Extremely etched paint

S

SCutchins

New member
Working on a black Ford F150, 11 years old, has spent most of its life unwaxed and sitting under trees. It has leaf outlines etched into the paint along with very heavy pits from stuff just sitting on the paint for months at a time.



I was thinking Meguiars heavy cut cleaner with a wool pad, then fine cut cleaner with a wool pad (maybe #83 dual action cleaner polish instead), and then IP/FP or Z-PC Fusion. The owner doesn't need perfect, just black and fairly shiny. I will probably finish with #26 Tech wax so I can buff it on, I hear its good on black.



Anyone have any comments on this plan of attack?



I did a test with a yellow CCS foam pad and fine cut cleaner and it made the paint black but it wasn't strong enough for the etchings (nothing might be strong enough for that I'm afraid.)
 
danponjican said:
Wet sand.

(10 word limit!!!)
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He hasnt even tried to buff it yet, no need to jump right to wetsanding.



Ford paint is ussually very workable, he may not need to wetsand at all.
 
I have a rotary and a 7424, with LC purple foamed wool pads and pretty much every LC foam pad for the rotary and DA. I'm not willing to wet sand, I'm not getting paid that much although in the end that might be the least effort anyway.



Its a factory clear coat, I believe the truck is a '96.



Some of the pits (and leaf outlines) are deep enough that you can feel the edges with your fingernails. I imagine those leaves sat on the truck for a year or more, I know they will stain concrete and they sure did a number on this paint!
 
Well, then you know that those pits and etchings that you can feel will not come out. I'm not a rotary user, but this sounds like a job for your foamed wool and the Meg's rotary compounds you mentioned in your first post. Just keep one thing in mind--if this truck has been sitting out its whole life, the clear might be thinned...I would hate to think of you breaking thru the clear while working on those pits.
 
I don't know from what the OP said with heavy pit marks and etching I would probably test a spot with some heavy duty compound but I think the easiest approch would definatly be wetsanding. I don't think ford black paint was clearcoated 11 years ago. So with a good wet sand. Compounding high polish and a soild wax job you'll probably be looking into a mirror when it's done.
 
Like you eluded... wet sanding usually saves time if you know what you are doing. No doubt, there is the danger of going too deep though, but I suppose there is that risk with a rotary, perhaps even worse.
 
Alot of times it's easier to just sand down the finish instead of grinding it down with buffing. You'll get a more even finish that could actually create less steps/work in the long run.
 
Well, the truck came out fantastic, the owner is thrilled! The hood and roof are still etched, although not nearly as bad, they are just too deep to fix, but at least the paint is black and the rest of the truck looks amazing.



RRbefore.jpg




RRAfter.jpg




LRbefore.jpg




LRafter.jpg
 
chances are wool and the heaviest compounds will improve it but not otally remove them. Wetsanding will probably be needed but that can be very tricky for somone without experience.
 
jshillin said:
Looks good... What products did you end up using??
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Thanks, it was a lot of work but actually fairly enjoyable because of how far it came.



I used:



Clay

Heavy cut cleaner with wool pad

#83 with wool pad

IP with white pad

FP with gray pad (DA)

Z-PC with gray pad (DA)

Z-AIO with gray pad

Z-8
 
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