Dull paint - 04 Vibe

[REN69]

bought our 04 Vibe about a month ago, now that spring is here I'm thinking of attemting to revive our paint, the car is white and dull, way too dull... a well taken care of car no doubt, just don't think these people knew how to take care of their paint.

I'd like to see some pics of what you had to deal with and what you did to bring it back to shine, of course what you used (brand, etc.)

thanks!

here's mine... notice the dullness.

[DeClercq]

I had a white Sante Fe that was looking a little faded. Used a Maguire's clay bar kit and a coat of wax. Shined it right up.
Here's what it looked like when I was done:

[shaeet]

The white paint they used on our cars really sucks. I run my buffer w/polish over my cars once a year & then wax it to keep the clearcoat looking brand-new. If your paint is really oxidized you'll need to use some rubbing compound & a buffing pad (polishing pad won't work as good). The 04' Matrix XRS I bought is also white and HOLY CRAP the paint on that car was incredibly oxidized when I bought it. It looked like it was a 20-year old car that had been sitting in sunlight for all its life.

I had a 7" polisher I got from Harbor Freight for ~$30 already & bought 2 pads: SM Arnold 9-inch "buffing" yellow foam pad & a "polishing" black foam pad for $8 each from them as well (reviews on the pads are excellent too). I used some Turtle Wax rubbing compound w/the yellow buffing pad & it TORE through the oxidation in just a couple passes with the polisher. I wiped the excess away & the car already looked new again but still some light scratches were in the paint. Ran some Meguiar's polishing compound with the black polishing pad, 1 pass all it took & the paint looks brand-new again. Finish with a coat of wax. All in all you are talking 4-5 hours to do all 3 steps but its worth it. Upon doing it once, you won't need to do the buffing part ever again, just polish & wax once or twice a year to keep the paint properly protected.