Newbie help with old car

[Draug]

I'm going through my new car (an 85 RX-7) and it's going to be a lot of work to get it nice. There's a fair amount of rust in the unseen areas, and the paint is a far cry from good. I'm comfortable with fighting rust, but paint treatment is a new ballgame for me.



There's definately a clear coat on some of the car, because blemishes can be seen in it from very minor chips, etc. The paint seems to be pretty heavily oxidized in a lot of places despite the clear coat. Basically the paint is pretty much a big mess, but I think I'd be better off trying to treat it than getting a crappy paint job.



All I know is what I've read in the tutorials by David Bynon here on Autopia. Until now all I've ever done on my other cars was use a sealant called Dry-Wash which I was very happy with. I want to try doing more though; this is partially necessitated by the paint being worse than my other car ever was. So here's what I'm thinking:



1. Repair chips and major scratches according to the procedure detailed in the tutorials.

2. Clay and then apply pre-wax cleaner.

3. Polish with a pretty strong formula.

4. Apply sealant - numerous coats. I'm still thining Dry-Wash; I've always been happy with the shine that it provides.



Am I on the right track here? The car will be a daily driver (Winter too) but within reason I've always liked to drive a nice looking car. There's lots I don't know, so I'd appreciate any advice. Is there anything I should do differently because of the clear coat?



Finally, what products should I be using to do all this?

 

[shaf]

Whether it is clear coated or not doesn't really matter a huge amount. Paint will still fade or oxidize and basically look rotten after many years of neglect and a clear coat is just clear paint, so it's not going to stop that.



Hopefully the damage isn't so bad that the clear coat is ruined all the way through though. It may turn whitish and start to come off if this is the case.



2) After claying don't bother using a pre-wax cleaner. It doesn't really "clean" anything and is simply a very mild polish. Pre-cleaners don't often see a lot of use in full-out details at Autopia...



3) Don't start off too strong! Since you're not very experienced with this, one general, universal rule that you should know is to start with a milder approach and then move on to a stronger approach if this is working too slow or not at all. In this case, it's in choosing how strong a polish you'll need. If it's really badly oxidized like you say, start off with something of moderate strength, like a fine cut compound or something along the lines of Meguiar's DACP or 3M PI-III maybe. If that doesn't work then go to a medium cut... I doubt you'd make it to anything stronger...



You should probably follow up this stronger product with a milder one like a swirl remover prior to applying protection. Think of this like sanding with different grades of sandpaper.



4) Is this product you mention called Dri-Wash ? I don't think it's viewed with much favour here... You can apply whatever you want as long as it's not just a "wash & wax" products, and actually does leave a waxed/sealed protective coating behind that lasts a reasonable amount of time.



3M and Meguiar's both sell suitable polishes and have the advantage of local availability. Other products that have supporters include Menzerna and Einszett. Do a search and be prepared to read....



My only other advice is to take your time, and be sure to budget more time for this than you think, as it can be very labor intensive and time consuming to polish out a car by hand properly. A PC would help a lot, but is not dead necessary. Good luck.

 

[Draug]

Yes, it's called Dri-Wash. Although I've good luck with it in the past, I'll definately take the advice of someone here and switch to something else. It is a "wash and wax" product, but definately leaves behind a good protectant layer because for about 2 months water beeds so well on it that the car is almost completely dry after washing as all the water just falls off. Also, on my other car the paint is still very shiny and that's really all I've used for about 5 years.



But like I said, if someone can attest to anything better I'll definately give it a try. Also, the new car's black so that makes it all the harder to get looking great.



You're right about the timeline... I'm not even to the cosmetic stage; still fixing the gas tank, rust, window, etc. and it's been well over a month. Fortunately I'm treating it like a project car and don't depend on it to get around (yet).



As far as the power tools go, I'm thinking I'll start by hand until I get used to the products and how they work. Once I'm comfortable with them and my arms are falling off, then I'll be more inclined to try a PC. Would you agree that it's safer for a beginner to start by hand?



BTW, Excellent threads in your sig. I'm slowly learning.