1956 Bel Air Show Car Prep at Autogeek's Show Car Garage!

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Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.

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1956 Bel Air Show Car Prep at Autogeek's Show Car Garage!


Last night, as a part of breaking in Autogeek's new expanded Show Car Garage we prepped the paint on Sam Mascia's beautiful custom 1956 Chevy Bel air.

This car was previously buffed out by my buddy and pro detailer Jeff Bell of St. Lucie Detailing but it's been a year and since he buffed it out the basecoat/clearcoat paint has accumulated normal swirls and scratches as this car sees a lot of car shows.

We did some testing with a fine cut polish but that wasn't getting the deeper RIDS out so we re-compounded the entire car using Pinnacle Advanced Compound followed by Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish.

AFTER the compounding and polishing we machine applied the Pinnacle Black Label Surface Cleansing Polish to remove any polishing residues left by the Advanced Finishing Polish and then we coated the paint using Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Paint Coating.

Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Paint Coating imparts a glassy look to paint that makes the paint look wet, like paint looks right after the last coat of clear is sprayed.

Sam will be entering his 1956 Chevy Bel Air at the upcoming 23rd Annual Eckler’s Classic Chevy Winter National Convention taking place February, 6th, 7th & 8th in Orlando, Florida.


Here's the finished reslults....

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Good luck at the show Sam!


:dblthumb2:
 
I love the two tone. A friend is going to do a similar paint job to a '55 Chevy and would like the know the paint code (or OEM car color) that the white pearl is from.

Awesome car and nice work like always.

Randy
 
ZimRandy said:
I love the two tone. A friend is going to do a similar paint job to a '55 Chevy and would like the know the paint code (or OEM car color) that the white pearl is from.
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I'll ask Sam for the paint code. Sam owns a body shop and had been building custom cars since high school. It's possible this paint color is a custom mix of his own making but I'll check.



ZimRandy said:
Awesome car and nice work like always.

Randy
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Thanks Randy, I appreciate you taking the time to reply to the thread.


I have pictures showing all the steps performed to get the paint to look this way if there's any interest.


:xyxthumbs:
 
Yum yum yum! :hungry:

That is simply gorgeous! :props:

Beautiful cars & exceptional work there team - Bravo! :dblthumb2:

Aaryn NZ. :xyxthumbs:
 
I love that car! especially the two tone paint. Looks amazing.
 
Beautiful job. If that's original fuel injection it makes the car worth a fortune!
 
Garyhw48 said:
Beautiful job. If that's original fuel injection it makes the car worth a fortune!
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When I see Sam I'll ask him...


This car is entered into judging competition this weekend in Orlando, Florida.


Anyone going to this show? I'm working at the Cars for a Cure car show this Saturday so I'm not going to be able to attend the Orlando show.

I'd sure like it if one of our forum members with a good camera that knows how to frame up a shot could attend and take a couple pictures of this car on display.

Any takers?


:xyxthumbs:
 
Garyhw48 said:
Beautiful job. If that's original fuel injection it makes the car worth a fortune!
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No, it`s a TPI.Fuel injection was`nt available until 1957.Lots of people changed them to carburetors cause the Rochester had many problems.
 
fabiolas4 said:
woah lordy that chevy is sexy!
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I agree. This is a real icon of Detroit Iron. I dare say in the future this car will continue to increase in value while most the cars being built today will never end up getting the show car treatment in a show car garage like this one 60 years into the future.



tuscarora dave said:
That sure is one sweet Chevy... You are the man Mike!!
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Thanks Dave but just to point out this was a team effort. I had my local "Car Guys" John, Jeff, Frank, Robert, Franco, Tim, Roy, John and Joe all plowing through the paint on the car with compound, polish and then stripping the paint and then applying a paint coating. I helped but I certainly didn't do it by myself. Due credit where credit is due.

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Mike@DedicatedPerfection said:
Beautiful work! That's a sexy Tri-Five!
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Thanks Mike... this and the 1932 Deuce Roadster were fitting cars to break in a garage with the name "Show Car Garage" on the wall. These are both true "show cars".



Aaryn NZ said:
Yum yum yum! :hungry:

That is simply gorgeous! :props:

Beautiful cars & exceptional work there team - Bravo! :dblthumb2:

Aaryn NZ. :xyxthumbs:
Click to expand...

Thanks Aaryn...


tigerwash said:
I love that car! especially the two tone paint. Looks amazing.
Click to expand...


You should see it in person! I told the owner the paint coating would give the paint on his Shoebox Chevy that GLASSY look and it did.

I hope he wins a first place at the big show this weekend...

Fingers crossed...


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:dblthumb2:
 
There's been a couple people calling in asking what we used on the 1956 so here's a list...



Porter Cable 7424XP
5” Backing Plate
Lake Country 5.5” Foam pads

  • Orange for compound
  • White for Polish
  • Blue for waxing
Flex 3401

Hybrid Pads
  • Orange for compounding
  • White for polishing
  • Black for waxing

For products we used,

Pinnacle Compound

Pinnacle Polish




For the 1956 Chevy we used,

Pinnacle Black Label Surface Cleansing Polish

Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Paint Coating



For the 1932 Deuce Roaster we used

Pinnacle Liquid Souveran


I’d get at least 12 of these towels and then take care of them. Keep them off the floor. Wash them all together in a SMALL wash load using a microfiber detergent. Dry them in the dry together and then store them in a clean place so they stay nice. By themselves they are $7.00 a piece and a 3-pack in the link below they are $15.00

So buy 4 3-packs and you’ll have 12 towels and that’s enough to take care of your car and make a small wash load of only these towels.

