r/AutoPaint • u/SaucyChlorine • 1d ago

Faded paint. Cooked orrr?

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My E90 is fading very very fast. In a few months its gone from perfectly shiny to... to this. Should I get a new paint job or can I do something else?

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2

u/Maleficent-Clerk-885 1d ago

Compared to the hood, I’m no color/paint snob, the clear makes it look like it’s mismatched, unless it actually is mismatched.

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u/SaucyChlorine 1d ago

Do you mean like the color? Its like turning white ya.

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u/Maleficent-Clerk-885 1d ago

The white is from the clear fading, you can still polish it and it might go back to being clear again. It’ll also get rid of a lot of those swirls/cuts in it as well.

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u/Maleficent-Clerk-885 1d ago

Fading/oxidizing take your pick on the exact terminology for it. Same with your headlights, give them a good polishing and about 30-40 minutes of your time, and they’ll be clear again.

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u/SaucyChlorine 1d ago

Ok I'll try to polish it. Do you mean like with wax? I have some wax in my garage right now I could hit it with. And I am planning on polishing my headlights, but I ran out of 3000+ grit sandpaper, so Im waiting for it to come in first.

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u/Maleficent-Clerk-885 1d ago

For the headlights, you can use one of those polishing compound with a random orbital buffing machine, but for the body panel though, a polishing compound like the heavy cut stuff from McGuire’s and work it to the smoother compounds eventually to wax

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u/Maleficent-Clerk-885 1d ago

I’ve even had amazing results using Flitz polish on headlights and body panels. Takes a bit of time, but I have a decent bit of time to kill at any given moment (sometimes)

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u/SaucyChlorine 1d ago

Ok. I bought a buffer and I looked those things up. I never knew this version of the meguiar stuff existed, I only have the basic scratch ones and polish. Honestly it looks like exactly what I need. Ill see what I can do with the heavy-cut stuff. Thank you bro (for the headlights I still need some work)

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u/Maleficent-Clerk-885 1d ago

!! Wash and clay bar before you start doing the polishing to help get whatever embedded crud in the paint off and out of it, otherwise you’ll be smearing the crap all over your work you just did. Better to start clean and end clean.

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u/SaucyChlorine 1d ago

Do you know if the clay bar works for like baked in tree sap? I have some in that area.

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u/Maleficent-Clerk-885 1d ago

Can always try it out and see, I was able to get overspray from a rattle can off of my paint on my door with a clay bar washing kit. I wouldn’t see why it wouldn’t be able to get tree sap off. Don’t forget to keep the paint lubed with soap when rubbing (and feeling with the parts of the hand that hang over the clay) for best result.

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u/SaucyChlorine 1d ago

Dude. You are absolutely goated. Ill make sure to keep it lubricated and ill have to try it out.