Waxing / Compound for Oxidation and Peeled Clear Coat

I'd like to at least try and attempt to clean up the paint / body on my volvo 245. Most areas the clear coat is gone and lots of oxidation. I was thinking of giving it a good clean with dish soap (it needs it) then trying to hit it with a compound then followed by a wax? Any special tips for really gone paint? My goal is really just to try my best then do a good wax to protect it from any rusting.

That looks too far gone for compounding. You might try wetsanding followed by compounding, but I'm afraid there may be no saving that paint.

Tom_Spangler wrote: That looks too far gone for compounding. You might try wetsanding followed by compounding, but I'm afraid there may be no saving that paint.

I think it is too gone. There are some pannels on the car that should clean up nicely. For stuff like this what is the best route? I can try wetsanding, that sounds good. Mostly I just want to protect the real bad areas like engine hood and hood from further deterioration.

If you can get the oxidation out, try red max pro floor wax. Used it on the Benz 300d I had, it worked well.

Google it, lots of rv'er use it. Somewhere on a rv site (and benz board) there is a good write up. On my phone, will look myself and if I find it I will edit with the link.

Edit: this has grown a life of its own, it's all over Google now. Here is one pf the better write ups.

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php?topic=52608.0

When you take off the roof rack to get at the paint underneath, the rotted rubber threaded plugs are called well nuts...1/4 nc thread, IIRC.

Meguiar's Cleaner Wax worked pretty well on the E24. It needed another coat every couple of months, but it helped a lot. It wouldn't help the pealing clear, but it would give the paint below it a shine.

By the same token, it wouldn't do anything for the dead paint on the hood of the Samurai. You might try a small spot and see what happens.

Hmm, staining it with a floor seal does good. Think it would be best to try a really small spot. Maybe super clean it, wetsand any flakes, then seal it with the floor wax.

I should also try a small spot and just try the standard wet sand, compound, then wax.

Streetwiseguy wrote: When you take off the roof rack to get at the paint underneath, the rotted rubber threaded plugs are called well nuts...1/4 nc thread, IIRC.

Ah, thanks for the tip!

Looks like the clear is shot on that, no amount of buffing will save that. Your best bet is probably wetsand then compound, but at that point you're really just buffing primer.

thedanimal wrote: Looks like the clear is shot on that, no amount of buffing will save that. Your best bet is probably wetsand then compound, but at that point you're really just buffing primer.

Would it at least protect it from the weather if I do that then put a good coat of wax? I don't mind the patina, it's a daily driver that sits outside parked on a street with cars flying past it 60mph inches away.

I would lean towards a sealant, waxes generally burn off quicker and offer less protection. I actually just ordered a full bottle of this I've heard it works well.

Maybe try to wet sand it, and then shoot it with rattle can clear. That should give a longer protection than a sealer wax.

OK,cool. I'll look I to sealing it.

For sanding - whats the goal of sanding? When do I know I've sanded too much / too little. I'll look up some clear coat peeling sanding guide and that should help.

If it were mine i'd hit where the clear is white with a green scotch bite pad and lighly on the bare paint then wash with acetone let dry and spray a can of krylon clear on it. It will not be mint but will 20/20....20ft or 20 miles an hour you will not notice it. Good for 2 years or so.

My man, plastidip is in your future. Shoot, you can do the entire car In Any color you want, and in less time than you would if you tired to save that. For reference, my celica has a hot spot on the hood. It goes away if I do the whole strip, clay bar, compound and wax thing, but it's back by the next week and that hot spot is in way better condition than that roof line!

44Dwarf wrote: If it were mine i'd hit where the clear is white with a green scotch bite pad and lighly on the bare paint then wash with acetone let dry and spray a can of krylon clear on it. It will not be mint but will 20/20....20ft or 20 miles an hour you will not notice it. Good for 2 years or so.

That sounds simple and effective.

Ya know my neighbor offered me six cans of plastidip if I would spray his tires.... Wonder how many cans would do a full car job. If it's free why not.

I did the entire lower half of my celica in black with four cans. That's several coats too.

How's it look? Can you wash a plastidip car? I'd plastidip dip it grey or a cool green

I tried razoring off the chalky remains of clearcoat and just re-clearing the paint and it actually doesn't look half bad.

Still working up the cojones to try it on a non-sacrificial part of the car.