85 porsche 911 single stage laquor issues

[adeihl]

Hey guys,



New to the machine polishing world. I have an 85 911 with original single stage laquor paint.



I used 3m perfect IT pad on an old *** buffer ( an expensive metal one back in the day).



I used some polishing compound with mild abrasive first, then i finished off with meguyers scratch X made for hand polishing or machine buffing.



I cant seem to get these scratches out, do you think i need a more agressive cutting pad? more agressive polish? car looks new from 4 feet. but as you get close you see marks in the paint from rain and scratches.



Thanks for your advice!



Andrew

 

[Accumulator]

adeihl- Welcome to Autopia!



Nice car, I like that series of 911 and I'm a big fan of ss lacquer. As the owner of two early-mid '80s cars with original ss paint (one is lacquer), I've learned to accept the flaws that come from decades of use; I consider it "patina" and can even see it as giving a car some personality.



I'm a little surprised you didn't get the marring out with the approach you tried. Black ss lacquer is about as soft as paints get. I never had a black ss Porsche but I did have one in ss Guard's Red and its paint was pretty easy to work..but anyhow..



Since your 911 has the original paint, in nice shape, I'd sure be careful about how much correction you do. I'm a bit of a nut for original paint, but I always say "better imperfect original paint than a need for a repaint". So *for me* the goal of preserving the paint would be more important than the goal of getting the marring out. Anybody with money can get a car repainted/restored, but it's only original once



I'd try Meguiar's #80 Speed Glaze (never mind the name, it's a mildly abrasive polish). If the #80 didn't get the marring out after maybe three passes (that's three attempts, working the polish until it "turns clear" each time), then I'd *live with the marring*. No sense in thinning the paint to the point where it fails prematurely. I suspect that the water etching is too deep to be safely removed. The #80 oughta work better than the Scratch-X.



I wouldn't use a cutting pad; again, IMO it's too aggressive an approach. Be careful around edges, corners, crown lines and anywhere else the paint might be thin.



After the #80, I'd consider putting on a glaze (Meg's calls them "pure polishes") such as their #5/#3/#81/#7 (listed in order of *IMO* user-friendliness). Then I'd top with a wax such as Meguiar's #26 (great look on black) or Collinite (very durable).



There are countless other approaches that'd work well (1Z polishes come to mind), but I've found Meguiar's stuff works especially well on that type of paint. Actually, this is about the only situation where *I* ever do specifically recommend Meguiar's.