My recipe for old paint restoration.
 

At first I had planned to repaint my truck but after working on it for a while I decided to keep as much of the old paint as possible. It was in bad shape. I actually used a wire brush on the hood when I bought the truck 10 years ago.
My recipe is simple but effective. I oiled the whole truck with motor oil and let it soak in for a day then go over it with Johnson Paste Wax. Johnson Paste Wax doesn't turn white in the scratches like car wax. I need to apply a second coat of wax but here is the results. Sorry this was a spur of the moment thing and I didn't get any before pictures but the change was dramatic.
http://i1233.photobucket.com/albums/...psirwpuhz6.jpg

Re: My recipe for old paint restoration.
 

In a way you've helped your truck's finish.
Red paint oxidizes faster because it's iron that makes it red.
If it starts to oxidize again, let me recommend a product that's available at most Pep Boy's and the like.

TR3.
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...A.oap?pt=N0458

I've applied it to two different red cars that were terribly oxidized, and it took off the dull coating, and brought it back to a shine.
Lasts for years too.

J.

Re: My recipe for old paint restoration.
 

When I was a kid I had a 69 AMX that the paint had oxidized on. I wanted to sell the car so I used what I had on hand to pep it up a bit ... I armoralled the whole thing. Looked great, but the next owner was going to have a heck of a time with a new paint job, fish eye city. Is that the same thing that will happen if you use motor oil on the body and want to paint it in the future?

Re: My recipe for old paint restoration.
 

Does Turtle Wax still make "Color Back"? It was a weirdly annoying and impressive product.

It could "restore" old faded paint in one step chemically, somehow. But if you didn't then take care of it, it'd fade with a massive new oxidation step about 2 weeks later. That was my only experience with it... if it stayed nice with a coat of wax, it'd be an amazing product.

Re: My recipe for old paint restoration.
 

I wish I had done this 10 years ago. If I had I would still have 99% of the original paint left. The reason I didn't is because I thought I would just put a cheap paint job on it someday. This truck was in pretty bad shape when I got it and I never thought I would be rebuilding it as far as I have. I probably save it from the junkyard and although it will never be a show winning truck it's still a good truck and I enjoy driving it.
I'm thinking of getting another and taking it back down to the frame and rebuilding it but I enjoy driving this one too much to set it down for that long.