Need direction on Ford pick-upw/ no clear coat.

[AutoNova]

I am doing a job for a gentleman that has an older I think `81 Ford F-150. It is 2 tone and recently painted by Macco, god help us all. How should I clean the paint on this car without risking injury to the paint and leave a nice finish. It appears the paint is in fair shape, not chalky and looks like some faded clear coat? Should I just go with the twins?

[thevolvoguy]

Treat it like you would any other single stage paint job. Maaco is cheap, but its not gonna come off with a few passes of a compound lol.



If hes not looking for perfection, the Klasse twins would be a good choice IMO.

[AutoNova]

I also have the NXT and I am dying to use it, maybe I will hit it with some PS12 paintwork cleaner, then some glaze #9 or something or AIO and then the NXT or SG?

[Scottwax]

#9, AIO and NXT should work fine. Make sure you get rid of any oxidation before waxing or you may get some steaking on a single stage paint job.



BTW, I had real good luck using Poorboy`s Polish w/Carnauba on a red Maaco paint Jeep about 4-6 weeks ago.

[DaGonz]

At least the finish isn`t an Earl Scheib "I`ll paint any car for $99.99 special!"

[AutoNova]

To get rid of oxidation should I hit it with some 3M FIII and a yellow cutting pad?

[Accumulator]

AutoNova- It`s a tough call without seeing it. I`d be sorta careful with the cutting pad/FI-II combo. Sometimes the oxidation comes off easier than you might expect, so use the old "try mild products first" routine. You might luck out, as it was recently painted.



In my experience, some acrylic enamels (like what`s probably on that truck) DON`T like aggressive PC polishing. If you have a rotary, a MILD product/pad combo on THAT might be better than an aggressive one with the PC.



BTW, *I* would use the #9 *before* the P21S GEPC.

[AutoNova]

Are you saying that you try using #9 before you would want to use the PS12 due to the abrasiveness?

[Scottwax]

I would start with the mildest polish you have and go up in aggressiveness only if necessary. Accumulator brings up a good point on how `delicate` cheap paint jobs can be. Don`t use anything stronger than you have to. If the paint is not showing any oxidation at this point, something mild should work fine.

[Accumulator]

AutoNova- Sorry, didn`t intend to be hard to understand. I meant that *IF* you needed to use something as strong as the #9 (instead of just the GEPC, determined by working a test area) then you do:



#9 (removes swirls) THEN GEPC (removes even FINER swirls, if any, and also cleans off the fillers from the#9- leaving its own).



The GEPC is a finer product, and you always want to use that as the last step of your polishing.