OCDetails Detailing Blog

Oxidation is a very serious problem for some vehicles. Unprotected paint that is exposed to UV rays and outdoor environments will fade and oxidize very very quickly. In fact, red is the first color in the color spectrum to oxidize. Red vehicles will start to go pink within 18 months if they are not waxed and protected properly.

Oxidation is similar to plaque on your teeth. It builds up over time and eventually just washing won't resolve it. When you have enough plaque built up on your teeth you have to go to the dentist for a cleaning. The process of removing the plaque is almost identical to removing oxidation off of the paint. You take your polisher and load a cutting pad with some sort of paint cleaner or polish. I don't know what they use on your teeth, but I have felt how grity it can be, so I'm sure that they may be using some sort of abrasive polish. These small abrasives will effectively "sand" the paint and remove the layer of oxidation just like the dentist will remove the plaque. Under that faded surface could very well be a bright and shiny finish. You just have to find it.

Wax and sealants act like sunscreen for your vehicle. If you keep your car properly protected from the environment and UV rays, then fading and oxidation like what this 1993 Acura Integra has to deal with is much less likely.

I used Four Star 4-40 One Step and topped it with Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection. The work was done with the Edge 2000 orange pad on a Porter Cable 7424 Random Orbital polisher. The product 4-40 can be difficult to find these days, but it is basically just a chemical paint cleaner that does most of the work through the solvents that it contains. Products like Klasse AIO are similar in that they don't have any physical abrasives. You could use any polish to achieve these results really. I just like using chemical abrasives whenever possible if the paint is in this bad of condition.

The engine of this particular car wasn't very clean either. I can't ever pass up the chance to detail an engine, so I jumped on this one. The process of detailing an engine can be found in more detail on OCDetails.com and in other posts on this blog.









Overall I am very pleased with how this car turned out. If nothing else I hope it serves as an example to show you that your car may not need a repaint after all. It may just need a detailer and a little TLC. I will be posting other oxidation removal projects on this blog as well, so definitely don't give up hope on your car. It isn't as bad as you might think. Oxidation removal has become somewhat of a specialty of mine and people are always amazed at how much better the paint looks. I don't take much credit for that, really. It was the polisher and the product that did the work. All I did was watch. :)