1954 Pick-up single stage

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nesto

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A co-worker of mine has a 1954 chevy pick-up, beautiful truck. The paint is need of some work. After washing it I plan to clay it, next step is where you guys come in. I want this paint to shine I mean SHINE! So what would be a good cleaner/polish thats not to abrasive as to not damage the 30 yr paint. (He got it painted 30 yrs ago) I have the Mequiars stuff and I have the x360 stuff, and I have klasse. What do you guys recommend I try out.

Thanks!:buffing:
 
My first assumption is that this is a single stage paint. These paints tend to be somewhat soft so care & caution should be exercised. Start off slowly and do several test spots in order to narrow down your plan of attack.

The beauty of single stage paints is the film thickness tends to be thicker especially if the paint was applied in a paint shop.

It sounds like you have a number of 1-step products. Mask off a couple of areas and try what you have. I'd first try the XMT 360 on a White pad. Use the same color pad and try the next section. The problem with some of these is they contain fine fillers that hide rather than remove surface defects.

XMT 360 contains fine abrasives
Klasse All-In-One chemically cleans and polishes

Personally, I prefer to try a straight polish, something like

  • Menzerna Super Intensive Polish PO83Q - Orange & White foam pad
  • Menzerna Super Finish Polish PO106FA - White & Gray foam pad
Meguiar's D151 is another thought and might work very well here..

Meguiars D151 Paint Reconditioning Cream
 
BillyJack said:
After the clay, I'd aggressively work in some Meguiar's #7 before any polishing. Read this article for a complete tutorial:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...w-car-finish-antique-single-stage-paints.html
I can't explain it any better than Mike, but I do emphatically swear by the process, having done it on the 24 year old paint of my El Camino in my avatar.

Bill
Click to expand...
THIS!
Read that entire article a couple or 5 times, then go after it.

I have a Single Stage Paint truck, and the stuff in that article is spot on. I have used the #7 a few times on it and it never looks better. If you still need to correct after that, use the M80 as mentioned.

DLB
 
Meguiar's #7 is a tried and trued favorite among the show circuit. It's loaded with oils and fine fillers that leave the finish looking very glossy, almost wet. Many prefer to use it over a full correction but this will hide any remaining defects rather than correcting them.

Meguiar's #7 will remove some of the oxidation and the oils do tend to penetrate but this is a temporary product and offers no real durability.

I would at the very least recommend a 1-step product like Meguiar's D151. Doing a test spot and proceeding slowly and non-aggressively is how I would approach this.

Removing oxidation is paramount to achieving a glossy shine. I've always preferred to correct surface blemishes if I can rather than hide them.

If you do decide to use only Meguiar's #7 glaze be sure to let it dry before applying a wax over coat.
 
Really cool, thanks for the response guys!!!:xyxthumbs: I will read the article today. Thanks again.:xyxthumbs:
 
BobbyG said:
Meguiar's #7 will remove some of the oxidation and the oils do tend to penetrate but this is a temporary product and offers no real durability.
Click to expand...
Have you read that article Bobby, or better yet, used the entire method in that article?

The reason I ask is because it doesn't recommend using #7 as any kind of a temporary fix. It is using the #7 to remove most of the oxidation. Used as a top coat that you just wipe on the paint like a wax it is indeed very temporary, and results are nil, because it will just wash off.

However, when using it to feed oil back into the paint and remove the top layer of oxidation, it is a different animal.
BobbyG said:
I would at the very least recommend a 1-step product like Meguiar's D151. Doing a test spot and proceeding slowly and non-aggressively is how I would approach this.

Removing oxidation is paramount to achieving a glossy shine. I've always preferred to correct surface blemishes if I can rather than hide them.

If you do decide to use only Meguiar's #7 glaze be sure to let it dry before applying a wax over coat.
Click to expand...
Again, the article covers this. If you use the #7 to get the oxidation removed, use another high oil content polish, like M80. Meg's D151 has done me no good on the two single stage vehicles I have tried this on (and regularly maintain, one being my own '71 GMC, one my fathers 4-Door Dually). D151 is usually my first go to because of its ease of use. I can't say that the results are always the same though. What I have seen though is that the single stage just sucks up any oils that are in whatever polish you use, and you are just taking away your paint layer. That's why the use of #7 is almost inherent.

If you have surface defects to correct, do it after you have "oiled up the surface" and gotten the oxidation off. 151 could be used here, but I don't prefer it because I like to use a good carnauba wax after polishing SS paint. A pure polish with even more feeder oils (M80) seems to work best, for me.

