Apart from lots of waxing or resraying...

Is there a way of restring paint - my car has some area's that have faded and dulled a bit and want to bring it back to life, is there a cheap way of doing this?

A bottle of T-cut will do it, but don't go mad as its an abrasive.

it doesn't quite do the job and it needs to be re applied everyday to keep it looking nice.

T-cut should only be used when everything else fails, at most once a year. I'd T-cut, it is a slow job but if done properly - 1 foot squares at a time is excellent, but the hardest thing is getting it all off and then use Mer or a good quality polish.

A professional bodyshop cutting compound(Ferecula,etc) and an electric polisher are the way to go.Then an application of some quality wax.

dunno if you can still get it, but Simoniz liquid diamond used to be the nuts.
easy to apply and remove and lasts yonks.

dare you enter Halfords???

bet you come out with a neon ashtray or something!!! LOL

BB:)

I'm sure someone was saying at the weekend that Ajax (kitchen cleaner) is as good if not better than T-cut for removing dull paintwork. Then apply good polish etc afterwards.

Swissol Cleaner fluid then a good wax should go a long way to curing the problem !
The cleaner fluid puts oils back into the paint, the reason that your car has faided is probably due to the weather conditions drying the oils out of the paintwork
Cleaner fluid acts in the opposite way to t cut, as that takes the oils out, & cleaner fluid puts it back in and is non abrasive
red cars are particularly prone to this problem

[Edited by Fulham71 - 12/11/2003 9:46:46 AM]

If you use T-Cut, you must apply a wax afterwards. It's an abrasive petroleum distillate for effectively scouring off dead oxidised paint. If you remove this layer without applying reasonable protection after, you're just preparing it for more oxidisation.
If your car is a metallic, it should have a layer of laquer, and so should not need cutting. Unless you've totally neglected it for years.
My own preference on metallics is to cut back and prepare by using a lightly cutting liquid polish such as Autoglym Super Resin Cutting Polish. Then apply 2 layers of Simoniz Original solid carnuba wax. I usually do this in the spring, so it looks nice for the summer, and autumn in readiness for the harshness of winter. The Simoniz lasts ages. I beleive if it goes on as a liquid, it'll come off as a liquid in the first couple of days rain. I've tried many polishes and always come back to this. My car is over 12 years old but the paint looks almost showroom.
Two afternoons of hard work per year is hardly a lot of effort to care for a car worth many £000's. The hard work is repaid when you wash it, as it's so easy 'cos the muck can't stick to it.
I know there are many on here who'll vouch for these ultra expensive Swissol/Zymol products, but I've seen mine sat beside cars with this stuff used. I wouldn't say mine was better; but I wouldn't say theirs was either. My wallet feels better though as Simo is only £5 a tin.
As said earlier, if your car is red it will need more caring for. Red paint needs much more pigmenting than any other colour, and it's the dye pigments which fade.

cheers chaps.