Some photos of my 2002 SC2. I have owned it for about twelve years and am the third owner. I have no garage so it has been outside for the last twelve years. The paint on the hood and top front bumper cover are toast so I have started some paint repairs.
Mechanical issues are stable currently, (last issue-starter motor) so thought it would be a good time to do some paint repairs. The second owner scraped the rear corner bumper. Probably painted without finishing with clear coat so the paint has been failing there too.
I will probably just prep that area and try blending the paint. The hood paint is completely toast and I am thinking of sanding it out, prime it and just painting it satin white. Maybe look bad? Maybe look cool? Well probably look better than it does now.
I will also be replacing the headlights which are beyond repair. I can take some photos after repairs.

 

Moved post from 13 yr old unrelated thread

 

The headlights can be buffed out to be clear as new. The paint will fail in a few years unless you take it down to the electrocoat or metal. The primer coat needs to be sanded out completely and painted like first time.

 

I was thinking of repairing the headlights. But they also have a lot or water in them so I think the reflectors might be dull now. I got new aftermarket ones last week. Hopefully they are decent quality. They look ok. I am going to keep the original lights. Like you said I can polish and seal them if the new ones don't hold up.
I just started the sanding on the front bumper. Still needs more sanding and feathering with finer paper. I am just going to do what I can with it. It should be better than it was. The hood is still untouched and I thought I could sand it out smooth before a repaint. But I guess you are saying
it needs to go down to the primer. You are probably right and I was concerned of the paint failing again in a short time.

 

NO. You need to go through the primer. We don't want any left at all.

 

Get down to the bare metal or bare plastic is what he's telling you. The primer coat needs to be replaced too.

 

I understand.
I can only do the best I can with what I have. I have done this sort of paint repair/touch-up in the past on two other cars and got acceptable results. Sanded only down to primer, re-prime then re-coat. The paint and clear coat held up pretty well on those cars. Maybe Saturn uses a different type of primer? The existing primer looks good and is not peeling. If it doesn't hold up it will be no great loss. The paint repair I'm doing shouldn't hurt anything and can always be redone.
I'm sure bringing it down to bare surface is preferable but that is a bit beyond what I can do.
The areas that I sanded, (220 to 400) the paint/clear coat was brittle and flaking. The primer underneath is solid and looks like a paintable surface.

 

It's you car, man. Do what you can and drive happy. FTW

 

Where's @uncljohn when you need him?

 

Didn't we come to the conclusion that uncljohn must have passed away a few years ago?