sirnoir

Just bought a '93 100 S that is in decent shape, but obviously 12 years old. It was garage kept by a single owner, but I don't think she's ever heard of wax or any other kind of protectant. It's covered with minor scratches, has faded pins stripes and it's dull. I have an appointment to get it painted next month, but if I can make noticeable improvements without doing that I would like to.

Today I wet sanded off the stripes with some 2000 grit, and then used 3m rubbing compound to clean that up. The result was actually reasonable, many of the hairline scratches came out pretty well too. I haven't waxed it yet. Figuring I have the painting appointment as a fallback in case I totally screw it up, I've pretty much decided to get aggressive and wet sand the whole car. So finally, the questions . . .

1) Am I completely nuts?

2) If I do this, what are the suggested products to build it back up?

3) Should I be doing something completely different?

TIA

RKA

Wetsanding should be used to deal with specific issues. If you have swirls and scratches everywhere, I would use a mild polishing compound, a fine polishing compound, a glaze, and then a wax. For simplicity's sake, I would direct you to 3M's products, available at most auto parts stores. I would also recommend a polisher, like the porter cable you see mentioned on this forum. You'll need it to work with these polishes. With some practice, I suspect you'll restore the paint sufficiently to warrant canceling that painting appt.

Roch_Ultrasport

Wet Sanding is good for removing Orange Peel on finshed panels or used in conjunction with other steps for major defect repair.

You'd be suprised at what a good machine and polish can do.