Technical How would you shine up 78 year old paint?

A friend has this '38 Stude. The car is completely original and unrestored. We have a show coming up in a couple of weeks, and I want the car to look better than it does now. In the last 20 years, the paint hasn't seen anything but soap and water, and has been kept inside. He's an old time mechanic, and keeping the car mechanically sound has always taken priority over making it shiny.

I do not want to put a buffer/machine on it. Assuming the paint is pretty thin, I'd like to hear some advice and tips on how to remove the oxidation, give it a bit of a shine, and see what I can do with it. Thank you in advance.

 

In the old days (mid 60's ha) we just used rubbing compound and then a coat of wax.
We found a spot out of the way like the rolled lip of the fender and tried there first........

Today they have a compound for everything.........

Like those headlights!

 

Meguiars Ultimate Compound can be used by hand and is tough yet gentile, follow with a coat of wax as it offers no protection.

 

Rubbing compound is harsh and will remove some of the finish. I would just wash it and then use a spray wax and wipe it down.

 

Some of the clearcoat scratch removers are pretty gentle.

 

Wipe it down with transmission fluid. It will look good for a little while.

 

Meguiars cleaning wax. Slightly aggressive and a wax coat. Reminds me of Kit wax from the early 70's. In the old days you would use a cleaner polish on a car like that, rubbing compound is a bit harsh. That recolor stuff is ok if you plan to not paint it. Things like that are mostly silicon, bad for repaint.

 

As a 16 year old dummy, I rescued a '40 Ford coupe body from a junkyard in about 1958. It had been painted a puked out turquoise and was badly oxidized. As I worked on it, I noticed every place I put my greasy hands, it looked a lot shinier. Knowing that if a little is good, a lot is better, I just oiled up a grease rag and went over the whole car.
Looked real nice. (For a while).

 

The paint is about as good as one could expect for a car that age with the original finish. I wouldn't demand too much of it. Should turn heads anyway.

 

Give it a wash then use some machine compound BUT by hand.......I would not put a buff anywhere near it, hand rubbing takes more time but no where near as severe then a good polish.......neat car........andyd

 

Ask Chris Swenson , here on the HAMB. His friend did his old paint and it came out great!

 

as ealier stated Mequiars cleaner wax is subtle. It has some chemical that helps dissolve the oxidation and the wax feeds the dead paint. It is now available in paste form which is the best. Pleease no compounds, to harsh.

 

Meguiars cleaning compound should do the trick. Old cars like that had one step paint and didn't have a crappy clear coat so you should be able to get the Ox out easily. I would start in a small spot that is slightly hidden and try there see what happens. The PO of my 61 did a barn yard paint job over the original paint job and I wish he wouldn't have. Now I have to go down to the original primer to paint. In my opinion there is more value and charm in the originals!


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If that pic is the present condition, I'd leave it alone. If someone says anything, tell 'em the age and let their jaws hit the asphalt. That paint looks good....... or as the kids would say, "It has soul."

 

A friend of mine has what she claims is an original paint 1929 Model A that she uses vegetable oil on the day of the show. She washes it with Dawn dishwashing liquid GENTLY and then lightly wipes it down when she takes it off the trailer or if she drives it, when she arrives at the show. I was skeptical until I saw it done the first time.

 

Not sure I would use it on a nice car but this is what boiled linseed oil did to my 35 ford

 

There used to be a product called polishing compound that was less abrasive than rubbing compound. It came in a tub just like rubbing compound, think it was a red container while the rubbing compound was in a green one. You applied it by hand, then rubbed it off like wax. If you had any stubborn areas you'd go back with a little rubbing compound, then the polishing compound again. When you got it shiny, you waxed it with carnuba wax. Don't know if they still sell it or not, haven't bought any in years, might look at a good auto parts store.

 

Lemon Pledge. I kid you not it works and leaves a nice shine!
It will wash off, but who cares you can do the whole car in 10 minutes.
Try a small area, you probably already have some under the kitchen sink!
KK

 

In the old days I had a guys at a show tell me he used Behold furniture wax; then-competitor of Pledge, because it had a small amount of actual bee's wax in it. Said it wouldn't last long but looked great for a little while at a show. I don't THINK Behold is still made anymore.

 

Meguiar's #7 works well if you use it properly. It takes a long time and a lot of hard work to do it right. This is a long winded article from some other forum, but the guy covers the history of the product well. It's been around almost as long as the automobile. I hope it's ok to post the link.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...w-car-finish-antique-single-stage-paints.html

 

I've always used DuPont #7 rubbing compound and did it by hand, no buffer as it will cut the paint way too fast. Follow it up with a good wax....I used to use Blue Corral...a bitch to use but gives a great reflective shine for a long time...protects the paint from tree pitch, bird poop and dirt. Reserve all day and maybe 2 days to do it. You're arm is gonna hurt for a while too.
I did this to my parent's old hand-me-down yellow and white 55 Olds. It came out looking better than new and I didn't even get close to going through the paint.

 

I like the Pledge idea. I use it all the time on car stuff. Works good on tires if you don't like them too shiny.

 

Had a Dodge truck once that had dead paint on it. Washed it first with Soft Scrub and a soft washing brush. It got most of the junky stuff off. Than I just used some Vista wax. Looked good for a couple of months.

 

Pledge works for me.
So does Bumper magic. It's made to bring a shine back to rubber and trim, it's a clear coat applied by hand that lasts about 3-4 weeks, longer if stored inside. Not overly shiny either. Try in an inconspicuous area first of course.
Car lots use it.


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Zymol cleaner wax is good.

 

I've done a few iffy paints lately and I used Meguiars products with a random polisher and their soft pads. Didn't burn through the thin paint and brought back a good shine. Even had a neighbor girl hand polish her new (1994) car and it came out great.

Started with:


Then went to:


Then went to (this step is important ....it really makes a difference). Good old #7


And finished with:

 

If you want to go with a the random polisher. Variable speed and go slow.

 

Here's the last one I did, white is hard to see shine especially in pictures. It was totally chalky and dull when we got it, to the point where any greasy hand would just soak into the paint. I didn't put too much effort into it, if I spent more time it would really glow (but I hate polishing/waxing) and it still looks good/beads water a year later.

Before:


After:

 

How ABRASIVE, or not, is the Ultimate Compound ?