Assuring Paint Job Lasts the Duration
Question: The paint on my 1979 Mercury is beginning to take on a whitish haze that I can’t wash off. I hope to keep the car a long time and want it to look nice. How can I bring back its original color?--R.Y.
Answer: The haze you’re seeing is oxidized paint. Sunlight, air pollution and road grime can damage the top layer of paint molecules, leaving an oxidation residue that is a hazy white color. All paint oxidizes, although it tends to show more on certain colors than on others. You can prevent oxidation by keeping the paint covered with a coat of car wax, but first you must remove the “dead” paint.
To do this, you first need to thoroughly wash the car (a job you should do at least twice a month if you hope to keep the car’s exterior in top condition). After the car has dried, rub a polishing compound on the car with a clean rag, using as much elbow grease as necessary to remove the oxidized paint. If the paint is really damaged, you may need to buy a rubbing compound. This contains a mild abrasive that will rub off the surface of the old paint and expose another layer below. Don’t rub too much, though, or you’ll rub down to the primer coating.
Once you have finished removing the oxidized paint, wax the car, preferably with a paste or liquid wax. Avoid waxes that supposedly clean as they wax. You’ve already cleaned off the old paint, and the wax job will last longer if you use a pure wax.
Make sure you wax the car in the shade when the metal is air temperature. If it has been warmed by the sun, the wax will be difficult to apply and polish. Don’t use a mechanical buffing machine on the car unless you have professional equipment and a light touch. A buffer will wear down the paint eventually and will take off most of the wax you worked so hard to apply.
Apply at least two coats of wax to the car. And to avoid oxidation damage in the future, wax the car once a month in the hot summer months and every two months in winter. Not only will the wax preserve the paint, but the car will look so good that you’ll be motivated to take better care of its mechanical components.
Q: My 1978 Pontiac has gone through three batteries in the last two years. What could be causing the batteries to wear out?--P.D.
A: The voltage regulator or alternator in the car could be allowing the battery to go through too many charge-discharge cycles, wearing it out well before its expected lifetime. If a battery is either overcharged or undercharged repeatedly, it will wear out.
If the battery is never fully recharged after a drain on its supply of current, sulfate will build up and harden on the plates inside the battery. An overcharged battery, on the other hand, produces hydrogen and oxygen gases that can eat away at the chemical on the plates. In either case, the battery plates will be prevented from contributing to the chemical action that enables the battery to store electricity, and it will have to be replaced.
Have the regulator and alternator thoroughly checked to make sure they are properly recharging the battery.
Q: The inside of the windshield of my 1983 Plymouth Reliant is always filmed up from “vinyl fogging.” A dealer told me that applying a protective chemical to the vinyl dashboard will only make it worse. What can I do?--W.M.
A: Vinyl “fogging” results from a gas that escapes from the pores of the vinyl when it is heated by the sun. The protective coatings available for vinyl are, in most cases, designed to seal the pores. This keeps the vinyl from drying out and at the same time can prevent the fogging of your windshield. Apply several coats to make sure the pores are sealed.
Patrick Boyle cannot answer mail personally but will respond in this column to automotive questions of general interest. Do not telephone. Write to Your Wheels, You section, The Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.