New to me truck - will the paint polish?

[IT Cowboy]

I purchased a truck yesterday and the paint is a bit shiny but it isn't glossy or super smooth and it has a very slight orange peel to it. I think it is single stage as some suggested as it was re-painted 10 years ago and it looks like they never polished it fully. I am going to try to find a out of the way spot on it to test to see if it will polish. I will probably use Maguires light polish and then put a good sealant over it if it comes out nice.

Any suggestions how to test or approach this or what to do? Edit: I have to RO polishers in different sizes. I am also wondering if I need to wet sand it first with 2k grit?

Link to pic, I cannot post? If you click on it to add the + and go full size you can see the orange peel on it

https://i.ibb.co/8DjrwSKs/yellow-fender.jpg

Hereis a link to a new pic. This ones shows the sun shining on the paint but it isn't reflecting

https://i.ibb.co/BMQRTkM/yellow-sun.jpg


Update: The paint is Delstar DAR acrylic enamal by PPG

[72c20customcamper]

Hand polishing will only get you so far I would suggest an orbital buffer . I use a Flex brand with great results even on dead paint this is my 68 if your not comfortable doing it you can get a detail shop to do it . You would be amazed at the results a good detailer can get

[IT Cowboy]

I am also wondering if I need to wet sand it with 2k grit first?

I have 2 different size random orbital polishers with all color of pads.

[72c20customcamper]

I would test the paint in an inconspicuous spot as to how the paint reacts to sanding . If it’s a single stage it should take well to color sanding I’m always apprehensive of cutting clear because there’s really no way of telling its thickness . The only reason to cut and buff is to correct defects

[IT Cowboy]

I dont expect a show finish and I think it looks nice as it is but it could be better.

[72c20customcamper]

I would just buff it with a mild abrasive then polish. I really like the Griots ultra polish with a finish pad prior to wax

[IT Cowboy]

Originally Posted by 72c20customcamper

I would just buff it with a mild abrasive then polish. I really like the Griots ultra polish with a finish pad prior to wax

I have used and like Griots 2-step compound and polish. I think they make a 3 step now too.

[Classics Fan]

I’ve done paint correction with a dual action polisher on several different vehicles with varying levels of paint condition needing attention. I use Chemical Guys Optical Grade polishes. Before attempting an aggressive action like wet sanding I’d start with their #34 (hybrid compound) to smooth out the orange peel. If that didn’t yield desired results I’d drop down to #32 then move through #34, then #36 (fine polish) and finish it with #38 final polish, then finish with ceramic coat or paint sealant. Your pad density will also play into the effectiveness of the various polishes. From your pictures it looks like you could achieve great results with this approach.

Chemical Guys has good videos on their website for much more detail, tips and guidance.

[IT Cowboy]

Here is a new pic up closer where it shows the texture of the finish in the reflection right where the little spot of light hits it.

[Classics Fan]

Yeah, that’s heavy orange peel. I don’t think compound will touch it. I’d have a professional auto painter look at it and advise how to best address it.

[Jason Banks]

You could probably knock that down to a lower lever or orange peel with some heavy compounding. But, I would start by wetsanding it and then compound, polish and then wax...

I wish I had some good before and after pictures. But, I bought a truck that had been painted by someone probably when it was too hot and the whole truck had the texture of sandpaper. I spent about 40 hours wetsanding and buffing it to a shine. I think I only sanded through in one body line above a wheel. Other than that, there was so much paint there wasn't much risk of sanding through. There were even areas that I didn't take the time to get to the bottom of the orange peel and just buffed what I had, but you could still see some small spots. For what the truck cost, I added lots of value for lots of work.

It was single stage paint and your paint also looks like single stage. You might ask the guys where you are taking the truck to get worked on if they know someone if you don't feel like tackling it yourself.

[IT Cowboy]

Originally Posted by Jason Banks

if you don't feel like tackling it yourself.

I would live to tackle this myself but it makes me really nervous and when I see the white dull residue I panic that the shine will not come back. I need to find a place out of thet way that I can try. I will also not sleep until it is complete.

