Tornado red (pink!)

[Bushboy]

I bought my MK2 GTI about 2 weeks ago.  It wasnt quite pink but was dull and a little faded in places.  I used Autoglym paint renovator (mild cutting compound) by hand on the bonnet and roof and it came up superb.  took alot of work but looked fantastic in the end.

I went out and bought a rotary polisher (not the type in argos, the type that looks like an angle grinder) and mopped the whole body using the Paint Renovator.  buffed off by hand and then applied spray on wax using one of the polishing pads that came with the polisher.  still looks superb after a week of rain and crap.  Will only need washing and waxing from now on.

[mattp1983]

The sunroof, bonnet and doors were full of pink patches, these are pics taken in the middle of winter the car hasnt been moved or washed since july last year....

[Bushboy]

It doesnt look too bad in the photos!  Get some Autoglym paint renovator onto it.. try just the bonnet by hand first and see if it sorts the problem.  If so, then i recommend a rotary polisher to do a better job and take alot less time doing so 

[Thom89]

The problem with Tornado red, is that it has a certain pigment in the paint that had
very poor qualities that protected it from UV radiation from sunlight, one of the other VW reds from that era was Mars red, typically, this red does not have the same problem, because it doesnt share the defective tinter. The problem would start from day one of the new cars life, had the car been treated to a good quality wax, on a regular basis, the life of the paint would have been greatly extended... if you can find an origional Tornado red golf, that has not turned pink, then you have found an example that has been looked after, for longer
Other examples of that same deffective tinter, found their way onto other makes of cars, Toyota Bright red, Vauxhall/GM Flame red, and a few BMW shades,
To overcome the problem, the manufactuers started to "Basecoat" there "solid" colours, as well as the metallics. this then gave the red, a UV barrier of clear lacquer thats used by, as far as I know, all manufactuers to this day
If your car has gone pink, then the damage has been done, you can never, truely bring that colour back to life,  you can only temporarily bring the paint back to colour,
The best way to restore your colour, is to wash your car with a good quality car shampoo, and leave it to dry, mask your trims, door handles, window rubbers etc.. and then start to machine compound the whole car, with a wet foam polishing mop head, and Farecla G3 compound http://www.consumablesexpress.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Shop_FARECLA_AUTOMOTIVE_23.html?gclid=CIrPmv-_tIwCFQNQEgodhxTbSA (very messy job)
Once compunded, every trace of the compound MUST be removed! even if you have to wash the car a few more times, you must also remove ALL traces of compound from the polishing mop head, by washing in soapy water a few times.
The next process is to anti swirl polish you paint, 3Ms is one of the best, use the same process as compounding, once thats done, remove the excess, and your ready for waxing, use the very best you can afford! always apply wax to the body with a damp rag, old  T shirt material is perfect for the job
If you can, always try and work out of sunlight.
The fadeing process never stops, all you can do is slow it down!
best of luck
Tom

[paultownsend]

DO NOT USE T-CUT visit www.elitecarcare.co.uk and have a look at the Klasse All In One Polish & Sealant. clean the car using the 2 bucket method. take all the trim off the car that you can. Do a panel time at a time. believe me, this stuff works wonders. you may have to do a panel 5 times, but its worth it trust me. then iv found something like autoglym super resin polish to bring it up nicely. to seal, the only wax is Collinite Super Double Coat Auto Wax No. 476s .just reference their site, and other forums under the detailing sections. once given a coat, this seals for over a year. i gave mine 2 coats within a week, and its lasted 8 months without a hint of fade. after every wash it comes out like new. and the water still beads off. Paul

[jammac]

my golf is tornado red and is beutifully bright and shiny!!! however i think its been resprayed or some of it has at some point. just around the front windscreen theres slight overspray on the trim on the a pillars and on the bottom of the windscreen where the wipers are the shiny red paint has peeled away slightly revealing a nice pink!!!

i wanted to respray this panel anyway as there is slight rot around the wiper blanks

however to keep my car so shiny and red im just giving it a regular polish. is this the best thing to doto keep it at its best?

[kkh120]

DO NOT USE T-CUT visit www.elitecarcare.co.uk and have a look at the Klasse All In One Polish & Sealant. clean the car using the 2 bucket method. take all the trim off the car that you can. Do a panel time at a time. believe me, this stuff works wonders. you may have to do a panel 5 times, but its worth it trust me. then iv found something like autoglym super resin polish to bring it up nicely. to seal, the only wax is Collinite Super Double Coat Auto Wax No. 476s .just reference their site, and other forums under the detailing sections. once given a coat, this seals for over a year. i gave mine 2 coats within a week, and its lasted 8 months without a hint of fade. after every wash it comes out like new. and the water still beads off. Paul

This is good advice. Recently did my Tornado red with this, then used Enzitt polish to remove some of the oxide. Then topped it off with some p21s carnuba wax. Worth the effort but its a hard work.

[stomper]

Have a look on www.detailingworld.com, i'm sure there's some good tips on there.

You can probably find someone local with all the tools and knowledge who can breathe some life into your faded paintwork.

[gtibob]

Thom89 has got this right, you cant stop it reverting to pink eventually. Many of the Tornado Pink cars were resprayed under warranty. If you laquer it you cant get the colour back by buffing, it still fades because the UV goes through the laquer. I found the best way to keep mine red was to keep it locked in a dark garage for a year, not the most practical solution but it did work!!

[Gambit]

mines roof & bonnet are a f**king mess. previous owner had it resprayed & lacquered it. so when you wax it the water beads on the roof, then the sun hits it & burns a nice pink circle in the paint below the lacquer which then cant be removed!!

i hate the bastard for it