Hello all. I have a black '51 Plymouth that has been repainted years ago and the paint is showing its age. It's not worth trying to keep it shiny so I would like to dull it up a bit to hide some imperfections. I have already tried steel wool on the gravel guard on the rear with good results but I'm not sure if this would be the best route to go with the whole car. Are there any tricks or techniques someone could share with me? I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks, BloodyKnuckles
Steel wool strands will get left on the car and rust... Use a Scotch pad, Green kitchen pot type will work but if you have a car paint supply get one of the finer gray pads. they are less agressive. Less likely to go through the paint as fast.
What doc said, I like water with a little Dawn detergent and green Scotchbrite. Rocky did this to his Poncho after it was molested by Goats..............it worked well to save that ragged paint.
What's so bad with the finish that it would look better sanding it with a ScotchBrite? To me, an aged somewhat gloss finish looks better than sanding scratches. Personally, I would drive it as is until I could get the time and cash to give it a real paint job. Just my opinion.
You know how this works, you put something up you're gonna get an opinion whether you asked for one or not. I do paint and body work, and yes, a ScotchBrite will work, use a grey. That's what we use to go over plastic bumper covers before they get painted. So yeah, it will work, just look unfinished IN MY OPINION. Just something for the guy to think about.
I started doing this to my Desoto. The scotchbrite worked well but I ended up not liking it. It doesn't look like suede enough for me and it just didn't look right. I ended up wet sanding it with 2200 and it looked pretty decent but then I buffed it and it shined up pretty good.
1200 grit if you must - but please don't! I'm in the middle of sanding the matt black off my 51 chev that the last owner daubed over the existing shiny yellow. That's why he sold it after he realised what he'd done...
I scotchbrited my old Poncho after the goats did a tap dance on it, ruining the black paint. Unfortunately, the paint is a base coat/ clearcoat type and the clear was also beginning to lift on the hood and fender tops. I ended up sanding the lifting places and repainting those spots with a satin black. I then used the scotchbrite pads on all the horizontal surfaces to blend it all together. It worked! I'd really rather have a nice gloss black paint job but until I can get by with this until the car gets painted..... Here is a before and after shot...
I use Tractor Supply gloss black for body and ford blue on the dash, hubcaps. The "shiny new" that look's too much like shiny new was dulled with Dupont #7 buffing compound. This overdoes it (this paint is really soft) and then I use turtle wax and serious elbow grease to bring it back some. Both processes will result in color acumulating on the rag, how I can tell I'm making progress. I was shooting for the look of Ed Iskanderian's car's finish, getting pretty close this way.
i,m scotchbriting a 64 galaxie right now, big improvment in my case . paint(red) is heavily faded,scotchbrite even out the color,and looks like its gonna be much more presentable i may go over with something finer and hit it with a buffer later
Try washing it with a powered dish washer detergent. I had a coworker do this to a Blazer and it dulled the paint. Poor kid didn't do it on purpose. He just hadn't ever washed a car by hand if you can believe it.
Back when an Earl Schieb paint really did cost $29.95 (any car, any color) we'd "prep" our cars first by scrubbing them down with Ajax cleanser. It gave the paint a dull, oxidized look -- and was pretty uniform.
Guys, I really appreciate all the help and ideas. I will probably read this post a hunert more times before I do it. Thanks again, BloodyKnuckles
No, Caddyman......the good news? I've cultivated a taste for the Greek "Gyro" made from roasted goat meat.....
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