So I was talkin to my great uncle(in his late 70s) and he said way back when he had a little roadster that him and his brother build on the farm and drove to the coast from ks. he also told me it was primered because it was all they could afford. he said that on friday nights before they took it to town to cruise they would oil it up with baby oil to put a shine on it. anyone ever heard of doing such a thing? He said it would burn off in a day or two in the sun but it would look good for the night.
I'm sure he's remembering correctly, just ask him if he ever painted it after. I'm sure the answer is no. Fisheye city!
I would not think it any different than putting WD40 on to shine things up. Seen a lot of people doing it. Give it a shot
it's like the guys that used to armorall the primer to get a cool suede shine... but yeah painting would require a total strip down
I think he is remembering correctly , an oldtimer told me he used diesel fuel to shine up primer and I've tried it a few times with good results for a few days .
Hahaha, only an old timer would know that trick! Yeah, when paint really was oil based, you could add oil to increase flow of the top coat. Oiling a finished paint job was much like waxing in todays view. A fresh coating of a light weight oil, (baby oil would qualify for this) and the shine would be restored for a few days. As the coating of oil dried out the paint would loose luster until the next application of polishing oil. This doesn't work on modern automotive paint, with one exception ... one-shot! 'One-shot' is still oil-based, and does respond to oil being added as a shine coat. However, there are better ways/products to bring a shine to a 'one-shot' painted surface that doesn't leave a coating of oil which will act as an attractant for dust. Other automotive products, like modern automotive paint are no longer oil-based. They are acrylic based, or urethane based, or epoxy based. These are more like a coating of plastic than they are a traditional oil-based automotive paint as was in use prior to the old nitro-cellulouse laqure(sp?) which came out in the '50's. Before that it was all oil based, at least for the refinishers. There was experimentation going on in some of the "big three", but before WWII it wasn't a burning issue, and there wasn't a lot of options. Plastics were developed post WWII, and that is where we are today. Dan Stevens dba, Steelsmith
It's an old trick for the armed forces, when an inspection or parade, they would shine 'er up with a little diesel.
My Dad told me they painted a 57 olds with Alkyd enamel and a powderpuff.Flowed right out. He said it was a 20ft'r but looked great on main at 10 o'clock at night.
nice trick,i'll remember that but primers are porous and whatever you put on it will eventually reach the metal,thats why they say you can't paint the car,not that you want to.
Couple years ago I sprayed a friend's aircooled Bug with some kind of black epoxy industrial primer. Never heard of the brand before and don't remember it now. He let it cure for a couple weeks, then wet-sanded it out to 2000 grit and buffed it lightly. Gave the car a really unique look. If you really wanted that shiny-primer deal this might be worth looking into.
My old roomate in college used to save his oil from his oil changes and oil up his old truck before going out on a date. His was a 60s F100 with original paint and the oil sure helped it for the night. Course after a day or two in the Oklahoma wind, it looked like a sugar cookie. He'd wash it back down with Dawn dish soap and oil it again for the next date if it was with a different girl. Didnt cost him much of anything, but it sure was the damned thing I ever did see the 1st time I seen him do it....... I eventually got used to the ritual though.
If you want your car shinny why don't you just paint it with shinny paint?I got a lol out of the diesel fuel one,anyone got a match?
When I was a little kid my earliest memories in the very early 60's ( I'm 50 this year) - my Dad had a 39 Plymouth Coupe that he use to put a cup of Kerosene in a bucket of water and washed and put a shine on it with wiping it down in "One Shot". He probably got that trick from his dad. Shined up great that I remember and I also remember the car had that kerosene smell. Cob
I treat this old Ford with WD40. Works great on the flat, porous, original finish. I could care less about future repainting endeavours. I know it won't be me. I like it as is.
There used to be a product sold by used car lot supply vendors called Shake 'N' Shine. The stuff came in a bottle like regular wax, but the contents looked like the liquid in a lava lamp. Anyhow, the idea was to apply the product before taking a car to an auction so that a dull paint job would look shiny under the lights. I don't know what ingredients were used in that stuff, but I found out the hard way, no matter what you wipe the car down with, it could not be successfully repainted.
Kerosene used straight was a common way of removing oxidization from old enamel paint jobs.It was usually followed up with a hot soapy wash,then a wax job.It was used by many used car lots too.There was a product sold with what looked like yellow shop rags.It was a light oil of some type.A salesman brought it around to car lots.I remember it worked quite well and seemed to last.
Why would you disbelieve him? It's common sense that it would make it shine more isn't it? As his choice, baby oil, that might have been the only thing he had available. Of course, he did remind you that it didn't last didn't he?
I'm not that old and I probably wouldn't oil one I was planning to paint someday. But I have seen oil used to make one look newer at the used car lot. I doubt that your uncle was ever planning on painting it he was probably having too much fun driveing it. I've got a buddy that keeps a pump sprayer full of a mix of diesle and used motor oil. He normally drives old beater pickups that the paint is all faded etc. he blows them down with the mix then wipes it with a rag. Hes even been known to blow on his mix and steel wool one to make it look more presentable. I'm probably not doing that to any of the one's I plan on keeping but beware I might just have done that to the one I'm going to sell you.
Alright, this is going to sound wierd. My father is a retired used car guy. He really did run a straight up business. This was only used on the ugly trade-ins that went to the dealer auctions. (mostly tote-the-note buyers bought at this auction) We would use mayo on the dead paint. The oil in the mayo would shine them up for about 72 hours. Wipe on and wipe off and no questionable smell!! Kinda made you hungry for a ham and cheese, though. LOL
My grandfather also used kerosene in water to wash his car. When ever I smell it it remindes me of my childhood. I still have his 53 Buick, found it at Long Beach auto swap in 1999. But thats another story. TK
I could never do it. The smell of baby oil aways makes me horny - an artifact of my deviant sexual past. I'd be sportin' a woodie every minute I'm in the car.
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