I just didn't want to confuse the OP thinking that the #7 was a temporary fix OR a polish job. It is just the "pre-polish" step that really makes SS shine.

DLB
 
DLB said:
Have you read that article Bobby, or better yet, used the entire method in that article?

The reason I ask is because it doesn't recommend using #7 as any kind of a temporary fix. It is using the #7 to remove most of the oxidation. Used as a top coat that you just wipe on the paint like a wax it is indeed very temporary, and results are nil, because it will just wash off.

However, when using it to feed oil back into the paint and remove the top layer of oxidation, it is a different animal.
Again, the article covers this. If you use the #7 to get the oxidation removed, use another high oil content polish, like M80. Meg's D151 has done me no good on the two single stage vehicles I have tried this on (and regularly maintain, one being my own '71 GMC, one my fathers 4-Door Dually). D151 is usually my first go to because of its ease of use. I can't say that the results are always the same though. What I have seen though is that the single stage just sucks up any oils that are in whatever polish you use, and you are just taking away your paint layer. That's why the use of #7 is almost inherent.

If you have surface defects to correct, do it after you have "oiled up the surface" and gotten the oxidation off. 151 could be used here, but I don't prefer it because I like to use a good carnauba wax after polishing SS paint. A pure polish with even more feeder oils (M80) seems to work best, for me.

I just didn't want to confuse the OP thinking that the #7 was a temporary fix OR a polish job. It is just the "pre-polish" step that really makes SS shine.

DLB
Click to expand...

X2
I know it's hard to conceive that applications of #7 alone can make much of a difference, but it's true. Prior to Mike P. publishing his SS restoration article, I had tried numerous polishes and compounds, including some dangerously aggressive "rocks in a bottle" in an attempt to achieve some level of improvement in my El Camino's silver roof. All that resulted is a reduced level of paint thickness and some nasty caked-up pads. Take a look at this split shot :
ElCamroof1.jpg


The driver's side had 4 very aggressive applications of #7, the first of which was given an overnight soak, all accomplished by hand. The subsequent steps performed after this pic was shot were rotary polishing with Meguiar's M80 and 3M machine glaze. The level of improvement with the machine polishing was nowhere near what #7 alone had accomplished.
I've read Mike's article numerous times and still don't have a clear understanding as to why such a non-aggressive product can accomplish so much. All I know is that it just flat works. Based on my experiences, if you're attempting to restore an aged SS paint surface with minimum reduction in film thickness, you're doing your paint a disservice if you reach for the power tools as your first step. Force-feed a bunch of M07 into the paint first, and then will it be time to reach for the buffer.

Bill
 
DLB,

No, I haven't read the article but it Mike's spent the time putting it together I have no doubt it's worked for him and many others..

I've used Meguiar's #7 Glaze for over 20 years and only to clean up the surface with a light buffing removing oxidation then another to give the finish that glossy wet look. Meguiar's #7 Glaze fills minor imperfections and does feed oils back into the paint but by itself offers no durability at all hence the reason I mention temporary.

Once the finish has dried, I like to buff it to a high gloss and add a wax protection, something like Meguiar's #26 Yellow wax. While they do sell it in a liquid form I much prefer it in the gold and black tin.

This is the way I've always used Meguiar's #7 Glaze as most of the vehicles I've used it on through the years are not show cars and need additional protection.

While I haven't used Meguiar's #80 it does sound like another great Meguiar's product especially if it offers so much more in the way of oil and nutrients. This sounds like a product well suited for single stage paints.

I could say that I've had great success with Meguiar's D151 but that would do this product injustice. I don't think I've ever had this product fail me on just about everything I've used it on, it's just that good.

It sounds like single stage paints may not be the best application for Meguiar's D151 then. Since your recommending Meguiar's #80 do you use a wax to protect it or do you find it stands up the the elements on its own?
 
BobbyG said:
Since your recommending Meguiar's #80 do you use a wax to protect it or do you find it stands up the the elements on its own?
Click to expand...
I absolutely wax post use. The #7 and M80 offer 0 protection. I have used the M26 on several occasions, but for my truck the Souveran works really well (I think this is again because of the oils).

DLB
 
My understanding of m07 glaze is that it has no cleaner so, although it's a good product, it doesn't actually offer much correction. Another suggestion would be Meg's Ultimate Polish which has light cleaning ability combined with polishing oils.
 
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