Christmas Detail - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria with Black Label Surface Coating

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Christmas Detail - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria with Black Label Surface Coating

The owner of this car is a local car club member, Jack Mason and Jack has terminal cancer. He finished a full restoration of this car in 2004 and it's been both a show car and daily driver ever since. Jack has decided to put is classic Ford up for sale at the Dave Rupp Fort Lauderdale Beach Auction on January 3rd, 2014.

I buffed this car out for Jack back in February of 2013 and at that time removed all the swirls, scratches and oxidation. When my buddy Carlos told me the car was going up for auction I told him to bring her down here and I would refresh the shine only this time instead of a traditional car wax I applied the new Black Label Diamond Surface Coating, which is a nano-glass ceramic coating. This coating creates in incredibly glassy appearance with a super slick feel to the touch.

I chose the Diamond Surface Coating because this car has a lot of stainless steel, chrome, glass and of course lots of paint as was the norm for cars built back in the 1950's.

Carlos came by with his buddy Bill to pick this car up this morning and before it left I took these pictures...

Let's hope the perfect person looking for this exact car in this exact color combination is at the auction so Jack's beautiful Ford Crown Victoria will have a new home with someone that will appreciate this car as much as Jack and his wife.


:dblthumb2:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

When the car arrived it was dusty with some light road grime, I did a waterless wash to clean her up and get her ready for polishing.


Waterless Car Wash - How to safely clean you car without a hose & bucket

:xyxthumbs:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Prepping paint for a paint coating

Before you can apply the Black Label Diamond Surface Coating you first have to prep the surface to remove any previously applied waxes, sealants, polishes, etc.

For this I used the Black Label Surface Cleaning Polish. You can apply this by hand or machine, I opted to apply using a Porter Cable 7424XP with a soft, blue Lake Country foam waxing pad.

Speed setting with be between the 4 and 5 speed setting. Remember you don't need a lot of aggressive power to apply this product, just gentle rotation and oscillation will do the job.

Tip: Always place the electrical cord over your shoulder when buffing out the horizontal panels so you don't drag the cord over the sides of the car. This is especially true when buffing out classic cars as they tend to have very large hoods, roofs and trunk lids.

Be thorough so you remove any previously applied wax or sealant. Go over each square inch with 2-3 passes

This polish is non-abrasive, its sole duty is to prep the paint for the coating. If your car has swirls and scratches then use the appropriate compound and polish to first perfect the paint and then use the Black Label Surface Cleaning Polish to prep the paint for the coating.

This iconic trim that runs across the roof is made from stainless steel with painted insets, the Surface Cleaning Polish can be used on stainless steel and paint.

You can see the pad is only lightly dirty from embedded dirt and road grime.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Next, you must carefully wipe-off all polish residue. In the same way that you don't want any previously applied wax on the paint you also don't want any polish residue on the paint.


Microfiber Gloves
If you've never worn microfiber gloves while wiping off a fine polish, wax, sealant or coating you don't know what you're missing. As the saying goes, like attracts like and wearing microfiber gloves not only prevents you from leaving any oily fingerprints on freshly polished paint they also make it much easier to grip your microfiber towels when removing residues.

How to apply Diamond Surface Coating
To apply the Diamond Surface Coating, simply mist a little onto a section of paint, glass, stainless steel or chrome and then gently spread it around using a clean, soft foam applicator pads. For the Diamond Surface Coating I prefer to use the very soft Gold Finger Pockets.

Working the coating over the stainless steel trim...

Applying the coating to the stainless steel portion of the Continental Kit that hides and protects the spare tire.

Coating all the glass...

Coating the chrome dummy spotlights...

Coating the chrome hood ornement...

All Surface Coating
This one coating can be used on stainless, chrome, glass and paint, even smooth hard plastic.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Final wipe
After I've applied the coating to the entire exterior of this classic 1955 Ford the next thing I want to do is give the entire car a final wipe to remove any excess product also referred to as high points.

If you're new to coatings it's best to apply this coating to a single panel and then give the panel a final wipe with a clean, soft microfiber towel. For this project I coated the entire car before wiping any panels mostly to take advantage of my co-worker Jeff who had a break to take pictures.

Tip: When making the final wipe over a coated panel, position yourself at various angles and use surrounding light to inspect the surface for high points. Then wipe softly using a clean, push microfiber towel.

As you wipe you'll see the glassy appearance Black Label coatings create and you'll feel the slick and slippery finish you're leaving behind.

