Need Advice (still a newb)

littlemissGTO

New member
My friend has an 87 Grand National. When he sent it away to have some performance mods, the mechanic left the car sit under a tree.

This is what the paint looks like now:

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What should I use to fix these issues? I tried using a clay bar to get rid of some of the leaf prints, but it didn't work so well. Yes, some of the prints came out but good grief doing it by hand was a PITA.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.
 
OK yellow pad and what else? Sorry I'm asking so many questions. I just want to do this job right cause he's a good friend and I don't want him to have to repaint the car, just to repaint it.
 
Is that after a wash and clay? Gosh thats some messed up paint. Is that single stage paint?



Either way, what do you have to work with? Looks like it has some bad swirls/scratches so I would use #83 if it were me but I use megs. I MAY even use a cutting pad with the #83 then follow that with a polishing pad and #80..



Do you have a PC? Rotary?
 
I would do PB SSR 3 with Orange pad Followed by SSR2.5 with white pad, then SSR1 with black pad and see if that does anything. Otherwise it's time to get crazy. From the pictures, it looks like single stage paint - which will be awesome for your pads :( I hate that. :nervous2:
 
Give it a good wash and clay and then see what it looks like....... might even try some bug/tar remover if that is sap on the paint. What pads and polishes/compounds do you currently have? There are a ton of good polishes out there and you might already have something that will work (and you're familiar with) instead of buying some new products.



While you might have to get pretty aggressive with a pad/polish combo I would wait and see how it looks after the wash/clay/tar remover. Personally, I would start out with a mild polish/pad combo until you get a feel for how hard the paint is and what it will take to correct the defects that are left. It's a lot easier to bump up the aggressiveness of your pad and/or polish if needed rather than start out too harsh and create unnecessary marring. Since it's a good chance that might be a repaint I'd want to be a little cautious at first.
 
I'm purchasing a UDM and a pad kit to go with it. I haven't decided on what other products to purchase. I'm liking the reviews of Poorboys. Since I bought my car new I've been using Zaino exclusively, but I'm not sure that Z-PC will be agressive enough for this job.
 
littlemissGTO said:
.........I'm liking the reviews of Poorboys. Since I bought my car new I've been using Zaino exclusively, but I'm not sure that Z-PC will be agressive enough for this job.
Poorboy's make some good polishes, and the Optimum line is very user friendly. Read around a bit here and you'll find a lot of info on different polishes and compounds.
 
I got to look at the car again today, and the last picture is water spots. I had to remember that the photographer is in a wheelchair.

I'm going to do another clay and try some bug/tar remover and go from there.

Thanks for all of the advice. I've got a nice little list built up of stuff to order. Kinda anxious to get my hands on a UDM and have a little fun with it.
 
Best of luck bringing that back.

How long did the car sit out under a tree for that to happen?



I'm a noob and still flip floping over which products to get. So far I have the UDM and Klasse AIO as a definite but still undecided on which pads. But I'm leaning more towards the Edge 2K after reading a bunch of threads.
 
littlemissGTO said:
Wish me luck. I'm going to try to tackle this job in about an hour. I will get plenty of pics.



Good Luck! :)



If that is the original paint, it is single stage. The Grand National was my dream car back in the '80's, and is still one of my all time favorites. I'd help you work on that car for free if you were closer. It's a shame to see that paint so poorly treated. I hope your friend is getting the guy responsible to pay for the paint correction.
 
HeadnSouth said:
Best of luck bringing that back.

How long did the car sit out under a tree for that to happen?



I'm a noob and still flip floping over which products to get. So far I have the UDM and Klasse AIO as a definite but still undecided on which pads. But I'm leaning more towards the Edge 2K after reading a bunch of threads.



I truly don't know. I went with PoorBoys stuff and Zaino. I just started using the PoorBoys products and I'm very happy with how well they work.
 
SuperBee364 said:
Good Luck! :)



If that is the original paint, it is single stage. The Grand National was my dream car back in the '80's, and is still one of my all time favorites. I'd help you work on that car for free if you were closer. It's a shame to see that paint so poorly treated. I hope your friend is getting the guy responsible to pay for the paint correction.



Yeap, was the original single stage paint. My friend has 3 GN's and a T-Type Regal. Then there are 10 other cars in his garage. I swear he's got enough cars to keep me busy pretty much all summer. He wants to sell one of his GN's. I detailed it as well and I can tell you that the paint is in EXCELLENT condition.

I posted results in the C&B section.
 
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