Improving Work Car's Paint - Bad Clear Coat, Etc.

[Auae85]

I "inherited" my younger son's car that he used in college because he got something else. It is a 2003 Nissan Sentra SE-R, with 2.5L and automatic. We are the second owners; the original owner bought it new in central Florida and it stayed there until 2012. Because of that, and its color "Envy", a dark blue-green, the clearcoat is practically gone on all horizontal surfaces (hood, roof, trunk lid, spoiler) and top edges of doors and bumpers. Overall, it's still a decent car, at least for work purposes for me. I just want to improve the paint with some sort of sealer / polish / wax, so from a 20/20 viewpoint (20 mph and 20 feet away), it doesn't look so horrible. Years ago I used a product with a name like "One Touch" or similar, that cleaned up (or blended in) hazy or chipping clearcoat and left a decent shine. It was applied with a dense foam sponge. I guess I would like to find something similar that can be hand-applied; I don't own a buffer and have no desire to get one. I have about half a bottle of Zymol (about 10 years old), but I don't think that's what I need. Thoughts on this?

 

[The_Nuke]

Once the clear coat starts to go in large patches like that, there is nothing left to do but wish it a "vaya con dios"

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: The_Nuke
Once the clear coat starts to go in large patches like that, there is nothing left to do but wish it a "vaya con dios"

Yep - and I would either learn to live with it or spend the time and $$$ for a respray.

There's no beating OEM paint since it's robotically applied right after the corrosion control steps. And it's baked on at higher temperatures than a body shop's spray booth will ever see. Japanese paint was never as good as German paint and an quality refinish paint does beat Japanese OEM paint for durability.

 

[barkingspider]

If it’s gonna be a beater car but you want it to look descent, take it to Maaco or Earl Schieb for their $249 special and spray it the same color. Should last another year or 2

 

[Vern_in_IL]

use 3m pads and rough up all the paint. It will be uniform and cost less than a respray with paint cans.