On Autogeek.net

Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Surface Coating

Pinnacle Black Label Surface Cleansing Polish [/COLOR

Gold Wax Finger Pockets - 2 Pack

Microfiber Gloves - 6 Pairs

Gold Plush Jr. Microfiber Towels - 3 Pack

 

[Jpatchley]

That is a beauty!!!

 

[Bunky]

Another great looking classic Mike !

 

[57BORNTORUN]

Wow, sorry to hear that about Jack.Too bad the car cant stay in his family.You did a great job as always on his car.Mike.

 

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Beautiful work Mike. Car looks great. Too bad the car won't stay in the family.

BTW, must be nice not worrying about taping off plastic trim.

 

[Romans5.8]

When cars were cars... Gorgeous piece of machinery.

 

[jpegs13]

Beautiful car! Wow! I've fallen in love with the new Black Label coatings. So easy to use and man, what a shine

 

[Bob57]

Beautiful work!
I love the old Crown Vic's

 

[vet]

Outstanding job on a beautiful classic!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

This car goes over the blocks on Friday, January 3rd in Ford Lauderdale, maybe one of our forum members can go and take a picture?

I can also ask Carlos to take a picture.

I've worked "on" the auction block at a number of auctions and the true condition of the paint on the cars looks horrible while on TV they tend to look perfect.

I'd like to see the condition of the other cars at this auction. I used the Rupes system when I buffed this car out the first time and I looked for scratches while ti was here and I couldn't find any.

 

[Pats300zx]

Beautiful work Mike...What a classic.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Beautiful car! Wow! I've fallen in love with the new Black Label coatings. So easy to use and man, what a shine

I agree, easy to use, excellent results...

Beautiful work!
I love the old Crown Vic's

Easy work... these classics had a very unique look with all the stainless steel trim...

Outstanding job on a beautiful classic!

The hard part was the first time I buffed it out, this time was a cake walk...

Beautiful work Mike...What a classic.

Thanks Pat...



:xyxthumbs:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I like to take pictures of the dashes of classic cars, they're so different than the design of modern cars. They are a lot more artistic in the layout and design. Nothing against new car dashes just saying the classics had a different type of flair.

Here's the dash on this old Ford, note it looks to have some type of aftermarket air conditioning add-on, probably from the dealership back in 1955...

I drove this car around our building and she drives as nice as she looks...

 

[Romans5.8]

I like to take pictures of the dashes of classic cars, they're so different than the design of modern cars. They are a lot more artistic in the layout and design. Nothing against new car dashes just saying the classics had a different type of flair.

Here's the dash on this old Ford, note it looks to have some type of aftermarket air conditioning add-on, probably from the dealership back in 1955...

I drove this car around our building and she drives as nice as she looks...

I'm with you Mike. I love everything about old dashboards. Lots of gauges, big clunky switches, things are often laid out and spread out across the entire car. Lots of chrome, steel, and wood. You really feel like you're operating a heavy piece of machinery. Maybe that's why drivers were less distracted and took driving more seriously back then? They had an intimate understanding of the fact that they were behind the wheel of a huge, heavy machine.

BTW, Packard first introduced air conditioning in cars in the 1930's. Chrysler had it as early as the 1950's. These were all HUGE trunk mounted systems and very, very rare. If that IS an original air-conditioning add-on, it's probably very very rare. (I THINK I read somewhere that Chryslers trunk mounted 'Air Tempe' air conditioning, a trunk mounted system from the mid-to-late 50's, was only in 10 or 12 cars each of it's first couple of years- very rare. Could be wrong there though). However, there are companies (like vintage-aire) who make replicas of those old AC systems OR, just make systems that look like they were there all along. I saw a 1952 Ford at a car show a few months ago that had air conditioning controls added to the car right next to the heater controls that looked like they were factory. Under the hood was a modern AC compressor, evaporator, etc. Pretty cool setup! This was a guy who drove that car to every car show it was in and didn't even own a trailer big enough for the car. Way cool!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I'm with you Mike. I love everything about old dashboards.

They are unique and artistic as compared to new cars which are hi-tech but drab.

I saw a 1952 Ford at a car show a few months ago that had air conditioning controls added to the car right next to the heater controls that looked like they were factory.

If you look at the three large round controls in the center of the dash, the one are the outside left controls the air conditioner and I'm pretty sure that's not the stock controls. So the company that created the air conditioning must have also created the controls and then did it in a way to match the Ford's dash layout.

If this car sales at the auction, I hope the new owner appreciates and takes care of the coated finish on this car.

I should have put my business card in it in case they have any questions.

 

[eboose7]

The under dash air conditioning is likely new. They are available through various suppliers of reproduction parts and accessories. I have a similar unit in my 1956 Thunderbird.