My car would like to shed it's bra. Help!

June 29, 2006 6:46 PM

Can anything be done about faded paint on my new (used) car?

I recently purchases a gray 2002 Honda Civic and it is great except for the fact it is equipped with a bra. I would love to remove it but the paint underneath is faded.

Is there any way to fix this? Should I just leave it on? I am not sure if it is worth the cost of a whole new paint job.

posted by utsutsu to Travel & Transportation (7 answers total)

You may be able to buff it out, using polishing compound.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 7:05 PM on June 29, 2006

Fading could be due to oxydation of the clearcoat rather than the actual tinted paint. So as the above poster suggests, you could try to get the whole car polished and buffed, which could help remove the thin layer of clearcoat that is causing the appearance of fading.
Surprising it's faded so quickly - previous owner must have parked it outside in Arizona or something!
posted by drmarcj at 7:08 PM on June 29, 2006

Here is a link.

(Firefox wasn't letting me type in the Google Search field before.)
posted by Kirth Gerson at 7:11 PM on June 29, 2006

For a car that new, before you use something abrasive like rubbing compound, I'd start with an overall clay bar treatment, especially if the problem appears to be with the clear coat. But it's quite possible that outgassing and released organic solvents from the vinyl bra have penetrated the paint, setting up reactions that have permanently changed the color of the undercoat. If that's happened, nothing but a repaint is really going to fix it.
posted by paulsc at 7:55 PM on June 29, 2006

I second the clay bar.
posted by hortense at 9:05 PM on June 29, 2006

Save yourself a headache and bring it to a professional. I think it cost me a bit over $100 for them to buff the hood on my red 1990 Golf and it restored the original colour that the rest of the car had. Awesome!
posted by furtive at 4:14 AM on June 30, 2006

I've clayed a couple cars, and it is the kind of task one either loves or hates. My co-worker loves it. I hate it. Tedious, repetative and boring. YMMV.
posted by QIbHom at 8:36 AM on July 3, 2006