Technical How would you shine up 78 year old paint?

I would say it's medium duty, the white rubbing compound is much more abrasive. I can hardly feel any grit in it (they say it's thin but cuts like a more aggressive compound), if you do it by hand you can control how much it cuts (or with the random with speed, pressure and pad selection). I did notice that it hazed up the chrome when I hit it with the random.

 

The system I have is a little bit of money (I bought things on sale and found the compounds online at different places cheaper) but I've used it on 4 cars and still have some left.

And I DON'T have anything remotely close to a show car, just bringing back what paint is left on the cars I get back on the road.

 

Thanks !

 

Zaino seems to be a stranger here perhaps because of it's cost but its standard use on showcars, exotics other high end rigs. It will provide a surface akin to fresh clear coat. You can use Dawn rather than their wash solution which isn't harsh but cuts petrol-based road splash. Then definately use claybar until the feel is like a baby's bottom, then the Zaino Z3, polish for non-clear coat paint, awsome in a bottle without hard work. Once you see the results you will do mama's ride next.

 

Whenever I try to restore a finish, whether it's a defect in the paint, or just age, I always work my way down the aggression scale. That is: first just try using a pure wax. Now, in your case, most likely it will not bring back an old oxidized paint. Second step would be to try a liquid swirl remover, or a glaze. this is just slightly more "aggressive" than a non-aggressive wax. It uses chemicals to remove dead paint. If this doesn't give you the finish you want, a more aggressive liquid polish is necessary, like Meguire's # 7, or #2. These do a pretty good job, either by hand or machine to bring back most paints that are in decent condition.
The next step, if this doesn't work, is to use a very fine compound. Now we are getting into abrasives, not chemical oxidation removers. These WILL remove more paint, and you need to be careful with their use. While a micro fine compound won't remove a lot of paint, it still needs to done carefully, esp. on older, thin paint.
I wouldn't go any more aggressive than this on old paint, but if the paint seems thick enough, and the fine compound doesn't work, you could go with a regular rubbing compound, which will remove even more dead paint. Do it by hand to minimize paint removal, and control the process better.
On really good paint surfaces, if this didn't work, you'd go to sanding it with some ultra fine sandpaper, like 1500 or 2000 grit.
Once you do this, at whatever step you find works, you need to go back "up the ladder" all the way to wax to get the ultimate shine.

 

Yes.. pledge my father always used it on his logging truck..works awesome..

 

Thanks everyone for the advice...!!! I'm going to figure out which method I like best and see what I can do with it. I don't want or expect a mirror finish.. But I do want to remove most of the oxidation/staining and make it shinier.

I think I'll stay away from the grease rags and vegetable oil, though..

 

3M hand glaze!

 

I'd love to see more photos of this car!

 

This right here is your answer

 

this exact stuff followed by wax. All by hand will do the trick. And off coarse use microfiber cloths/rags.

 

Am I the only one that has used comet? Works.

 

One word. PENETROL. Easy Peasy.

 

Yes, I have used Comet on lots of cars. I was in the used car business in the 80's before clear coats. Lots of dead paint cars got that! I find that on a older car like the one being discussed, the Comet stays in the rubber and leaves a residue. Hard to get back to black after that.

 

when that car was new i think everybody used simonize. i like liquid glass, but don't know what it would do for you!

 

After a few hours with Mequiar's #7. Very happy with the outcome.. Tomorrow I'll finish it off with a coat of wax. My arms are too tired to do much else today.







For what it's worth, this car has some significance in the Studebaker Drivers' Club. It belonged to the founder Harry Barnes in the '60's and 70's.

 

Looks great, Love the #7....it was described to me as hand lotion for your paint .

BTW that IS significant, another great group full of knowledge.

 

That car looks pretty shiny already to me. I've been using some pretty harsh stuff on the Merc. It has sat outdoors for the past 46 years and I figured I had nothing to lose. Started with a dirty rag soaked in diesel fuel to get the initial dirt, moss and lichens off. Then on to Turtle rubbing compound to get the oxidized layer off. In places it was down to the red primer but even that shined up some. I even went with steel wool on the worst patches with good results. This is a survivor family car so I'm keeping it original as much as possible.

 

At the advice of a friend that's spruced up some beautiful original-paint cars, I gave the '38 another coating of #7 yesterday and let it sit overnight. Went in this morning, rubbed it off, and then went over the car with Mequiar's Cleaner Wax to remove the #7 residue and give it a protective coating. This paint is FAR from perfect.. But it's original and it's much more presentable than it was before I started. That was the goal. Mission accomplished.

My good friend that owns this car just looked at it and said, "Shit... It's never looked this good the 20 years I've had it." That's him and his '59 Hawk in the reflection.

I think cleaning the car up got him a little motivated. He's a busy guy with a few other cars, so this one mostly sits in the corner and it only gets driven when I twist his arm to let me dig it out. He was looking it over after I pulled it back inside this evening and he said, "Ya know, maybe it's time I go through that Overdrive transmission I bought all those years ago and install it.."

 

I would clay block a paint job like that,hand rub Meguiars polishing compound,and then use a sealer wax.It looks like your way came out perfect.Some paints will keep absorbing the wax until the third or fourth coat before they really glow.

 

Nufinish in a plastic OJ boddel ,I used on a very oxadised painted boat I had,it not only shined it up very well,but held up well.