I have been tossing around the idea of trying to restore my paint, There are small inperfections like around the gas lid there are scratches and just in general the normal scratches associated with a 12yr old truck. I will admit I am afraid of trying to use a buffer. I dont want to be that guy who blew right threw the paint down to bare metal. What are some good techniques and the steps to do this by hand? And what are some good kits out there that you guys all use. All I use now is Meg's spray wax, better than nothing for right now I guess.

 

Buy yourself a D/A buffer. They are very easy to use...if you screw up your paint with one of these then I'll be impressed (in a bad way, don't try ). Just follow this thread: http://www.f150forum.com/f71/how-det...-finish-43935/

 

Do you have some pictures of what you are describing ?

Kind of hard to say one way or the other if doing by hand is something you want to go after.

Just about any defect can be removed by hand or with a DA, just a matter of how much time you want to invest in the project.

Same concept that a 4x4 can be turned into a 2x4 with 180 grit sandpaper.
- It can be done, but it will take you months of work, where a saw is the correct tool to use.

Either use bright halogen lighting or take the pictures in direct sunlight.
- For close ups, point at the defect or use a 3m post it note next to it ( 1/16" gap to the defect ), so the auto focus on the camera will pick up the defect.

While it would be difficult to go through the clear coat with a DA ( Porter cable, Griots garage, Meguirs, etc ), incorrect prep or technique or incorrect pad & product pairing can make a mess out of paint, resulting in more work.

The other question is budget.
- What do you have to spend on the project ?

 

To give you some hope, your paint couldn't possibly be any worse that this:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/ca...ump-truck.html

Sure, I did that one with a rotary and have lots of experience with one. But your truck (probably) isn't nearly as bad and could certainly be made to look significantly better with some elbow grease, the right products and technique.

 

No not nearly that bad. There are scratches like around the gas tank lid from the cap hanging when filling and some chips on the hood and just a dull look to me. I will try to post pics tomorrow when I wake up. I dont want to spend a whole pile of money. On the front drivers side fender there seems to be some dull spots? The clear coat is still good just dull. I will try to get pics. BTW 2stroked that truck looked good. Cant believe that turned out that well. How long that take you?

 

Pictures - good ones - will help us help you. Generally speaking, one can remove / correct just about anything you cannot feel with a fingernail.

As for the Aeromax, that job took me about 7 hours - just for the cab - using a rotary. Not for the faint of heart.

 

This is from quite some time ago, but it's a little closer to your truck:

http://www.thedetailerscafe.com/smf/...sg7818#msg7818

 

Im not at work tonight so I cant load the pics. Tried with my phone but they wont upload. But that truck strongly resembles mine. I do have a 5 inch grinder that I thought about using at low speed? Im going tomorrow to get some supplys. Wish I could get these pics uploaded

 

You go from 'afraid of trying to use a buffer' and 'don't want to burn through the paint' to trying to hack together an angle grinder with a backing plate ?

Let me be the 1st, don't do that.

If you don't feel good using a DA polisher, what makes you now post that you are confident to use something to try to emulate a rotary polisher ?

If you jump in with this process, good luck... you are going to need it !!

 

After staring and determaning the consequences im gonna tackle it by hand. Id like to learn how to use a buffer for the future but just dont know where to start. Might try it on my hyundai today if my truck dont take me forever, I could care less if that car gets screwed up paint wise.

 

NO. If you are even thinking about using a buffer, go buy a DA. Stay away from rotaries, random orbitals, and hack jobs unless you are TRYING to remove the paint.

 

Well ended up doing by hand. What a pain in the butt. Im very pleased with the results. I used mequires paint resto compound. Took about 3hrs.