My Formula has been garaged its whole life and the paint is in very good condition...all of it except the wing. It appears to be oxidized, with a white and dull looking appearance in spots. But when I apply wax to it, right before it dries to a haze and I buff it off, it disappears. Because of this, I think there must be a way to use some rubbing compound and surface polish to buff it out.

Does anyone know what I can use to clean up the oxidation? I don't want to have to repaint the wing.

Thank you!

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Käj Jorgensen
'88 Fiero Formula

same issue here .. anxiously looking forward to the answer. all original paint and dont wanna repaint.

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There are some buffing compounds that claim to help with oxidized paint. My front hood is getting like that too. They dont help....
I was considering just repainting my hood. Getting 2 cans of matching paint, and have at it. Just dont know what color to get....
Then I figured I'd cut a hood vent in, hide my antena, get side scoops & a wing, then repaint the whole dang car, but $$$ is lacking....
anyways, back to thread - buff it out if you can, wax it frequently, if that dont help - re-paint

Once the clear coat starts to fade like that you can buff it but it will come back in a very short time, Sorry but a repaint is the only cure

meguiar's makes a 3 stage kit that will help,but it will come back within a month or so....

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Repaint is the only cure. Anything else is a waste of time except for very short period. Dont let anyone talk you into scuffing it and just reclearing either, wont work.

quote Originally posted by 86fierose: meguiar's makes a 3 stage kit that will help,but it will come back within a month or so....

yup - thats what I've been using on my hood - the stage 1 stuff. barely helps, but as long as you keep it waxed, it looks better.

Wet sand, paint, buff, wet sand, paint, buff, clear coat, wet sand, buff, clear coat, wet sand, buff, clear coat, buff

Just take off the wing and repaint it Use 400grit sand paper to ruff it up get the color match for your spoiler (if the same color as car look at the vin on car for color code) Then clean after sanding buy a tack rag $1.00 dollar whip it then paint with atleast 4coats 15mins between coats of the paint (spray paint is thin so needs quite a bit of coats) let the paint dry for 24hours then sand with 1500grit sand paper clean again and let dry then tack cloth again spray your clear coat on let dry another day... sand again with 1500grit sand paper clean and dry again then clear coat again 4 coats atleast 15mins between coats wait another day and buff and wala your done not alot of money but alot of time or take the wing alone to a auto body place and asked how much to paint most will only charge you 50 to 75bucks.

[This message has been edited by 86fieroEarl (edited 04-07-2004).]

quote Originally posted by 86fieroEarl: Just take off the wing and repaint it Use 400grit sand paper to ruff it up get the color match for your spoiler (if the same color as car look at the vin on car for color code) Then clean after sanding buy a tack rag $1.00 dollar whip it then paint with atleast 4coats 15mins between coats of the paint (spray paint is thin so needs quite a bit of coats) let the paint dry for 24hours then sand with 1500grit sand paper clean again and let dry then tack cloth again spray your clear coat on let dry another day... sand again with 1500grit sand paper clean and dry again then clear coat again 4 coats atleast 15mins between coats wait another day and buff and wala your done not alot of money but alot of time or take the wing alone to a auto body place and asked how much to paint most will only charge you 50 to 75bucks.

This is the only good answer to this question so far in my opinion. I understand the wings were out sourced by Pontiac and arrived painted by the supplier. Therefore the paint does not hold up as good as the factory paint. When the paint dies it is done and needs repainted.

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quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: Repaint is the only cure. Anything else is a waste of time except for very short period. Dont let anyone talk you into scuffing it and just reclearing either, wont work.

I agree 100%...I unbolted mine and took it to a body shop and had it repainted. It wasn't cheap but it looks beautiful now.

quote Originally posted by jscott1: I agree 100%...I unbolted mine and took it to a body shop and had it repainted. It wasn't cheap but it looks beautiful now.

About how much does it cost to have the wing repainted? Does anyone know?

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Käj Jorgensen
'88 Fiero Formula

quote Originally posted by spddy: Once the clear coat starts to fade like that you can buff it but it will come back in a very short time, Sorry but a repaint is the only cure

I'd have to agree with this.... My Formula car was doing the the exact same thing with the cloudiness showing at all times except right after waxing. The paint on the entire car was near perfect and it had always been garaged. Several parts of the car were painted at different times during the assembly at the factory and Pontiac definitely had a quality issue with the spoiler paint. Also the nose of my car appears just a tad darker than the front fenders and hood. My spolier's paint was still very nice on the bottom side, and at the ends where they turn down leading me to believe that direct sunlight on the upper flat areas definitely played a role in creating the problem.

Since My car is Medium Red Metallic, it was easy to match with Dupli-Color paint. I brought the car inside and masked the complete trunk lid with newspapers and shot just the top of the spoiler right out of the can by giving it about 3-4 light coats before applying a final wetter coat. By skiff sanding first to remove any hickey's, I didn't even have to prime the surface. I blended the new paint on the upper flat area onto the old paint at the ends. The color turned out very nice, but I'm noticing after a year that the area doesn't have quite the same shine as it should and that I should have shot on a few clear coats too.

As it stands now, I've got a good color match and plenty of paint on the area. I'm planning to lightly wet sand the wing with 1200-1500 grit paper and get the clear applied.

It's a very easy job that only takes an hour and it saved me about $100.00 from having to remove the wing and have a buddy do it at a local body shop.

I repainted my black wing with black duplicolor. Not that I would recommend that paint... but it worked. I had to buff out the base and the clear coat. It looks 100% better and cost me about $20 in materials. I did the top and bottom of spoiler.

It was a week project...

buffing was hard, I had a sponge buffer on the drill and some meguiars polish (no abrasives!). I wet sanded with 1200 grit and then buffed. many times.. worked pretty well.
Good learning experience!

quote Originally posted by 88Fiero4Mula: About how much does it cost to have the wing repainted? Does anyone know?

I don't remember exactly, but it was around $180. I saved a few bucks by unbolting it myself and hand carrying it in, and skipping the flex additive, (based on Roger Garrison's advise).

As others have mentioned, you're probably going to have to repaint it. Cost? Depends on who you find to do the work. Talk to people you know and see if you can find a painter that works on the side. A lot of body guys do side work at home and will be happy to repaint a nice, easy wing. It's small, there is no taping, and it's easy to spray. I usually charge about $100, as long as the paint isn't too expensive.

Mark