing pad, but if it is really heavy oxidation you may want to use a cutting pad to ensure you cut through all of it.

Quick 5 hour detail - Oxidation

[3Dog]

You will need to clay first.