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Im willing to devote as much time, money, and energy needed to get this car to be better than showroom fresh. Starting with the paint work. I want to re spray as a last resort and it may come to that, but until then can you help me bring back the shine as best as possible? Its dulled and faded and there are these annoying marks (not scratches or scrapes) (see pic below) that wont come off no matter how hard I try. Right now it has what I like to call a 10 foot paint job. Looks nice until you get closer than 10 feet. There are no dents or deep scratches, its all on the surface, the car has tons of potential, and about 85k miles on it. Original paint im sure.
What steps do I need to take to get rid of fading, swirl marks, etc, and bring back a shine like no other??? I have a porter cable, just not sure what products to buy and what steps to take when I buy the products. I know new cars have very different paint from older ones. Im just sick at how much I have neglected this car. But my dodge challenger and chevy corvette have all but dominated my car time, but they are perfect. And the mercedes looks like the ugly step sister next to them. Its a 1984 380SL. I have put a new engine and transmission in so it runs great. I just want it to look as good as it runs. The paint is step 1 of the many steps ahead to get this thing to factory. Plans in the future are, recovering the seats, door panels, head liner on the hard top, New weather stripping to stop those little leaks, new dash since the one in there is cracked, better sound system, Putting HID projector headlamps on it, Replacing the soft top etc. I basically want it to be a new 1984 mercedes benz. Appreciate any suggestions to help this newbie out. :thumbsup:
here you can see the marks im talking about. I guess they are hard water spots from the darn sprinkler system.
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But take a look at this picture. Comparing the two. See how the challenger has no marks what so ever in the light, being new all it took was a good wash, a polish, wax, and clear coat finish. But the MB has that smudgy look to it. I want it to not have this LOL. I have been reading that new car paint is very different from old car paint and must be treated differently. Again any help is appreciated and sorry for the super long post.
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My goal is this......
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What steps do I need to take to get rid of fading, swirl marks, etc, and bring back a shine like no other??? I have a porter cable, just not sure what products to buy and what steps to take when I buy the products. I know new cars have very different paint from older ones. Im just sick at how much I have neglected this car. But my dodge challenger and chevy corvette have all but dominated my car time, but they are perfect. And the mercedes looks like the ugly step sister next to them. Its a 1984 380SL. I have put a new engine and transmission in so it runs great. I just want it to look as good as it runs. The paint is step 1 of the many steps ahead to get this thing to factory. Plans in the future are, recovering the seats, door panels, head liner on the hard top, New weather stripping to stop those little leaks, new dash since the one in there is cracked, better sound system, Putting HID projector headlamps on it, Replacing the soft top etc. I basically want it to be a new 1984 mercedes benz. Appreciate any suggestions to help this newbie out. :thumbsup:
here you can see the marks im talking about. I guess they are hard water spots from the darn sprinkler system.
But take a look at this picture. Comparing the two. See how the challenger has no marks what so ever in the light, being new all it took was a good wash, a polish, wax, and clear coat finish. But the MB has that smudgy look to it. I want it to not have this LOL. I have been reading that new car paint is very different from old car paint and must be treated differently. Again any help is appreciated and sorry for the super long post.
My goal is this......
