Vauxhall Flame Red fade

[Jaguar steve]

Mrs JS made me buy her a 07 Tigra in Flame Red which has faded to pink in places. Had a go at correcting it with some Meguiars paint cleaner and swirl remover without success which is a bit strange as before we parted with beer tokens I checked exactly this and found loads of threads and pictures of pink Vauxhalls that were way worse than hers turned back into shiny red ones.

Is a machine polish with something more aggressive the answer? Anyone done it on a Flame Red car?

Cheers Chaps

[227bhp]

It's probably clear lacquer over red (pink) base.
I'll let you work it out...

[paintman]

According to my formulas it's a solid colour (as in not metallic/pearl etc) so it could be clear over base but I'm more inclined to think it's a topcoat.
If it's oxidised & been polished with an abrasive compound frequently to restore the shine you could be seeing the primer peeping through due to the amount of paint removed.
I'd suggest trying a cutting compound & see if it restores the shine - you may find traces of paint on the cloth you use. If it does shine up OK you need to apply a decent polish straight after or it will go dull again in short order.
Older solid reds, greens & blues were a PITA for this.

[Summit_Detailing]

As above + a protection product containing some form of UV inhibitors will go a fair way to keeping it red.

cheers

Chris

[Jaguar steve]

Flame Red was replaced around 06/07 with Power Red as far as I can see. My paint code is for Flame Red which is a solid colour without lacquer so I guess I need something more aggressive than the Megs paint cleaner.

Any suggestions? Farecla G3 and a polishing machine maybe?

[paintman]

Yes. But don't go mad & don't forget to wax it straight after.

[rodericb]

It'd be unusual to see clear over solid red but it is out there, i.e. Honda Milano Red on Japanese built Honda cars at least. paint cleaner on a light coloured cloth should see some colour come off onto the cloth without too much effort at all, if there is no clear coat. Clear coat can oxidize as well, giving a dull surface, and fixing that will restore shine and take your eye away from the pinky red.

But if there is a clear coat over it, it is respray time if you really want to fix it.

[Jaguar steve]

rodericb said:

It'd be unusual to see clear over solid red but it is out there, i.e. Honda Milano Red on Japanese built Honda cars at least. paint cleaner on a light coloured cloth should see some colour come off onto the cloth without too much effort at all, if there is no clear coat. Clear coat can oxidize as well, giving a dull surface, and fixing that will restore shine and take your eye away from the pinky red.

But if there is a clear coat over it, it is respray time if you really want to fix it.

'Fraid it's FUBARD. Despite all I read to the contrary before we bought it there is a clearcoat on my particular car and a machine polish with G3 hasn't made any difference.

Anyone wanna cheap Tigra?

[steveo3002]

does the cloth show any signs of red after youve tried to polish it

if no then it has clear coat

[dxg]

Jaguar steve said:

rodericb said:

It'd be unusual to see clear over solid red but it is out there, i.e. Honda Milano Red on Japanese built Honda cars at least. paint cleaner on a light coloured cloth should see some colour come off onto the cloth without too much effort at all, if there is no clear coat. Clear coat can oxidize as well, giving a dull surface, and fixing that will restore shine and take your eye away from the pinky red.

But if there is a clear coat over it, it is respray time if you really want to fix it.

'Fraid it's FUBARD. Despite all I read to the contrary before we bought it there is a clearcoat on my particular car and a machine polish with G3 hasn't made any difference.

Anyone wanna cheap Tigra?

If it's that fubared, just polish through the clearcoat - and stop quickly when the pad turns red!

[Jaguar steve]

dxg said:

Jaguar steve said:

rodericb said:

It'd be unusual to see clear over solid red but it is out there, i.e. Honda Milano Red on Japanese built Honda cars at least. paint cleaner on a light coloured cloth should see some colour come off onto the cloth without too much effort at all, if there is no clear coat. Clear coat can oxidize as well, giving a dull surface, and fixing that will restore shine and take your eye away from the pinky red.

But if there is a clear coat over it, it is respray time if you really want to fix it.

'Fraid it's FUBARD. Despite all I read to the contrary before we bought it there is a clearcoat on my particular car and a machine polish with G3 hasn't made any difference.

Anyone wanna cheap Tigra?

If it's that fubared, just polish through the clearcoat - and stop quickly when the pad turns red!

Tried that. Didn't work. I now know what colour the primer is though...

Nope, CBA to waste any more effort on it. It was a cheap punt on a faded one that didn't work out, but unfortunately Mrs JS has fallen in love with the wretched thing and wants another one. So long as it's not red.