Paint correction and revive - 20 Year Old Paint Saved - My journey

TheOdessa · Aug 3, 2020

I started this project back in May and I finally just finished up. It was a huge learning curve and process for me, but the results were extremely worth it.

My car is a 2001 Mustang GT with the original black paint on it from the factory. I've had the car over 10 years now and haven't always been the best keeping up with it paint wise. The owner previous to me wasn't the best as well as it was sitting in his garage covered in random stuff.

It was tough with heavy oxidation, deep scratches, and swirl marks. After using (2) grades of claybar and stripper soap the damage was extremely apparent. It took a ton of work but the pictures give all the hard work justice. While the paint is still 20 years old with some chips, and this is my first time doing this, I feel like it came out pretty good.

Before:
You can see the heavy swirls, cuts, and oxidation.

After:

I also claybared, cleaned, and coated the rims.

Restored and sealed the Vert top with the same stuff I used on all exterior black trim pieces.

TheOdessa · Aug 3, 2020

Steps used with product name each step

-Wash car with soap designed to remove all wax and residue
Adams Strip Clean Soap
-Roof viynl top deep cleaned
Horse brush to agitate with Adam's Strip Clean soap
-Decon rims
Sonax Rim Cleaner
-Claybar rims
Mother's Clay Bar Kit
-Clay bar car to remove surface contaminants
Mother's Clay Bar Kit
-Heavy duty clay bar to remove even more stubborn contaminants
Chemical Guys Black Clay bar kit
-Detox surface\Prep
Ethos Detox
-Paint correction (easily the longest step of it all)
Meguiars DA MF Correction system from Amazon
-Polish
Meguiars DA MF Correction system from Amazon
-Hood and rear lid was extremely bad so used a foam pad as well to correct those
Chemical Guys Hexlogic Orange pad
-Detox surface/Prep again
Ethos Detox
-Lay coat of wax
Ethos Pro Ceramic Wax
*Note - this is a Ceramic based wax. It's different in it requires 15-25 minutes to cure before buffing off and requires 48 hours to fully cure. This wax is extremely glossy and creates a hard coat above the paint versus caranuba or synthetic waxes. Things literally will slide off your car.
-Spray detail after 48 hours cure
Ethos Spray Detailer. Remove dust and wax residue missed. Knocks down high spots that were stubburn during buff
-Apply second coat of wax
Ethos Pro Ceramic Wax
-Coat Rims - Metal area and painted surfaces
Ethos Pro Ceramic Wax
-Seal Convertible top and plastic trip
Wolfgang Exterior Trim Sealant
-Treat Tires
Ethos Tire Shine
-After 48 hours, spray detail and buff entire car by hand. Done

This wax will mess with you. As it cures, the gloss enhances. At first it won't seem as shiny but give it 48 hours and it's nuts.

I plan to keep up with the car with Ethos D3FY which is a ceramic spray wax to keep up with the coat after a few carwashs and during the car wash I have Ethos Ceramic Car Soap.

The wax was applied by hand but everything else was done with the Meguiars DA MF kit and my Meguiars DA machine I've had for year and ever used. Time will tell how it holds up. Ask any questions if you got them. This was my first time doing anything like this and to bring life back to bad 20 year old black paint is so rewarding.

Werecow · Aug 3, 2020

Daaaaayynnmmm!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing!!! That's amazing results!!!!

Paladin1001 · Aug 4, 2020

Looks great, my daughter's 98 was much much worse, we ended up having to wet sand parts where the clear was ruined and then we resprayed the clear. There is one fender that is aftermarket and crappy plus the paint the didn't match, Rio Red is very hard to match, but I got it pretty close and with her sanding and masking and me spraying it came out OK. Nothing like yours but much much better. We also replaced the old 98 headlights and I fixed a dent in the passenger's fender where a deer ran into me.

Paladin1001 · Aug 6, 2020

Where did you get the Ethos Wax and how much did it set you back?

TheOdessa · Aug 6, 2020

Werecow said:
Daaaaayynnmmm!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing!!! That's amazing results!!!!

Thank you! Being a nuts and bolts guy I was always extremely skiddish with paint stuff because I don’t have the patience. Using foam pad furthered this fear because I wasn’t doing the correct form or something.

Meguairs microfiber DA system is so fool proof and noob geared that it made correcting so insanely easy. That really was my saving grace on this project. In the over 10 years I had this car I never had it look this good.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Tomwas · Aug 7, 2020

TheOdessa said:
Thank you! Being a nuts and bolts guy I was always extremely skiddish with paint stuff because I don’t have the patience. Using foam pad furthered this fear because I wasn’t doing the correct form or something.

Meguairs microfiber DA system is so fool proof and noob geared that it made correcting so insanely easy. That really was my saving grace on this project. In the over 10 years I had this car I never had it look this good.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Major undertaking, major improvement...!! Looks great...

TheOdessa · Aug 7, 2020

Paladin1001 said:
Where did you get the Ethos Wax and how much did it set you back?

I actually got it direct from Ethos.

https://ethoscarcare.com/

They have great products across the board!

TheOdessa · Aug 7, 2020

Paladin1001 said:
Looks great, my daughter's 98 was much much worse, we ended up having to wet sand parts where the clear was ruined and then we resprayed the clear. There is one fender that is aftermarket and crappy plus the paint the didn't match, Rio Red is very hard to match, but I got it pretty close and with her sanding and masking and me spraying it came out OK. Nothing like yours but much much better. We also replaced the old 98 headlights and I fixed a dent in the passenger's fender where a deer ran into me. View attachment 5912 View attachment 5915 View attachment 5916

Looks good! Isn't it a fun project to take over? I don't think I'll ever do it again LOL