2007 honda fit, ~150k miles. Its new to me, but I've been wondering if I should attempt to buff out these two doors. The paint is faded, looks like its just clearcoat fade. Might take quite a bit of elbow grease to get it going.

Never done something like this before... Am I in over my head here? Thoughts?

 

I'd go for it,,, or pay a pro to block it.. Wouldn't think you could really hurt it much with a mild restoration wax??

 

I had an old ford ranger that I gave a good waxing to, and it sure brought the shine back. Perhaps if you just did the doors, it would bring it up to par with the rest of the car. not gonna hurt to try.

 

My red fit has fading. I tried to buff and polish the paint it made it shinier but unfortunately the Milano red is prone to fading in the sun. It will need a respray

 

Did you try the product called "color back" I've seen it do amazing stuff, use it let it dry a day or two then a good hard wax or UV sealer..

 

It's just a light rubbing compound.

I detail cars and the fading is in the actual tint or base coat. Milano red is a 3 stage paint: base, tint and clear. You can polish the clear coat to make it shiny but to return the red back is impossible.

 

I suppose it would have to be the extent of the damage. I'm not discrediting your experience Joshchewuhhh and am just speaking from my experience...YMMV. For all I know I just made my car shiny like you said...however, the pink is gone (for now). This is the first vehicle I've owned that I personally did the detail on. Figured it was time to learn and do it myself...by hand...so tiring lol.

That is what my roof and hood started to look like severe oxidation/negligence from the previous owner as well as the SoCal sun.

It doesn't hurt to try =)

Check out my recent thread.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...t-restore.html

Milano red needs some serious TLC to stay and look good.

I was able to get rid of the oxidation, which was the milano "pink" showing for me. I did a complete detail of wash/clay/compound/polish/wax. Looking into a sealant now for longevity.

Here is my hood before. You could see the pink. My palms would leave oil, which would make it look clean (you can see my palm prints).



Here is the car/hood after. no more pink, hood is now uniform color. Time will tell how long it lasts.



This was also a good thread with a milano red/pink prelude and the results of a good detail.

1999 Milano Red Prelude Paint Restoration! - Honda Prelude Forum : Honda Prelude Forums

 

I recently sanded the hood of my GD and the red was a single layer enamel,, no clear coat.. Of course it could have been repaired.. Dont have great history on the car..

 

Your car was not faded though. Just usual surface scratches and light clear coat oxidation. My paint as well as the OP paint is about 10 years old and unfortunately once the base coat red starts to fade its over. My previous owner kept the paint clean but not clean enough. Best way to keep the paint from fading is keeping it protected with sealent and wax regularly.