Can I polish this out of my roof??

[Pnuma]

My 2007 RX400h looks perfect except for all this oxidation on the roof.

I'm probably going to sell the car within the next couple years, so I'm just looking for a cheap fix.

MY QUESTION:  Will compound/polishing and then applying a ceramic coating help my roof?? (I already have access to everything I would need)

Or do I HAVE to repaint? And if so, can I do it myself (with no experience). Again just looking for a fix on the cheaper side here.

THANK YOU!

 

[RX400h]

That is oxidation and destruction of the paint's clear coat from the sun's UV rays. There really is no quick and inexpensive way to fix that.

[Pnuma]

Thank you.

Yeah, I agree. 

The rest of the car looks excellent so I think I'll try researching sanding and prepping the roof myself and then maybe having MIDAS do the actual paint spraying.

If anyone has any tips, it would be greatly appreciated!

[RX400h]

If you take your time and research correct techniques for doing this, it may work, but keep in mind that unless the paint shop applies a clear coat over the paint, it won't be long before the paint oxidizes again. 

[Bykfixer]

The ole clear coat fail dilema. 

Trying to cover is a waste of time. There used to be a product sold at Pep Boys and O'Reilly stores called TR3. They may still sell it. It's a product first sold in the 1980's to restore a dull finish.

It has a chemical that literally melts into the clear coat and removes it a little at a time. It may take 5 or 6 applications to get that failed clear coat looking good but it can do it. 

I had a red Honda Prelude that looked pink from clear coat oxidation and had hundreds of blemishes that looked like snowflakes in the clear coat. TR3 applied and buffed off made the clear coat look pretty good. No yard stick shine like when new but the car looked red again. 

I applied it, buffed it off by hand a few minutes later and buffed it by hand the next day. Repeat as necessary. It took about 5 days total of apply, remove, buff the next day and repeat. But it sure made that clear coat look great. Apply a good wax every season and it'll stay looking pretty good. 

There's a big ole decal across the top that says "not to be used on clear coat".

The best long term, low maintenance solution is wet sand the bad clear coat and reapply, but that too will come back off if not maintained. 

Cars are clear coated these days in order to stay shiney with just washing it. Used to be pre-clear coat days you had to apply rubbing compound then wax to get dull paint looking shiney. It's why the paint on old cars sitting around look like the paint was never shiney to start with after it was washed. Clear coat solved that issue, but it tends to fail at times.