Faded Red Paint

Hal Emmerich

This has puzzled me for awhile, on older Cars that I see around, the Red ones, why do they fade the way they do?

It doesn't seem to happen to other Colours or if it does it's not near as bad.

goat2

i dont know either, but i find the red cars look shoddy far sooner that other colours, i would also like to know, i drive a red ten year old car, it looks shoddy due to the rough looking red paint, even though i am an avid user of the car wax, and it still looks shoddy, yet if the mer wax i use is used on other colours they look brilliant as a result

Delancey

Red just seems to get tired and dull easily , funnily enough I was asking the same thing on another thread yesterday.
The photo is a great illustration of how it can be restored though.

Nonoperational

I think the newer paints covered by a clear coat arn't as prone to fading as the older red paints. But the older ones do get shoddy out and look poor out.

irisheddie85

is that first pic of a car getting a respray or a Tcut and polish.

If they are the results from a tcut i might put the effort myself

Nonoperational

It's a car that's been machine polished. You can DIY it yourself with some education and a kit like this: http://www.cleancar.ie/kestreldas-6starterskit.html

gpf101

gpf101 wrote: »

I think the newer paints covered by a clear coat arn't as prone to fading as the older red paints. But the older ones do get shoddy out and look poor out.

Plenty of oldish red cars had a clearcoat on them and still went pink

David09

RoverJames wrote: »

Plenty of oldish red cars had a clearcoat on them and still went pink

Which is disasterous because t-cut or similar won't work to restore the colour.
I've noticed that on red cars with partial resprays, the repaired panels fade rapidly compared to the original. I can only assume that it's because of cr4p quality paint.

Isn't the reason for red fading got something to do with the fact that red is at the extreme end of the visible light spectrum??

Caliden

David09 wrote: »

Isn't the reason for red fading got something to do with the fact that red is at the extreme end of the visible light spectrum??

nail -> head


t-cut, then protect with wax so keep the colour

goat2

David09 wrote: »

Which is disasterous because t-cut or similar won't work to restore the colour.
I've noticed that on red cars with partial resprays, the repaired panels fade rapidly compared to the original. I can only assume that it's because of cr4p quality paint.

Isn't the reason for red fading got something to do with the fact that red is at the extreme end of the visible light spectrum??

you are so right, i find in clothing the red has to be washed seperately no matter how you treat it, it will still fade, must be something to do with the pigment, then again red is one of the three primary colours

si_guru

Caliden wrote: »

nail -> head


t-cut, then protect with wax so keep the colour

I always thought it was due to the lead not being allowed in paint these days... or was that yellow paint??

Spotless

Without any clearcoat added over it, red is subject to direct UV exposure and the surface simply fades to pink. You can simply polish the surface to remove the faded pigment.

Problem is that it comes back pretty much straight away. Before clearcoat was added, car manufacturers were making red paint 1/3 thicker than other colours. Didn't really work, but you have a lot more to work with when it does fade.

Modern finishes have added UV protection in the clearcoats, most of which is at the upper part of the surface, so heavy polishing can compromise it, especially on red cars.

Wax has zero UV protection so no point in applying that. There are products out there that do have UV protection though.

Capt'n Midnight

David09 wrote: »

Isn't the reason for red fading got something to do with the fact that red is at the extreme end of the visible light spectrum??

Weird that

do red organic compounds suffer more from photobleaching ?

is there such a thing as a UV wax or coating to keep out the UV ?

[edit] just seen the above post

goat2

Spotless wrote: »

Without any clearcoat added over it, red is subject to direct UV exposure and the surface simply fades to pink. You can simply polish the surface to remove the faded pigment.

Problem is that it comes back pretty much straight away. Before clearcoat was added, car manufacturers were making red paint 1/3 thicker than other colours. Didn't really work, but you have a lot more to work with when it does fade.

Modern finishes have added UV protection in the clearcoats, most of which is at the upper part of the surface, so heavy polishing can compromise it, especially on red cars.

Wax has zero UV protection so no point in applying that. There are products out there that do have UV protection though.

do you have the name of polisher with uv protection

GrumPy

Can anyone advise best way to limit red paint work fading? Just bought a new (used) car and wanna do my best to prevent it turning pink before I have it paid off.

Thanks!

L-M

GrumPy wrote: »

Can anyone advise best way to limit red paint work fading? Just bought a new (used) car and wanna do my best to prevent it turning pink before I have it paid off.

Thanks!

Polish, and many of it.

I was talking to a panel beater the other day and he had a red Avensis in for a full respray. He said he has already sprayed a few, all due to the peeling.

I have an old Bmw in red, I polished and waxed it within and inch of it's life and it still faded.

Nonoperational

Modern reds are far less prone to fading. A bit of wax every so often and it should be fine.

GrumPy

It's an 07 golf so it's new enough. Current paint work is fairly spotless. Looks great at the minute. I did a google and apparently there are all kinds of "sun cream" you can buy. Eg. UV protection wax specifically for red cars.

