Bring back your old paint.

Read a thread about painting a truck and thought I would post this. If you have a finish that has seen better days and is sunfaded you CAN fix it. And it will look nice for years longer if you keep wax on it.

Have you tried to wetsand the paint? We have red troubles also. Mostly on T600 trucks. The newer paint doesn't hold up nearly as well. Give this a shot on your hood and you may actually want to hold off on painting for a while. I've done it on several hoods...mainly red...lol. Works wonders if you still have paint there.

You can get most of this at walmart. But you won't be able to get 3M brand compounds and polishes. Thats probably the best. Start with a clean surface. Have a water hose handy. You need various grits of sand paper. Wet/Dry paper. MUST be Wet/Dry paper. Buy a couple or a few packages of 800,1000,1200,1500,and 2000 grit paper. I have skipped the 1200 quite a bit. You will also need rubbing compound, polishing compound, and wax (carnuba). A high speed buffer...or mother powerball on an electric drill. Don't try rechargables. They won't last.

Have a little pan full of water and put your first piece of sandpaper in it and wet it. Also wet the hood liberally. The key to this is LOTS of water. Using your hand start sanding. I would probably start with 1000 grit and see where that gets you. Keep it wet and the paper wet. You'll start to see white paste running off. That is the oxidation and or dead clear. If you start seeing alot of red you are rubbing to hard and getting into the paint. I do not use a block or anything...I use my fingers so I can "feel" what the paint feels like under my hand. Once it feels smooth under your fingers and doesn't feel like it is sanding still, rinse off the spot you did...dump out pan of water and refill. Move up to the next grit you have. Do the same. Do this till you get to 2000 grit. Once you get there you will start to see a shine. You'll actually be able to see your face. You'll get excited but you haven't seen anything yet. Now take your buffer with a clean wheel and again...wet the surface and damp the wheel. Use the rubbing compound on it. I use water and do it till its dry...taking care NOT to stay in one spot to long. The water helps to keep it cool. Again...rinse and dry spot you did...then with another clean wheel use the polishing compound. Do the same. Next wax...still I use a damp wheel and buff until gone. I do not put wax on and let it dry. I buff till its gone and always alwasy use damp wheels. At this time that spot should be good if not better than new. Now you'll need to wash it as the white paste will be everywhere. It sounds alot more complicated and time consuming than it is....I'm not saying you'll get it done in a couple hours...but a day and you could do your hood and roof easily. Just take your time...keep everything wet...and you'll be amazed at the results. You can make an old seems to be gone and outdated paintjob look brand new again.

A dull finish comes from the paint getting rough...its not smooth. Glass is smooth so it shines. That is what you are actaully doing when you do this. Keep that in mind and it makes since as you go along. Just make it slick again.

I would also recommend using the 3M finesse II products if you can find them. You can get turtle wax stuff and 3M paper at walmart just to try. But if you decide to do your whole hood or truck. I would go with the finesse line of polishes and compounds.

If anyone has any questions just ask. I can post pics of boats I've done...do not have any truck pics. Just get a little and do a small spot on the truck and you won't stop. lol. Its addictive once you get started.

 

Here are a couple pics of an old Ranger 330V that I worked on. I'm a sucker for old Ranger Bass Boats. It works the same way with automotive and or truck paint.








In the second picture you can see some of the white paste that you would see when working on your own.

 

You could use the same steps. Once the clear is peeling its kind of a different animal. You can sand and blend it into where the paint is. If its not that bad it should blend well. You will probably still see where the clear meets the paint. Without actually putting my hands on it, its hard to say. That boat in the picture had automotive clear on it prior to me wetsanding it. It had started peeling and I sanded all of it off. That took a while. lol. Very hard to stop clear from peeling once it starts without removing it or repraying the clear. Automotive clear will never stay on a boat. and SOO many people do it. lol. Give it a shot in a small place and see what the results are. We have a black W900 that I'm going to be painting in the near future. It has the "cancer" you speak of. You can see the clear peeling all over it.

 

That boats long gone...lol. I use to buy and redo boats alot. It was a hobby. No time for that anymore. I do enjoy doing it though....its like mowing a yard or bush hogging. Instant gratification. You can see the results so quick! lol. Done a few red trucks. Its amazing what the red will do. White not so much. I did a 1970 green Chevy C10 that still had its orginal paint. Now that thing came back alive.

3rd gen...never thought about the sponge. Thats a great idea. Your hand can streak if you are not careful. I always use a cicular motion. Although anything thats in it after you sand will be long gone after you use rubbing and polshing compounds then wax. Thought about the DA but I really like to feel when the paper is done. You know? You can stop as soon as you feel the paper smooth out. That is when I move to the next grit. You feel it working and once it feels slick I stop.

 

Picasso is right, I actually used less than 10 dollor turtle wax products from walmart on that boat. Used meguires wax. That was years ago and now I've gotten on the 3M kick. It is pricey though, and not required. My boss pays for it where I had paid for it before. lol. That does make a difference. Meguires makes some great products, and when doing boats was the only wax I would use.