Hello i bought a '98 civic 1.4 6th gen 3 door hatch with milano red paint (quite rare colour since i had been searching since last july and only saw a few for sale) anyway its my first car and the paint is kind of faded pink on certain parts, the bonnet is so bad that im getting it resprayed black even if it was fine i would still paint it black. the doors, arches and boot are quite bad and i need help or advice on how to restore it thanks.

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Here's some pics of it:

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Got some pics? I've been able to bring back a few well-worn paint jobs in the past. If the clear coat is still in decent shape, there's hope.

 

sure i'll get some pics up later today but its in my garage and doesnt look as bad when its in garage or when i take a picture of it

 

wait...thats the paint of my car. what do you mean it is rare to find?

 

Actually, the paint doesn't look too bad. It's hard to tell with the blue tinted flash, but has the car been waxed a lot during it's life? I can't tell if it's oxidized paint, or just overly waxed and worn off because of it.

If it's worn off, there's little you can do. But, if it's oxidized (feels rough when you run your hand over it), keep reading. However, I warn you that the steps to fix it are going to sound unpleasant and scary, but it works.

(DISCLAIMER: Individual results may vary. Anyone attempting this should do so at their own risk. Neither ChristianL nor HondaCivicForum.com can accept responsibility for damages incurred from following these directions. If in doubt, see a professional detailer before attempting the process listed below. For erections lasting more than four hours, seek immediate medical attention.)

Take the car outside, and wash it with dish soap, and one of those sponges you use for dishes with the scrubby side on it (make sure it's marked as Teflon safe). Then go to town scrubbing that car - use hot water if you can. The goal is to get all the old wax, grime, grease, dirt and everything off of that paint.

When you're done, spray the car to keep the car wet. Then use a powder bathroom cleaner (here in the States we have "Comet") like you'd use on your bathtub. Doing one panel at a time, wet the panel, then apply the cleaner with your hand (so you can keep an eye on it's abrasiveness). When you're done with that panel, rinse it off. The goal is to strip off the top layer of oxidized paint, and get down to the layer of clean paint underneath it.

Wash the car again in dish soap to get all the cleaner off, and neutralize any cleaner you might miss.

Get yourself a can of the white polishing compound (not red - it's too abrasive). You'll also want to get some cheese cloth (you can usually find it in grocery stores). Using the cheese cloth like a rag, apply the polishing compound in small sections, and polish to a good shine. Be sure to wipe it off before moving on to the next spot. The goal is to polish out the fine scratches and bring up the shine. As a side note, I highly recommend wearing gloves for this since the the cheese cloth will shred the skin on your hands.

Wash the car again in dish soap to remove any of the polishing compound residue.

Then wash the car again with car wash soap. This will remove what's left of the dish soap so it won't dry out the paint. You're getting ready to apply wax, so if there's any dish soap residue left, it'll be trapped underneath that nice protective layer.

If the car looks good at this point, proceed to the next step. If it doesn't, go back and hit it with some more polishing compound.

Find a good liquid wax (I prefer the polish/wax from Eagle One, but Meguiar's NXT is pretty good, too). Give the car a good coat, and remove the residue. Then use a clean, dry terry cloth towel, and buff the entire car again.

It'll probably take you two days to do it all, but it'll be worth it in the end.

 

^ Copy Pasted that! Great to know...

 

Glad you like it! I got that from a pro detailler about 12 years ago, and have used it to save a few cars with paint that was nearly toast. It's just funny watching the owners' faces when you start washing with dish soap (which will dry out automotive paint if used regularly), then pour Comet on the car. They get really nervous really quickly.

If the existing paint isn't too oxidized, you can skip the Comet. If you end up with stubborn swirl marks, you can always go back with a glaze before the wax coat, but I haven't had much success with glazes.

Eagle One used to make a Teflon-infused polish (not wax) that was AMAZING, but they ended up discontinuing it about eight years ago. Now they have Eagle One Wet polish/wax that works pretty nicely, but not nearly as good as their old polish did.

 

Nice posts ChristianL. You are becoming more and more of an asset to the HCF family with every post! Thanks!!!

Never knew that there was a possible solution. I have seen this (fading) happen with almost all Honda paint from the mid to late 90's. Happened on my 93 Civic, happened to a buddies 97 Prelude, and have heard of numerous other cases.

The only thing I would suggest would be to add some sort of disclaimer stating that you are not responsible for any damages that could happen from attempting the above suggestions

 

Thanks. There's a lot of useless stuff in my head, so if it helps others, I'm happy to pass it along.

Silvers and reds are particularly prone to this, due to the pigments in the paint. You just have to make sure there's enough paint left on the car to do this with. If it's thin (like some Mazdas), you have to be really gentle or you'll burn through the paint to the primer.

Done.

 

I had no idea it would happen to silvers. I guess you mean a flat silver? The VSM (metallic) OEM paint from 99 on my Civic looks amazing still... well on the parts that actually still have paint on them