I'm unsure if they are an expensive gimmick, or worth buying? I plan on getting it waxed every so often at least.

L-M

GrumPy wrote: »

It's an 07 golf so it's new enough. Current paint work is fairly spotless. Looks great at the minute. I did a google and apparently there are all kinds of "sun cream" you can buy. Eg. UV protection wax specifically for red cars.

I'm unsure if they are an expensive gimmick, or worth buying? I plan on getting it waxed every so often at least.

Pm Seperate on here, he owns a detailing company as far as I know and should be able to advise you on what to use.

Saying that, My mother had a 05 Golf, in red, that she owned from new for 5 years and it was probably polished 3 times with T cut in those five years and it never showed any signs of fading.

bfocusd

I had a red clio and never had a problem, it was 1 when I bought it and I only had it for a year, so maybe its gotten worse over time.

At the moment i have a red 05 focus, and so far the general body work has lasted fine, after a while I hadnt time to wash it myself I used to put it through the car wash, but after a few months I noticed the bodykit (done by ford, not aftermarket) in particular the spoiler was fading, it was almost baby pink.

I have the car about 4 years. The first time it happened was within my year guarantee and the car was 2 at the time, so I took it back and they sorted it, then after almost 2 years (it being hand washed only) it started to fade again, I was going to have them resprayed, but was told it will still fade as its a different base or something.

so this summer I got Tcut and simonz wax and done it myself, the entire car, its turned out amazing, the red on the car in general is a few shades darker and the bodykit matches now,

originaly I did the Tcut and didnt put a wax over it and it only lasted about a week, then I did it again and put the wax on after and that was about 4 months ago and its still looking good. I just use a buffer to polish it up, it took about 4 times to get the spoiler up to the colour of the car but its all good now.


also a panel beater I know has said hondas are the worst for fading, he does the work for them, for some reason the red ones only have to be resprayed after around 3 years or so.

GrumPy

Maybe I should do this t cut/wax lark just to be safe.

What does one buy and do to achieve this? Should I re-watch karate kid, or is there a particular way of doing it correctly?

I have no idea where to start with waxing/ protecting a cars paint work.

racso1975

I wonder is it because red is one of the colours available particular in the toyota range that is not a gloss? I'm sure ou can get gloss red in it but i know when i ordered my yaris 10 years ago i got the red so i did not have to shell out for metalllic and it looked like a metallic

bfocusd

Niether did i, originaly I thought Tcut would be fine on its own, then I got turtle wax, but its like a paste, I dont think its very good. simonz (its in a gold tin) is more oily so the water just shoots off the car, I wish I took before and after pics, because the difference is unreal.

I was very pleased with how it turned out, the steps I took to do it were,

tar removal with the autoglym stuff (its by far the best)

wash the car with the autoglym brand car wash, (im sure brand wont make a huge difference) using the 2 bucket method, rinse it off really good.

let it dry,

then get the Tcut, use a damp cloth, do it panel by panel, rubbin it in circular motion,
leave it till it turns white, then buff it off, and polish with a soft cloth.


I left it for about an hour before I started the simonz,
then dry cloth this time with the simonz, dont let it dry for long though, its much harder to get off. Buff it up, then polish with a soft cloth.

if there are areas where its really faded, go over it a few times with the Tcut and just keep at it till it comes back, like I said it took me about 4 tries.

Now when I wash mine, the wax is still there as the dirt just wipes off, even with a dry cloth.

Also you may want some coffee or energy drink, I was wrecked haha
and hope you dont have to move the next day.. Haha

GrumPy

bfocusd wrote: »

Incredibly useful, well explained advice

You'll do it for me for how much €?

:pac:

bfocusd

Well it took me an entire day to do mine.. So whats the goin rate..? Haha
ah honestly though, you can do it yourself easily enough, its just tiresome, plus after buffing the car ones your not in the humor to do it again in the same day..

total price for mine was:

buffer- 35euro approx (halfords)
Red Tcut - approx 15euro
Simonz wax (gold tin) - 12euro
Tar removal - approx 10euro
car wash - 3euro (halfords deal on turtle car wash!)
couple of cloths and polishing ones - fiver approx
Glances from people at your shiny red car - priceless

zilog_jones

Yes, there's no point in polishing a car if you're not going to wax it afterwards! The finish will just not last, and with red cars it'll just oxidise again soon enough.

Not sure I could recommend T-Cut - it is a pretty heavy compound (not a polish per se) so is quite abrasive and cuts into the paint quite deeply. Maybe something that strong is required for restoring badly faded reds, but I wouldn't use it regularly (maybe once every few years?).

I'd recommend something like Auto Glym Super Resin Polish for regular polishing - it is much lighter on the paint than T-Cut and it also contains fillers (which will fill in swirl marks and light scratches to an extent). I'd try that first before using a stronger compound. Some more info about it here: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=100889

I hear Simoniz Original Wax (gold tin as bfocusd used) is supposed to be a pretty decent wax for long-lasting protection and great value but it's not the easiest to apply.

