Advice on old paintwork damage

[Quags]

Hi all,

I've had a 205 GTI for about 3 years and I've fixed most of the issues on it, except the bizarrely scratched roof. They're not deep scratches, more brillo pad looking ones, I have no idea how they were caused.

I tried buffing them out with cutting compound, but no joy.

As we're on lockdown, I thought i'd try to sand it to see if it helped. I then used some cutting compound after one quick pass with 220 grit. They 'seem' to have gone on the place I did it. Of course, I would build up to 3000 grit before proper buffing and I assume I should be using water too. Paint is coming off onto the pad so I assume it has no lacquer.

Any other tips before I ruin it? I thought I'd try it as it I suspect it would need painting, but there is a glimmer of hope I may be able to salvage it.

Pre test:




After:

[steveo3002]

theyre not scratches , its called paint check /failure

possibly a paint job with poor quality materials plus the sun over the years and its died , needs sanding off and fresh paint

[V8covin]

220 grit is way too coarse for a start.
1200 would be a starting grade but it's highly unlikely you'll get it to buff up to a gloss before you polish through or the paint lifts off.
That needs respraying

[Chubbyross]

That’s some seriously oxidised clear coat! That may be too bad to polish but I’d certainly try some heavy compound and heavy-duty pads before getting in touch with the sprayers. The joys of owning a red car without a garage!

[Quags]

Thanks for the replies.

I understand there's no clearcoat on this colour.

So I bit the bullet and sanded down, then painted with wait for it, a rattle can.It is of course the correct paint code. I figured it will need painting either way, so as I'm bored and if I bugger it up, doesn't matter...






I'm sure i'll get slated for it, but ho hum! My intention is to sand it with 2000-3000grit (and to help blend) then machine buff. Is this the best way?

It has about 4-5 coats which went down surprisingly smoothly.