Gold Plus Jr. 16” x 16” towels




If you're using a Porter Cable or any of the knock-offs of this tool then read this,

Video: Mark your backing plate to make it easy to see pad rotation

And get this video


How to Properly Use the Porter Cable 7424XP Dual Action Polisher Updated!
PorterCableDVD.jpg




IF you're using the Flex 3401 then get this video and this how-to book


How To Properly Use Flex Polishers DVD

FlexDVDwithMikePhillips.jpg





How to use the Flex XC 3401 VRG Dual Action Polisher
For both Production Detailing & Show Car Detailing

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:dblthumb2:
 
***Update***


Sam, the owner of the 1956 Chevy showed his car last weekend at the Eckler's Winter Nationals show and was awarded the Platinum Award with 996 points out of 1000.

His car will be here this Saturday at our Cars & Coffee Show where I'll take a picture of his him with his car and his Platinum Award.


Congratulations Sam!



:dblthumb2:
 
Awesome! :dblthumb2:

Thats fantastic news. I was hoping to hear how the show went, thank you Mike. :props:

Super work everyone involved! :dblthumb2:

. . . . thinking I need to move closer to Stuart, then I could be a part of this magic . . . (sigh)

Aaryn NZ.
 
Just found out that I never added this to complete the story.



Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Paint Coating - First Place!


A few weeks ago we broke in the new Show Car Garage with two really cool cars. One of them was Sam's custom built 1956 Chevy Bel Air. Sam owns a body shop here in Stuart and built and painted this car himself.
  • We compounded the paint with Pinnacle Advanced Compound.
  • We polished the paint with Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish.
  • We machine applied the Pinnacle Black Label Surface Cleansing Polish to remove polishing oils.
  • We hand applied the Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Paint Coating.
Here's the results....

First Place Platinum Award with 996 points out of 1000 points at the Eckler's Winter Nationals Car Show.


Congratulations Sam!



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Here's the link to the write-up when we did the work on this car....

1956 Bel Air Show Car Prep at Autogeek's Show Car Garage!






How to apply Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Paint Coating

Paint coatings are different than car waxes and synthetic paint sealants in that the paint needs to be defect free and squeaky clean.

Older cars
Before you can apply a paint cleaner you need to remove any swirls, scratches, oxidation, staining or water spots. If you need help learning how to restore the paint on your car then call us here at Autogeek.

1-800-869-3011



New cars
If you have a brand new car and so far there are no defects in the paint, this is the perfect time to apply a paint coating. Just follow these steps....


Process

Step 1: Wash and dry car or wipe car clean
The owner washed his Corvette the night before and then next morning drove it to Autogeek. During the 3 hour trip to Stuart, Florida he hit a few showers and wet areas of the highway so after moving the Stingray into the garage we wiped it down using Detailer's Waterless Autowash.


Step 2: Inspect paint for swirls
For this we used the new Flex Swirl Finder Light. This Corvette is brand new and has been carefully hand washed by the owner using products purchased at Autogeek. There were no visible swirls or scratches in the finish.


Step 3: Inspect for above surface bonded contaminants
For this we first inspect using our clean, bare hand and felt no contamination. Next we used the Baggie Test and even with the baggie test we only felt nominal and sporadic contaminants. Not enough to justify claying or some other mechanical means of decontaminating.


Step 4: Chemically clean and polish paint to prep it for a coating
I used the Black Label Surface Cleansing Lotion on all the paint, hard smooth plastic and glass. Product was applied to the entire car at one time using a 5.5" Lake Country Black Flat Pad on the 5 speed setting of a Porter Cable 7424XP.


Step 5: Hand apply Black Label Diamond Paint Coating
For this step we wore black nitrile gloves and applied the coating using Lake Country Coating Applicators. We applied to all body panels at one time.


Step 6: Hand apply Black Label Diamond Glass Coating
For this I used round foam applicator pad.


Step 7: Hand applied Black Label Diamond Wheel Coating
For this we used the Gold Wax Finger Pockets.


Step 8: Removed coatings
After applying the last coating, (wheel coating), we carefully and methodically wiped the coatings off following our path of travel used to apply the coatings. That is start wiping off first where we applied first.


After coating your car simply wash the coating by hand using the Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Coating Shampoo and dry using soft microfiber towel.

Maintain the glassy look using Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Coating Detailer


By following these simple steps you can maintain a factory new finish on your car as long as you own it.



Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Paint Coating

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On Autogeek.net

Pinnacle Black Label Surface Cleansing Polish

Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Paint Coating

Black Label Diamond Coating Detailer

Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Coating Shampoo



Microfiber Towels Used

Gold Plush Jr. Microfiber Towel - 16 x 16 inches
We used these to wipe the Surface Cleansing Polish off the body panels, plastic and glass.

Super Soft Deluxe Green Microfiber Towels with Rolled Edges - 3 Pack
We used these to wipe the coatings off plus we wore the microfiber gloves for this process.




:dblthumb2:
__________________
 
With posts mixing up the order of when you do these cars, it's impossible to see the order of when you did them.

But that's not my question. Do you still do the shows?

I just watched the 2010 Camaro makeover last night. Yes, all 3 hrs. I had it playing on my 58". My daughter woke up and asked "What the heck are you watching?!" LOL
I picked up on a few things to help improve my technique. I'll be sure to go through these, but I was just wondering if you still do the live shows. If so, maybe a link?
 
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