Before polishing/waxing I'd recommend using a clay bar - Meguiars do a clay bar kit for about €20 (usually available in Halfords). It'll remove loads of crap from the paintwork that you can't even see, and will help the polishing and waxing process.

bfocusd

zilog_jones wrote: »

Yes, there's no point in polishing a car if you're not going to wax it afterwards! The finish will just not last, and with red cars it'll just oxidise again soon enough.

Not sure I could recommend T-Cut - it is a pretty heavy compound (not a polish per se) so is quite abrasive and cuts into the paint quite deeply. Maybe something that strong is required for restoring badly faded reds, but I wouldn't use it regularly (maybe once every few years?).

I'd recommend something like Auto Glym Super Resin Polish for regular polishing - it is much lighter on the paint than T-Cut and it also contains fillers (which will fill in swirl marks and light scratches to an extent). I'd try that first before using a stronger compound. Some more info about it here: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=100889

I hear Simoniz Original Wax (gold tin as bfocusd used) is supposed to be a pretty decent wax for long-lasting protection and great value but it's not the easiest to apply.

Before polishing/waxing I'd recommend using a clay bar - Meguiars do a clay bar kit for about €20 (usually available in Halfords). It'll remove loads of crap from the paintwork that you can't even see, and will help the polishing and waxing process.

Yeah the Tcut is quite strong, and if you wax the car proper their isnt really a need to use it over and over, I used it mostly on the faded parts on mine, and just did a quick run over the rest of the car, nothing serious, just to get the grime off.

the simoniz wax is brilliant, ive tried many others but they usually fade within a week, but as you were saying, its a pain, its actually easy enough to apply, its the removal thats a pain. When I was doing mine, I applied it to the bonnet and got distracted and after about 5 mins I went back to it and spent half an hour trying to get it off!

about the auto glym, ive never tried that one, i'll give it a go when im doing thee car again!
I hear the maguires stuff is amazing too, only seen it in stores recently, have you used many of the products? Anotherr brand I heards is supposed to be ver good is dodo juice? It seems quite expensive though, and the names are kinda confusing, I seen a website selling it and it just had the name and no description for anything?!

zilog_jones

I've used the Meguiar's Smooth Surface Clay Kit which worked pretty well for me, though the wax that comes with it is nothing special (Cleaner Wax - not really a proper wax as it does some of the funcitions that Auto Glym SRP would do) and didn't seem to last that long. ScratchX 2.0 has pretty good for removing isolated scratches. Don't know about their other stuff, but I don't think they're the be-all and end-all of car cleaning/detailing.

There's loads of useful information about specific products on www.detailingworld.co.uk, but yeah some of it can be pretty expensive and it all gets a bit bewildering!

YouTookMyName

That 90's toyota red was a nightmare. the auld lad had a 92 hiace for work was pink after 8 years!!

McP2011

Its called oxidation it seems more common with opel cars for some reason.

As for polishing the car.

You should wash it.
De tar it (Autosmart tardis is miles ahead of the autogylm stuff).
Wash it again and Clay bar it if you want.
-you should use the 2 bucket method for washing-
Dry the car with a drying towel.

Next is the polishing.
T cut isn't great tbh.
You should be using brands like 3m,menzerna, meguaires etc.
Depending on how bad the paint is you might need a heavy cutting compound and refine it as you work the paint as it gets better.
When you finish polishing you should glaze/seal it. ..poorboys do one at a good price.

Then finish with a wax.
The simoniz mentioned above is supposed to be very hard to apply.
Collinite is good and is cheap.
You can apply as many layers of wax you want. Applying a new layer every couple of weeks is a good idea as it keeps the paint protected and adds a good finish to it.

Also the stuff most car washes use like tfr strip the wax. Fairy liquid also strips wax which leaves the paint prone to wear and tear.

Sorry for the essay lol and as you can see I'm no expert on the matter

GrumPy

Hi, thanks for all the advice.

But just to reiterate, the paint work is spotless, like new! Just throwing caution to the wind to keep it that way for as long as possible.

mancity1

Hi all that simoniz paste wax is also available in liquid form can be hard got though best wax to start off with as can also be used on the black plastics of the car as well the best i've found for long lasting protection

sean1141

GrumPy wrote: »

Maybe I should do this t cut/wax lark just to be safe.

What does one buy and do to achieve this? Should I re-watch karate kid, or is there a particular way of doing it correctly?

I have no idea where to start with waxing/ protecting a cars paint work.

no need for t-cut unless the car is badly faded. if its in good condition i would recomend these two products
http://www.cleancar.ie/chemical-guys-glossworkz-glaze.html

http://www.cleancar.ie/chemicalguys-blitzacrylicspraysealant.html

results

nerrad1983

Another great product which i recently used is Meguairs "Ultimate Compound", its clear coat safe and really brings paint back to life
http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_804743_langId_-1_categoryId_212511

Can also be used on headlights that are prone to dis-colouring

Great stuff to be honest!