Proper Care For Original 328 Single Stage Paint

I'm kind of in the same boat, though from my experiences, the best you can do is: keep it simple. Do your typical wash, clay bar, polish, and wax. Traditional multi-layered carnauba would do it. I'm sure others here with more years of experience would trump this, but I have found this to work for me.

 

the best way is never use polish, as polish reduces each time the paint thickness. You don't have the clear coat over the paint, so each polish pass reduces the paint thickness.

Just wash it and use polish just when you are forced to do it.

ciao

 

I agree that polishing is not desireable but think that it can be a necessary evil. My car was 25 years old when I bought it and, although well cared for, was covered with the miscroscopic scratches ("swirl marks") from 25 years of washing. I used a polishing machine to buff the paint back to its original shine. It turned out beautifully. The amount of paint removed is very small; enough to tint the wiping rag but little more.

 

LOL

I had forgotten how my pad with the polish would turn the color of the car I was polishing back in the 70's and 80's. It was removing paint.

 

If you have minor scratches and swirl marks to remove Meguiar's has a system that I've been using with excellent results. It's designed specifically for use with a DA machine, so it's almost impossible to burn through the paint.

http://www.meguiars.com/en/professional/products/dmckit6-da-microfiber-correction-system-kit-6/

Prior to this system I used a commercial rotary buffer and compounds, which can be hard on your paint and your back. In comparison, the DA is incredibly easy to use, and the results are amazing.

There are several videos on YouTube reviewing the system.

 

I switched to Zaino shortly after buying my first black car in 1999. I was totally skeptical when it was recommended but I found it seemed to work better than conventional products I had used. That experience taught me two lessons; not to use wax and never to buy another black car!

 

Keeping a black car looking good is like a part time job. It is a lot of work, but it's almost worth it for the five minutes that they stay clean.

 

Yep, I can remember after finishing a "detail job" and literally watching it accumulate dust/dirt as I stood back and looked at it!

 

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/2009-2016-how-articles-mike-phillips/100613-7-rub-down-technique-mike-phillips.html

i'm trying this on a car i just got in boxes (88 Rx7 turbo), and while there are no miracles being performed the #7 stuff is doing something helpful, and it will end up looking really nice.

i'm a little skeptical of the claims in the article, but there is something in the #7 that is softening the paint.

 

Exactly; same here. Then out comes the California Duster, scratch the paint, rinse and repeat.
I envy those in places like Fla. that can seemingly keep a car clean forever.

 

I'm huge on doing my own work on my cars and I have a set of random orbital buffers and the like, but for the 308 I did a light buffing and found that the car has single part and clear coat in different places. Without a super expensive paint thickness meter, I decided to let a professional take it from there. I found a great shop here that answered all my questions and was willing to just do light correction (even leaving light scratches where it was questionable) and they finished with a Gyeon ceramic coating (a Ferrari partner). Wow! That stuff is amazing! Even after driving in wet weather, all I had to do was dust the car and hit the belt line where water had pooled. Adam Polished sells a "Ceramic Boost" which is a great heavy detail for coated cars. The shine is off the scale and I know that delicate paint is now protected.

Franny

 

Yes, of course, every now and then you have to use polish: but the best thing is to use it just when it's strictly necessary (= when you are forced to do it, that's the sense of what I wrote)

I saw many red cars turn yellowish/orange: that's the red paint that has become so thin that you can see the base primer under the red paint. The machine polishing are to avoid or to be limited to the lowest possible

ciao

 

Bravo

 

I use nothing but Zaino on my cars but have noticed slight red tinge on cloth after applying to my 328 (only 1x per year). Was giving me pause but now after seeing this thread I'm beginning to have doubts again. I seem to remember asking Zaino about this a while back and IIRC the reply was "normal paint oxidation".

 

I use clay and then follow with griots glaze which actually fills in those microscopic scratches. I then follow with Zymol Carbon (not the Zymol liquid you buy at Walmart which is basically turtle wax I think). This has a few benefits as I understand it:

- the glaze fills in those microscopic scratches so you eliminate them without thinning the paint.
- the wax adds some oils which keeps the paint pliable and less prone to chipping and cracking with age
- a benefit of a single stage wax is no clear coat. Think of clear coat and synthetic polish like glass over a painting. It is shiny but you lose depth and clarity. A properly cared for (read no synthetics, no clearcoat) single stage paint will return a depth of shine and clarity I have never been able to match with a multistage paint. It requires very careful prep. You must get all the old wax off (dove dish detergent does this but griots sells a paint prep product that I think is more effective than dove, careful clay, and then Zymol carbon. It takes about 24 hours for the wax to set. The results are stunning in my opinion.

Good luck. Very rewarding results.

 

when you give a polish on the single stage paint, you will see on the cloth/soft pape/microfiber towel you use to remoce the polish, a bit of red color (if the car is red): that's the paint you are removing

ciao

 

1987 328 GTB owner here. Start with a good cleaning, finishing off with wax. Polish sparingly. Griots make good product.

If you wash the car yourself, use the two bucket method (rinse wash towel/glove in 2nd bucket before dunking back into the soap bucket).

After washing, clay the car. This is the most important step. I would say even more important than waxing. A thorough clay job will make the original, single stage paint have the look and feel of being waxed.

If you'd like, wax after that. You don't have to use the most expensive stuff but use good stuff. You should be sympathetic to the paint and cheap wax might not be as sympathetic as good wax.

Of course the paint will need to be polished, they pretty much all do. Personally, I would avoid it except for "special occasions".

-F