Will it polish out :-)

[dry664]

Been looking at a red 1993 Porsche 968. All seems solid mechanically but the paint is patchy. Its flat in most areas, faded almost to a pinky colour. On the doors its faded to the point where its almost white. I'm trying to figure out if it needs a respray(£2K ish?) or if a good machine polish will get it looking good. Any easy way to tell? Thanks

[paintman]

Sounds like a typical older solid red (solid blues & greens used to do much the same)
Each time you use an abrasive polish to remove the oxidisation & restore the shine you remove paint. Eventually the primer coats start to show through - red is a low hider anyway - giving the patchy look & the only cure is a respray. Fortunately modern 2k solid paints don't seem to suffer the same issues - clear over base doesn't either.
Try polishing & see what happens, you've nothing to lose,if you're buying the car it could be a bargaining point.

[V8covin]

A good buffing with a machine polisher may bring the colour back in the short term but don't expect it to last,the damage has already been done

[marky911]

Hi OP,
beware that if the car has had any paint over the years and the painter has used 2 pack (clearcoat over base colour), you can polish til the cows come home and you won't improve things, as you'll simply be polishing the clear laquer.

You need to try a little bit of T-cut on each panel. I'm guessing the seller would only let you do this if the deal was very nearly done.
If your cloth turns red, the paint should be polish-able. If not it's respray time.

I sold my Guards red 964 Turbo a few months back and that had a few areas of flat paint that wouldn't polish up. It's a right bummer and does bug you, so definitely make sure you're aware of what you're buying.

Of course I've just gone and bought a Guards red GT3 now so similar fun will probably begin in a few years.

Good luck.