ClassicG

My 74 has all the original orange paint on it - but most of it is faded very bad. There are some minor cracking in some areas. The side of the car's paint is still in pretty good shape. Is there a recommended rubbing compound for paint like this on a fiberglass body?

dboz

If it is cracked, you aren't going to be able to bring it back to life. Any mild product like Mequiars Ultimate Compound should bring it back the best you can. The paint is just like any other paint, nothing special because it is on fiberglass.

lvrpool32

I would be very careful with rubbing compounds and older paint, the paint is probably thin as is, so hitting it with a too aggressive compund could end up making it worse. Try a good clean and remove any old wax (a mild dish washing detergent will do) then go get a clay bar and start with that an see how it looks.
I would also say there is a slight difference in polishing paint on fiberglass and steel bodied cars. Its not the paint..its the body material. It has been my experience in painting cars that steel tends to disperse the heat from the polishing action (talking orbital polisher here) pretty quickly where as fiberglass tends to retain it in the spot you are working, so obviously this will shorten the time it takes to go from polishing to burning. I found the "fluted" pads 3M make help this, as does lightly misting the pad with water before polishing and the second you feel the pad starting to drag...stop!

noonie

Buffing is the only way to refresh the gloss finish.
3M makes very good products and you good start with the finest compound then work up to glazes. Only use the proper foam pads, almost impossible to cut too much or burn.

It won't fix and mechanical defects like cracks etc, but the car will look much better, after all at this stage you don't have much to loose.

ClassicG

thanks for the awesome advice guys. There is a lot of good paint, some areas show some spider cracks, so I'll just do the best i can.

7T1vette

You can DIY the old paint if you want, but you can easily damage old paint, cause it to crack, or overheat it with a power polisher. If you can afford it, you might consider taking it to a good paint place for a "cut and buff" that will get rid of all the oxidized paint and maximize the appearance of whatever you now have. This is a case where knowledge and experience is very important.

dboz

Mequiars ultimate compound is safe and can be used like a wax and done by hand. It is not aggressive in terms of abrasive. It will not heat the paint if done by hand. It may take longer, but using an orbital on a corvette is a challenge due to all the curves and edges.

JimT

I finally found a restoration shop who would do what I wanted - a "buff" job and not a $12,000 paint job. My car is viper red and had several scratch marks and road dings that I've touched up over the years. My car is not a daily driver, but it does spend a lot of time cruising the mountains. My paint job was appx. 10 years old, good paint, but had faded a bit.
I removed all the chrome lettering, bumpers, mirrors, and luggage rack to save on the cost. It looks like the shop used baking soda, or something like it, and the car looks great. I did this over 2 years ago and the car still looks like it has been freshly painted.
Cost was $500 (including some additional touch-ups), and it only took five days.