Red Paint ?

[smithy 1]

i have a 1989 cherry red gti most of the paint has been sun bleached.

 

what i need to know is if the paint is solid so it can be given a good t cut and polish to restore it or is it base coat and clear coat so would need to be resprayed to get its proper colour back?

 

thanks

[welshpug 1,656]

no clear coat on reds, so take care when buffing!

[Daviewonder 533 3 Cars]

I know phase 1 and 1.5 cherry reds were clearcoated, I don't know about phase 2 as I've not owned one

[welshpug 1,656]

really? I always thought they were not as the mop goes red? or maybe thats when the clearcoat is non-existant....

[Daviewonder 533 3 Cars]

Yeah it's a pain in the backside, I've owned 3 cherry red 205's all of which had turned a shade of orange which I could do nothing about

[smithy 1]

thanks both for replies i will give it a go gently mopping and see what happens,it has gone a bit like the old vauxhall reds.

if it had clear coat would it still fade so much or would the clear coat give some protection to the colour?

[steve@cornwall 100]

thanks both for replies i will give it a go gently mopping and see what happens,it has gone a bit like the old vauxhall reds.

if it had clear coat would it still fade so much or would the clear coat give some protection to the colour?

 

 

If there's an " 0" in the paintcode above n/s headlight, it has clearcoat IIRC - Some are clearcoated, some not.

[smithy 1]

The paint code is no longer visible on my car,so I will just give it a slight t cut and see what happens.

Thanks all for the input

[Daviewonder 533 3 Cars]

If there's an " 0" in the paintcode above n/s headlight, it has clearcoat IIRC - Some are clearcoated, some not.

 

 

I've read this before but it can't be correct as 306's and 106's in bianca white have the paint code POWP but they have no clearcoat

[steve@cornwall 100]

I've read this before but it can't be correct as 306's and 106's in bianca white have the paint code POWP but they have no clearcoat

 

Are you sure? my white 205 is clearcoated - will check the code tomorrow

[Daviewonder 533 3 Cars]

Yeah 205's are a different white (alpine??)

[Daviewonder 533 3 Cars]

Actually, thinking about it most 205 gti colours were metalic so would be clearcoated. The 3 remaining solid colours are red, white and black, I have owned black and red gti's and they were clearcoated so could this mean that all gti's were clearcoated from the factory? Maybe the ones that aren't have had a respray?

[smithy 1]

right had a better look at it today the paint code is just about visible P3KD i think it says but no 0 in it.

tried gently T cutting the bonnet and doors turn cloth red so i suspect these must have been painted as they are also slightly darker red than rest of car.

all other panels do not make cloth go red so must be clear coated.

 

so my problem is the clearcoated panels have gone an orange shade is there any way to get the red back or improve it without a respray?

[Daviewonder 533 3 Cars]

No, you're stuck with an orange car i'm afraid. Welcome to the club

[smithy 1]

No, you're stuck with an orange car i'm afraid. Welcome to the club

 

 

thought as much but just wanted to confirm,done some small painting jobs in the past so might give it a go with this,it cannot look any worse than it does now so not got a lot to lose really.

 

can the older typr paint that does not need clear coat still be purchased or is it all base coat and clear these days?

[mr_exe 1]

Ours was clearcoated and the only thing that sorted it was a respray, but at least its all the same colour now.

[smithy 1]

thanks all for the replies looks like a respray at some point then.

[Atari Boy 11]

My 1989 car had a laquar coat too.

 

A respeay will make all the difference though

 

[asdf205 0]

I managed to get mine to a darker red and shine again after having this problem. First I used T-Cut a few times, i then did a few layers of polish and then finished it off with some Naviwax.

 

 

You can see the difference from the side which has been done compared to the bootlid which hasnt.

[smithy 1]

it certainly looks good atariboy

 

asdf205 it seems to have made a difference to yours so got to be worth a go with mine to get looking better until i can get a respray,although yours does not look as bad as mine.my one has gone a more orange colour where as yours looked more of a faded pink type colour.did you T cut by hand or with a machine polisher?

[Daviewonder 533 3 Cars]

If its clearcoated then its not going to make any difference to the colour, its like trying to restore your colour through a pane of glass

[gowmonster 2]

how much of a layer is the clearcoat though, will cutting compound or 2000 wet and dry not take it down to the paint, which can then be buffed?

[Vili 18]

how much of a layer is the clearcoat though, will cutting compound or 2000 wet and dry not take it down to the paint, which can then be buffed?

 

 

It´s as thick as the layer of red paint underneath it. Sanding it down with even 600 wet would take ages and after removing the clearcoat and buffing the paint you would have to clearcoat it again. So only way to get it back from orange to red is repainting the whole car. And yes, I´m driving an orange 205 too.

Edited August 28, 2010 by Vili