This past November I made my first vehicle purchase bought a white '01 X and love it. A couple of months ago a friend commented that the paint seemed flat, that it lacked shine, and suggested I use a polish. At first I chalked it up to being a white vehicle and if that's the case I'm fine with it. I just don't want to be shaming the X as I blow through town.

I have used a polish a couple of times and also tried a wax but to no avail. I bought my X from a dealer and to the best of my knowledge it wasn't in an accident, but who ever really knows that? I don't know much about the high-end carcare products: whether they'll help or which are best.

If anyone else has had a similar problem or has any insights as to what I can (or should) do please let me know because every time I wash my X it bothers me a little more. I've tried searching the forums for similar topics, but either I'm using the wrong keywords or no one has written about this yet.

Thanks

Is the surface rough? It should feel like glass. If it is rough, wash thouroughly, clay bar the whole thing, then use a pre-wax cleaner (Mothers) and then wax (Mothers Carnuba Clearner wax). Roughness causes that non-shiny look. It's either bad surface contamination (birds, sap, pollution, etc) or overspray (accident evidence). In either case, get the surface smooth and seal it with a good wax.

I'm resurrecting this thread in the hopes somebody has suggestions for white paint restoration.

My X is a 2002 SE in Cloud White. The paint has what appears to be some acid rain etching on the hood, roof, and hatch. Unfortunately, it sat outside at the dealer for months before I bought it.

In addition, the paint gets filthy very easily with grime that's very hard to remove. I recently removed the rack and the difference between the paint under the rack mounts and the rest of the vehicle was startling to say the least. Obviously the "protected" paint should look better but the rest of it looks dirty gray in comparison.

Dawn cleans the finish reasonably well but there's still dirt that almost looks like it's in the clear coat. I've used clay bars and cleaner waxes but can't seem to get a decent result, especially on the hood. Perhaps I need to try a more abrasive polish?

Suggestions and comments are welcome, especially from those with white X's.

i don't have a white x, but i had a white 'stang...

white is tough... as you point out, it's a grime magnet... and part of the problem is, the cleaner it is, the more you notice those imperfections you can't get out with elbow grease...

the only thing that worked for me to really get the last of the gunge off was a orbital polisher with a lightly abrasive polish... orbital polishers are pretty easy to use, and you can't "hurt" the clearcoat with them...

if the clearcoat is "etched" though, that's a whole different problem... a circular wheel and a relatively abrasive compound is probably going to be the only way you are going to be able to "restore" the finish, because you gotta remove a bit of the clearcoat in order to get rid of the etching... patience is a virtue with this, and a machine with adjustable speeds is probably the best choice, so you can set it at a low enough speed that you don't take a chance on taking the paint completely off... after it's compounded, you'll have to polish it with an orbital polisher in order to make it shine again, it will be REALLY dull after you get done compounding it...

there's a bunch of sites on the web that give detailed instructions on how to do all of the above...

since it's white, you probably don't have too much of an oxidation issue, but it probably wouldn't hurt to compound the whole thing... all the claying in the world doesn't remove oxidation...

to be honest, after awhile, i just gave up and lived with it the way it was... it wasn't worth the time or effort...

bump

As for the bird droppings... X is clear coat finished. Droppings and acid rain will etch through the clear coat. Wash with a mild solution of baking soda and H2O (couple of Tbl/2qts of H2O) to neutralize acids. Then buff and polish as recommended in other replys. I prefer Meguiars but that and a few bucks will buy you a good beer at the local pub.

you said you use dawn to wash your X?

bye bye wax.

dawn make wax go bye bye!

I know. I only use it when I'm about to wax it so as to strip any remaining wax.

white is tough to make look really shiny.

that being said.

wash with a lubricating soap and clay bar the paint. this will remove embedded debris. trust me. there is a ton there.

get a porter cable 7424 random orbital buffer.

get some mequiars #83. and some meguiars #81.

those are an abrasive paint cleaner (diminishing abrasives require the random orbital buffer) and a fine abrasive paint cleaner.

this will remove small surface defects and worked correctly will remove water spots and such.

follow up with a wax that will give a nice protection and some depth of shine. i *really* like klasse all in one. they also make a glaze...but it's tough to work with in my opinion and the klasse all in one will last a good long while anyway...

larger surface defects and pock marks will require a skilled paint restorer with a highspeed buffer....but once you have the paint clean, you won't notice them much at all anyway...

head over to these forums and read up....but what i posted really is a fantastic paint cleaning method...

http://autopia.org/

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/

cranky.

Thanks for the advice. I'd be interested in having somebody do the work for me but am reluctant to trust my paint to any Joe Bob out there. Is what you described within the capabilities of the average detailer, and do they have the proper equipment?

My bet is that the previous owner never waxed the truck, which led to the paint becoming oxidized. If the oxidation is light, then some work with an orbital buffer should produce decent results. My preference would be for a high speed buffer, but that is a bit tricky if you don't know what you are doing.

If the oxidation is bad and the paint is dead, then the shine you get will be short lived and then will dull again. If this is the case, don't go back with any more abrasives to try and fix the problem, as you will just eat layers of paint. If the paint is to this point, you have two options: deal with it, or get it repainted.

dude...you're in roswell...i'm in acworth. we could try doing the mild paint cleaning on it if you want. i'm by no means a pro, but i know enough to test a small area before doing anything

if you do decide to take it somewhere...just see if you can get some references...i don't really know anyone. never had it done.

i just started reading the meguiar's forum one day and got the bug to shine my truck up (has 74k on it now and i never did anything but put some wax on it once a summer or so). mine is silver so it doesn't shine up as nice as the darker colors, but the paint is smooth and looks pretty nice.

i was hoping to remove many fine scratches my truck has from the previous owner....looks like maybe cleaning scratches...maybe a carwash or something? i wasn't able to get them, but they're much less noticeable.

I bought the truck new, though I'm sure part of the problem is that it was manufactured in July 2002 and I bought it in March 2003. It sat on the dealer lot for what, 7 months, in a polluted place like Atlanta.

I take responsibility for not checking the paint and manufacture date more carefully when I bought it, but I'm over that and just want to get the paint looking more decent.

yep. i have the p.c. 7424 from lowes ($109) and a meguiars backing plate and pads (appx. $30 or so).

i also have a high speed buffer. i used that to restore the paint on my wife's '95 altima. her car was purple instead of black. brought it back to a very shiny state. but it's terribly difficult to use a high speed buffer and very possible to damage the paint with one.....

the 7424 doesn't move fast enough to damage anything....it's really more of an arm saver. and meguiars (and many other manufacturers) produce different polishes and waxes designed around it.

I think everyone is on the right track as far as what you should do. I haven't had a white vehicle in years, but I do relate to what you are saying.

After claying it, you may want to try this Zaino product. It works wonders. It is abrasive, so don't use too much of it. You must go over the vehicle with a wax or polish after using this.

http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Z-PC&Category_Code=Zaino

An update. Al, local XOC member (mav63) who does detailing on the side contacted me and we arranged to meet and polish up my paint. Al had a rough afternoon what with the heat index being over 100 degrees but he stuck with it and the difference is amazing.

The entire truck has a shine and depth of color it didn't even have new. It just looks great.

Had I known what a difference polishing could make I would have made the dealer do it back when I first got the X.

I'll post pics soon.

If you need any detailing work done I highly recommend contacting Al.