If I take it to someone where they could probably do it quicker and have the nice foam pads for contours.

[Casper42]

perhaps its just the photos, but I suspect your paint is pretty good, but the prep-work underneath might be less than perfect.

[IT Cowboy]

Update: The paint is Delstar DAR acrylic enamal by PPG

[IT Cowboy]

I have watched several videos on wet sanding and the process I’m getting more comfortable with possibly attempting it myself. The part that makes me nervous is doing the ridges like on the fender lines and the center Ridge on the hood I think tapping them off is best and I’m going to learn how to do that. I think I’m going to use 1500 grit first then 2500 and then a polishing compound and see how that works. I guess the good part is that the inside of the tailgate has been painted and has the same orange peel so I am going to use that as my practice area I also think I’m just going to do this by hand with paper and I couple different blocks. It seems I can get a better feel for it that way and actually feel what’s going on and check my work more often. It will be a lot of work, but I think the results will be worth it

Some videos I watched people were saying to use a denim pad to remove orange peel but that looks more like factory orange peel and not the severity that I have the denim pad looks the same as if I were to use 2000 grit. I will take some pictures to post before and after.

[LS short box]

I help a body shop a couple days a week. I do a lot of block sanding and color sanding on the resto projects.
In regards to the color sanding we start with 1000 wet. Then 1500 wet. And then 3000 wet. When you finish the 3000 you can actually see the shine coming back. I do the large flat surfaces. The shop "Pros" do the edges and corners. After that power buffing in two stages of polish again by the pros.
I would try a small area first since you don't know how much clear is on the truck. Easy to sand thru it and into the paint.
Good luck.

[IT Cowboy]

I hit it today with a random orbital polisher and a cutting pad and compound and it polished out nice. It didnt take all the orange peel out but it looks like it did when it came from the factory. The paint was pretty dry and dirty and I did a iron remover wash first then a cleaning pass and then 2 different polishes. I topped it off with optiseal and then a top coat of collinite HD wax. The cleaning and polish brout out the color and it has a lot fo green in it. I am happy with it anyway

[treveiger]

Glad to hear you got a result you liked. When you keep a vehicle washed and waxed it really does bring out the luster. I've used a random orbital quite a bit for applying wax to vehicles and it makes quick work of it. Last few times I've tried to fully detail our cars it started downpouring. Now that I've stopped, there's a drought here.

[Shark_13]

Looks like pretty decent print to start with!

I am wet sanding mine (bad paint job from PO) with 1500, followed by 2 rounds of compound, then a polish.

The wet sanding would likely take care of your orange peel, but have to be super careful not to go through, especially edges/body lines.

[Steeveedee]

I have the same brand of paint on my truck as the OP, but it's clear coated. Big splotches of clear coat are peeling off. The nerve, of a 40 year old paint job. I'd like to bring it back to looking nicer, and my wife thinks that I can just sand it out and reshoot clear. Yeah, not going to happen.

[IT Cowboy]

I watched a couple of videos where they claimed a denim polisher pad took care of orange peel. I think it is equivalent to 2500 paper?

There are 4 cars I found at the Martin Auto Museum in Phoenix that are the same color as mine and if I zoom in they also have the same finish as mine. They reflect the light but they dont mirror them and they are shiny but not glossy. I think it is how the factory did them at the time





And here is mine under the garage lights - you can see the peel in the light reflection. It did get knocked down a bit today with a cleaning / polishing compound.

[IT Cowboy]

Saturday I did quite a bit of cleaning and repair to my paint. I used an iron remover and clay bar to decontaminate it and then I used a cleaning compound with a random orbital polisher to revitalize the paint and bring out some shine. I do not have pics but what surprised me is that the truck color looks quite a bit lighter now and is like the first pic above and it looks like its factory light yellow paint code. I think the paint was pretty dry and just tired and the previous owner never polished or waxed it.

I put a coat of OptiSeal on it with a top coat of Collinite wax and it looks and feels much better now. It has a bit of reflection and is shiny but not glossy like a modern truck.