Help with roof paint restoration - Now with roof rack delete for more complexity! (1 Viewer)

[DIFF LOCK]

2004 TOYOTA Land Cruiser in Thunder Cloud Metallic

What I've done to the paint thus far:

+ Washed it (duh, but it's an important first step)
+ Clay bar'd the entire vehicle (Meguiar's Quick Detailer and Clay Bar)
+ Two overlapping passes on the roof with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound using an orbital buffer and then followed up with Quick Detailer as a holdover until I figure out next steps

Then decided to remove the OEM roof rack, which exposed a marked difference in paint (faint shadowing where the six roof rack mounts used to be; you can see this in all three pics of where the mounts used to be)

+ Made a single pass with the Meguiar's Ultimate Compound using an orbital buffer on those specific spots, but no real difference afterwards.

Question: Roof paint feels like glass, but still looks foggy overall. Definitely see differences in sheen where the cross bars sat for 17 years and now the marked difference in color and sheen where the roof rack mounts were. I'm thinking I need a more aggressive product and possibly a variable speed polisher (rather than my orbital sander). What products or tools do you recommend and in what steps?

Thanks in advance!

Note: masking tape is a temporary cover over the exposed bolt holes while I gather new bolts and the OEM TOYOTA moulding inserts.

 

[Kabanstva]

No amount of buffing will fix what you’re trying to do. That’s 10+ years of sun UV damage on your roof paint and little to no damage to the paint that was underneath your roof rack mounts. That’s why you’re seeing a color difference. The actual paint itself fades and becomes lighter/more yellow over time. You can buff the clearcoat all you want, won’t make a bit of a difference. Eventually you’ll strike through the clear if you’re stubborn enough. I’ve seen this many times before, only option is a repaint if you’re that anal about it.

 

[DIFF LOCK]

No amount of buffing will fix what you’re trying to do. That’s 10+ years of sun UV damage on your roof paint and little to no damage to the paint that was underneath your roof rack mounts. That’s why you’re seeing a color difference. The actual paint itself fades and becomes lighter/more yellow over time. You can buff the clearcoat all you want, won’t make a bit of a difference. Eventually you’ll strike through the clear if you’re stubborn enough. I’ve seen this many times before, only option is a repaint if you’re that anal about it.

If there's no hope to salvage it short of a new paint job, I'm totally fine not spending any more time or money on it . Just wasn't sure if I was doing it wrong or there was more I should be doing--particularly with the foggy-looking paint throughout the roof.

 

[Kabanstva]

If there's no hope to salvage it short of a new paint job, I'm totally fine not spending any more time or money on it . Just wasn't sure if I was doing it wrong or there was more I should be doing--particularly with the foggy-looking paint throughout the roof.

I've buffed plenty of sun faded paints with decent results, if you're lucky, the result can be amazing or lackluster depending on how far gone and how much clear is left on the car. You might have your work cut out using that machine though. I usually use a Flex 3401 (or a comparable DA buffer) and start mild with an orange pad/ Meguiars 205. If that's not producing results, try orange/M100 and if you're still not happy you can just step up to a wool pads and M100 (or any compound of your choice).

 

[daohaus]

You can always through on some vinyl to wrap the roof.