T-cut and polish???

will it fade back to faded paint?
on this picture you can see iv done the right side of the boot>>>

eventually it will fade..

however, if you buy a decent carnauba wax, then you can maintain the shine after washing.

Unfortunately, as with any car, you're fighting a losing battle when it comes to nature, as the sun will get at the paintwork

there are products that are aimed at stopping the fade that effects most old red cars.  new paints are a lot better, but from experience the best product i found (and i have tried a few) is Autoglym Lifeshine.  its very good.

Benjib,

If you contact the Ultimate Finish company who advertise on the left <<<<< (click the banner), they may be able to advise you.

They will give 5% discount on all products and free p and p on orders over £29.95 to PAID members.

If you joined up as a paid member for £15 per year you could start making you money back with one call.

The Ultimate Finish company have donated a very generous raffle prize as well  :wink:

thanks for the comments people, i think the paint did quite well considerin its now 34 years down the line, i want it gleaming again but a respray is around 500 and best bet for me sounds like that autoglym stuff

£500 for a respray?? I just spent 3 times that on a respray for my cabrio and its come back a total disaster!

As for the polishes, I can't rate Autoglym highly enough. I use high defintion wax, its very good. Red paint is just a pain to keep but you have done an ace job so far by the looks of it.

yeah around £500, the guys i bought the car off said if i go back to them for a respray it will cost 400, and i also know someone who owns a garage who would give me a good price, gota know a few people i guess

if u dont own a machine polisher ur best bet would be to get some AG srp , go over it a few times then add a paint sealant EGP followed by a couple layers of wax id go for this as the durability is great http://www.valetpro.co.uk/Products/Wax-and-Polish/1132-/Colinite-476-s-18oz , this will give you about 12 months protection , with weekly cleans u can add a quck lsp to it such as aqua wax http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/218862/autoglym_aqua_wax.html this also acts as a good drying aid , hope this helps .

I'd avoid machine polishing, in the recent bright sunny weather I've seen loads of cars that look like they've been attacked with an angle grinder

prob not been done correctly  , if u know what ur doing its fine , maybe get a detailer in then , where u based ?

im on the wirral, over by liverpool, h and quickly, anyone anywhere gt a swallowtail bonnet, mines bit shot up, repairble yes but just aint figured out how, hard to get a newen

ive got a red mk1 too and suffering from a bit fo the old paint fade too, just seen alfo mention a machine polisher, ive polished mine with a cloth and enough paint comes off! would it be safe to use a machine polisher or would it just strip paint off? :/

Red faded cars dont need respraying

heres a pic of my demo panel,im a professional detailer by the way just needs machine polished,paint sealed,then waxed.what is happening is the uv rays from the sun are discolouring the pigments,more so in red than any other colour! If a car is machine polished back to red,sealed,waxed,it will not fade again,my scrap panel has been out in the weather for months on end,even in direct sunlight and its still nice n red,well a patch of it anyway

yeah i can get certain bits nice and shiny ha but some parts look a bit dull, i do want a full respray anyway so its nice and shiny

be carefull with cheap resprays mate you might be shootin ya self in the foot.once its painted its painted and if its crap you gotta live with it.

benjib5650 said

yeah i can get certain bits nice and shiny ha but some parts look a bit dull, i do want a full respray anyway so its nice and shiny

You're mad… I don't know how much of the paint is original on your swallowtail but you should think of a respray as a last resort! Pay for a professional detailer to spend a day on paint correction and it will come up looking way way better than a respray! for far less money..

hmm maybe but somewhere along the line someone has spray part of my car in red and it doesnt look the same red as everywhere else, plus i wana put new rear arches on it so that will need sprayin up ,it depends though, if i can get a respray for a good price al do it, people say they pay loads which they probs do but al have to see who i can find with prices