[paperairplane]

I have a 90 Buick Century w/ 120K - it is purely my commuter beater and will get no $$ investment to improve it that are not directly related to making it continue to get me to work & back (aka oil filter, plugs, blinker fluid...)

The problem is, the car has been outside forever and the paint llooks all scratched. The paint isn't chipped of flaking it just has a ton of very fine looking scratches. - The car is silver...

So far I have tried:
polishing compound - did nothing
rubbing compound - did nothing
wet sand with 2000 - did nothing

As I was wetsanding the hood, I was taking off some of the surface and I noticed the paint was looking 'cleaner' and brighter. So I went over it with rubbing compound and then a good paste wax. It is very smooth and shiny from the wax, but in direct sunlight it still has a ton of these fine scratches all over ( and this is not from sanding, these are the same as was present previously.)

Is there anything else that can be done? Should I sand it more aggressively, like with a 600/800 wetsand or should I ignore it and leave well enough alone....

I am not looking to fix or repaint this car, I am only wondering if there is anything that can be done with elbow grease to make it look a little better.

[cboy]

Can you find an inconspicuous area and go at it more aggressively just to test if that will do the trick? If it were my I'd take my DA to it with some swirl remover first. If that didn't seem to make any progress I'd move step by step into more abrasive compounds until I found what would take it out with a little elbow grease but would not be so aggressive as to burn through.

I don't know how that '90 was originally painted (if it has a base and a clear) but I sometimes wonder if it is possible to actually clear over scratches in the base coat which might look fine in some light but then when the light strikes it at a certain angle you can see all those fine scratches...and you can't reach them by compounding the clear.

[paperairplane]

I don't know how that '90 was originally painted (if it has a base and a clear) but I sometimes wonder if it is possible to actually clear over scratches in the base coat which might look fine in some light but then when the light strikes it at a certain angle you can see all those fine scratches...

It is a factory base / clear. What you describe is kinda how it is now. When I wet sanded it was overcast and when I finished waxing it looked real nice - no scratches. Then I saw it in full sunlight and it is still totally scratched.

Since I don't have any special love for the car, I'm probably going to do some more sanding and see what happens. I figure as long as I don't burn through the paint I can't make it worse....

[graphicchevy77]

i would decrease your grit until they start to come out. I would take say 1500 to it and wetsand it. If that doesnt take it off decrease some more

[BstMech]

Dumb question, but you are using a buffer right?