How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years

[awryexperiment]

1) You never stated the goal..... do you want it to be shiny? do you want patina? do you want it jut decent for your daily driver? do you intend to paint it in a few years?

2) Comet and Scotchbrite take a lot of paint off, but they are fast. So these are OK for patina, or for an OK DD, or if you intend to paint it in a few years. These will not give you a mirror finish. A lot of people will put on an oil top coat to make it shinier after the scrubbing is done. Again: quick, easy and OK results.

3) machine compounding followed by polishing could get you a mirror finish if the paint isn't too far gone. This is a slower method and can give the glossiest finish but if the paint is bad then will only give you a finish slightly better than comet or scotchbrite. Note that a mirror finish will also more easily highlight dings dents and other waviness in the body, so this could end-up being a bad approach.

[Luke87gt]

That’s fair.

I think on first order, I’d like to get the finish clean. I mentioned that the passenger side door has a rust streak from the side mirror bolts. I’d like to eliminate that. Additionally, when I run my hand along the finish, it’s rough feeling.

In a small section I applied some Meguires polish and that got that section very smooth.

Also, my roof has a bit of surface rust. I’d like to eliminate that.

Once everything is clean, restoring touch of shine would be nice.

I’m a bit apprehensive to do the comet because I think the paint is actually decent.

Let me know what you guys think.

[Willowrun]

Nice truck!

First off, don’t use anything like comet, sos pads, etc. on that paint. Sorry guys, but the goal is to remove the least amount of paint while bringing back the shine and removing as many stains possible. You also don’t want to spend countless hours hand polishing trying to achieve this.

I am finishing up a ‘74 Bronco right now with dirty, stained original paint much like yours. My method is to first clean a section like half the door with a heavy cleaner. I use scrubbing bubbles and hit it at least two go rounds to make sure it’s clean then hit it with a lint free towel.

Then you need a cordless drill, a foam polishing cone (google it), some nu finish once a year car polish, and some microfiber towels.

The foam cones come in various levels based on color so start with a softer one as a safeguard. Apply the polish to the cone in the drill and have at it on your cleaned surface just working around a 6” x 12” section at a time. Wipe off residue with towel and continue. Top with whatever wax you like when done to feed the paint some moisture.

I’m sure there are faster ways to achieve the same thing but I liked taking my time to not cause any damage. You can polish the trim at the same time and get right up to it with smaller pads and no fear of damaging it.

As for the rust stain, you are most likely stuck with whatever is left after the process above. Could possibly try a light acid like citric acid diluted in water on a soaked towel.

[EagleChief]

☝️☝️ Man, that thing cleaned up nice!

I haven't tried this product, but have seen several classics around me that have used it, and it looks really good. They have a matte finish, semi-glossy, and glossy finish product that is supposedly wipe on. It was developed by a local (to me) car guy and has taken off for the patina crowd, but works great on regular paint as well.

https://poppyspatina.com/?tw_source=...hoCtQMQAvD_BwE