Faded paint is often part of the experience of owning older cars. Especially if you own a classic that’s slowly entering its 4th decade of life. Things get even more interesting if the car you own wasn’t really known for good quality paintwork to begin with.
Repairing faded paint can be tricky, but it’s far from impossible. Sometimes all you need is a good polish. We’ll cover some of the ways you can do that in the following guide. Our guinea pig for this project is a beautiful SAAB 900 vert.
What Causes Faded Paint?
Faded paint is almost always caused by oxidation. A rare exception would be physical damage to the paint, which is an entirely different beast.
Let’s stick to oxidation. Oxidation doesn’t happen on its own. There is always a cause behind it. Some causes can be attributed to user error, while others are much more subtle.
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UV Radiation
UV radiation is one of those invisible destructive forces that are always present as long as the sun is out. Leaving the car out in the sun will absolutely damage the paint over time.
You’re probably wondering how come there aren’t thousands of damaged cars all over the place, especially in southern states?
It all comes down to maintenance. Paint, just like any other part of a vehicle, requires maintenance. We’re talking about washing the car regularly, potentially waxing it and polishing it, etc. These things work to protect the paint and prevent the UV rays from penetrating the paintwork, heating the paint up under the clear coat, thus causing oxidation.
Inadequate Cleaning Products
Washing the car does help preserve the paintwork, but only if you use the correct cleaning products. Not every cleaning chemical is car-friendly. What works in the kitchen may not work inside or on the car itself.
Regular degreasers could be too aggressive for the clear coat on your car, leaving you with a compromised layer of paint that will oxidize much more easily. That’s why you always have to use a quality car shampoo. Furthermore, it’s not just the cleaning chemicals that are the problem, but the cleaning tools you use as well.
How many people have you seen scrubbing their car with a sponge, or worse, a Scotch Brite pad? Both of these tools are way too abrasive for use on vehicles. It’s comparable to taking sandpaper to the paint, a very fine but still quite destructive sandpaper.
Instead, you’ll want to use a microfiber cloth. Not only that, but you’ll want to ensure that no particles are stuck in that cloth, meaning that you should always use at least two of them – one to remove the gritty residuals from the car, and one to actually wash the car once all the large particles are off.
Failing to remove the larger stuff will result in you rubbing all of that dirt into the paint, which also acts as sandpaper of sorts. Also, polishing the car with a good wax doesn’t hurt either. Twice a year would be the optimal frequency for this type of work.
What to do With Already Oxidized Paint?
Oxidized paint can be fixed…up to a point. It all depends on how bad it gets. In some cases, you’ll find completely burnt paintwork that simply can’t be salvaged no matter what you do. In that case, the only solution is to spray paint the whole car again.
That being said, there are instances when the paint looks too far gone, but actually isn’t. That’s the case with the SAAB 900 we’ll get to in a moment. Sometimes all it takes is removing the top layer of clear coat, or if it’s a single-stage paint job without a clear coat, the top layer of the paint itself. There’s a bit more to it, which we’ll demonstrate on our SAAB here.
How to Restore Faded Paint on a SAAB 900
For this tutorial, we will use three main steps to bring the paint on this car back to its old glory:
- Washing and decontaminating the paint
- Removing the top layer that is oxidized
- Waxing the car to provide protection
Step 1 – Wash the Car and Clean the Fading Paint
Before you start with any kind of paint correction, you first need to have a clean surface to work with. Step one is to wash the car thoroughly. It would be best to decontaminate the paintwork as much as possible, which often means claying the car using a special clay bar. This is still the absolute best way to decontaminate the paintwork.
Step 2 – Remove the Top Layer That is Faded
Once the car is nice and clean, it’s time to remove the damaged layer of paint. We’ll use the NPT Cleaner Wax by SONAX to buff out the top layer. Prepare yourself for a bit of tedious work as this will take time and elbow grease.
That being said, it won’t be long before you start seeing results. Our SAAB here let us know rather quickly that the buffing was working just fine. We soon started seeing its beautiful yellow paint come back to life.
Step 3 – Protect the Paintwork
When your car came out of the factory, it was treated with a protective layer meant to keep the paint from deteriorating. By buffing the top layer of paint, you’ve essentially removed that protection. And that’s okay since it didn’t really work anyway if you’re reading this.
The next step is adding a protective layer of your own. We recommend finding a quality car wax and polishing the entire body of the car. Do a nice, thick layer or have a pro do it for you. Repeat this process twice a year, and you should have no issues with your paint moving forward.
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Where to Get Quality Cleaning Products?
Here at eEuroparts.com, we understand the importance of automotive detailing. We offer a complete line of detailing products ranging from shampoos, waxes, and supplies, to interior cleaning products, brushes, etc.
Head over to our online store and check out our car cleaning section in the navigation tree. You’ll find that we work with top brands like SONAX to bring you quality products at competitive prices.
