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Restoring Faded Car Paint – Step-by-Step GUIDE

Guide to restoring faded car paint #carwax #restorepaint

If you haven’t been following along, I’ve been struggling with restoring faded car paint on the Octavia RS project. Well I say restore, my goal is more like damage limitation/trying to avoid a respray.

I’ve been trying different methods to stop the fading from getting any worse and to make the current paint look glossy.

I can get the paint glossy but I can’t get it to stay that way.

Octavia RS Project Paint

I’ve changed my plan of attack numerous times to come up with the method below. There are probably better ones but this is what I’ve come up with so far.


Restore Faded Paint – Short Version

  1. Wash car
  2. Clay
  3. Wash car
  4. Compound
  5. Wash car
  6. Wax

Issues

The biggest issue by far I have with the car paint is that the wax coating does not last very long at all. I feel I’m lucky if it lasts a month. I’m in Greece, the car is black and it’s out in the sun all day.

If I could get wax to last 6 months I’d be more than satisfied.

Octavia bonnet black. Slightly faded paint.
The faded pieces of paint are in the centre of the hood/bonnet

The Wax

Until now I’ve been using Soft99 King of Gloss Dark. From some YouTube research I thought this was the best wax on offer for a reasonable price. But after having the short service life issues it seems Soft99 Fusso Coat is the daddy of the range. I’ve put that on today for the first time, I’ll do a review in future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FPCtobOnRU

The Method – Faded Paint Restoration

After numerous fails and still not getting the desired result I have settled on this method. As of today. All these steps are done out of the sun.

Equipment

Lots and lots of good quality microfiber towels. The thicker the better. I must go through at least 5 for a whole car.

-Wash mitt. Good quality

-Clay bar

Clay bar.
Clay bar from Aliexpress. Marflow brand. Their microfibres as great. This clay is a little tough in cold weather.

-Shampoo. I use a tiny tiny bit of Fairy Liquid

-Hose with plenty water.

-5+ Microfibre towels (did I mention that already?)

-Rubbing/polishing compound

Polishing compound bottle.
The polishing compound I use. Bought from a pro body supply shop. Not cheap but works.

-Quality wax/coating.

-Spare foam applicators. When one gets dirty, I bin it.

Foam applicator pads for car wax.
Pack of 50 foam applicators for when the one supplied with the wax gets dirty. Again, Aliexpress.

-Machine polisher. I repurposed a multi speed angle grinder

-Foam polishing pads for polishers

-Energy

Patience

-Three or four hours.

Step One – Clean the car thoroughly. With some sort of shampoo.

Previously I’d been pretty casual with this stage and it was a mistake. Getting the car properly clean helps the next steps hugely.

Step Two – Clay the paint to get rid of any dirt.

Use a clay bar to get rid of remaining dirt. Use water and shampoo mixture. Rinse car again. And dry it.

Step Three – Rubbing compound. With machine polisher.

For a long time I would use the rubbing compound by hand. Took too long, took too much energy and the results still weren’t great. My goal with this step is to eliminate any and all traces of oxidation in the paint, I don’t want to see any faded areas at all.

I was also a bit casual with this step in the past hoping the wax would pick up the slack. It won’t. Wax will make it a bit better but it won’t get rid of it all.

Go over once. Rinse off. Inspect. Polish again where necessary.

I repeat & repeat & repeat until faded areas are gone.

Getting rid of faded areas is key to making the gloss last longer. It seems like the faded areas that weren’t dealt with fade again the fastest.

WARNING: Be realistic, the clear coat does not have infinite thickness. You may break through to paint if you go too far.

If you can’t get rid of the faded car paint then a respray is unavoidable.

Step Four – Clean up the polishing compound splatter.

The car is now covered in polishing compound splatter. I don’t want to mix water with polishing compound, it makes things messier than they need to be. I go round and polish out all of the polishing compound.

Step Five – Wash the car thoroughly. With some sort of shampoo.

I want to get rid of all remnants of polishing compound that may be left on the car. I want the wax to be applied directly to the paint, not on polishing compound residue.

Step Six – Dry Car

With the car dry, I am looking at paint which is super glossy. It’s how I want the car to look all the time.

My problem is I can’t get it to stay this way. For sure, getting rid of all the oxidation in Step 3 makes the gloss last much longer but still not long enough. So I changed to Fusso Coat wax.

Step Seven – Apply Wax

Soft99 say to apply their wax with the applicator damp. Personally I don’t do this. Which may be part of my problem.

Using a circular motion I cover the panel in the wax and wait for the residue to dry. Out of the sun. Soft99 say to wait until the residue turns white. I find a thick microfiber towel makes this step much easier.

Previously I had been quick to wipe of the wax when it was still damp. Perhaps this is why the wax was not lasting.

And that’s it – Faded Car Paint Restoration Guide

Restoring faded car paint is a long, labourious process and something that, unfortunately, needs regular maintenance. I think when the paint has started to fade is becomes much higher maintenance that fresh paint. Washing and drying the car between steps is a real ball ache but I think it’s key to get a good, lasting result. What I’ve outlined is what I think the perfect process is. Obviously I may be wrong and obviously you can cut the corners you think you can cut.

Faded Paint Photos

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This page was last modified Jan 20, 2025 @ 5:39 pm

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