1976 Corvette Original Single Stage Paint - Paint Correction and Waxing

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

1976 Corvette Original Single Stage Paint - Paint Correction and Waxing


This is a 1976 Chevy Corvette with the original factory single stage paint. It still belongs to to original owner.

Here's a video I made that walks through the process I used. This is hosted on my Facebook page. You don't have to have a Facebook account to watch the video. Just click on the link to launch the video.

Make sure you have your speakers on and the "sound" button and bar in the lower right hand corner of the video screen is on and turned up.


Mike Phillips - Original Paint - 1976 Corvette





The original paint is in sad shape

The owner has 2 options,


Option 1: Repaint the car.

That wouldn't really be the right approach, the right approach would be to restore the car and that would take years and a lot of money.


Option 2: Save the paint.

This will cost a lot less money but everyone will have to LOWER THEIR EXPECTATIONS, including me. There are simply too many places where the paint is thin and you can see a light colored primer under the single stage paint. Buffing out paint this old and this thin means some of these thin areas are probably going to grow. That's the deal. There's NO WAY to compound this paint and that means ABRADE this paint in order to remove a little to undo years of neglect and restore gloss, shine, clarity and richness of color.



So with the owner knowing all this before starting, he gave me permission to do the best I could do. I had about 11 hours into CAREFULLY and METHODICALLY compounding the paint with Pinnacle Advanced Compound and then machine polishing the paint using the BLACKFIRE One Step.

NOTE: All pictures taken with an iPhone 10X Max.


I'll let the pictures do the talking....


Here's the before condition

Old Tire Dressing

Stay tuned for my write-up on how I address the tires. These by the way have some kind of tire dressing them. When I wipe the sidewalls with my hands an oily dirty black residue comes off.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Re: 1976 Corvette Orignal Single Stage Paint - Paint Correction and Waxing

Continued....

Clay Haze or Clay Towel Haze = Marring from the claying process

If you look at the areas I circled in yellow - this is called clay haze or clay marring only in this case it's Clay Towel Haze as I switched to a clay towel after using traditional clay on the hood. I used the traditional clay because I wanted to see if any color came off the car.

Continued....


Here's my Test Spot and a few other pictures showing what I did. There was some prototype pads I was experimenting with but after all my testing you can see what I predominantly used at the end of this post.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Re: 1976 Corvette Orignal Single Stage Paint - Paint Correction and Waxing

Continued.....


Here are the final results...

Thanks for looking, always appreciate comments and questions.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Continued....

A couple comments....


1: A rotary buffer with a wool pad (of any type), would have destroyed what was left of this paint and left Tiger Strips everywhere (goolge tiger stripes with Mike Phillips)


2: As of the year I'm typing this, 2020 - this paint is 44 years old. If the owner and the next owner just take simple care of the paint moving forward continue to keep it out of the South Florida sun and rain, (it's a garage queen), it's possible this paint could last another 44 years.


3: Stay tuned to see how I addressed the tires.

 

[PaulMys]

That thing looks 100x better now, Mike.

I always like the pics of the machine "trails" when applying product.

When I polish, I kind of use these as a gauge to keep my arm speed in check. Lol.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

That thing looks 100x better now, Mike.

The next step is re-paint. I'm not sure what it would cost to do the job right but my guess is a lot.

I always like the pics of the machine "trails" when applying product.

The polish is actually the BLACKFIRE One Step - I apply to the entire car and let it fully dry before removing.

:dblthumb2:

 

[hoyt66]

That thing looks 100x better now, Mike.

I always like the pics of the machine "trails" when applying product.

When I polish, I kind of use these a gauge to keep my arm speed in check. Lol.

One hundred percent. I do the same thing

 

[Vette Ski]

Wow, what an improvement. Brought her back to life !!
Rich

 

[Aaryn NZ]

Well in all fairness, that’s an outstanding result considering all the factors here. rops:

If it were mine, this approach would be exactly what I would go for also. I mean, sure, it’s not inch perfect by any means but to me the real value lies in the fact that this is a one owner car with the original paint!!! That alone is worth more than one that has been restored to the highest standards. The restored one will be prettier to look at (especially for us Detailers) but in reality - anyone with the cash to do so, can have that - not so easy with a car like this 1976 Corvette.

I see the beauty in originality, the bumps, bruises, dings, scratches, blemishes & thin spots .... character in my opinion. :xyxthumbs:


Aaryn NZ. :dblthumb2:

 

[craigv]

Impressive result Mike. You are a magician with a buffer in your hands.

The paint looked pretty old and hammered. Surprising that you used a compound. You are more brave than I would have been. I would have bailed and just used Blackfire One Step twice. Just kinda snuck up on it.

I have seen you use Meguirs #7 Glaze before on that condition of paint to give the paint some nourishment. Why not this time?

Lastly, I see you used my favorite lubricant to clay with. Sonax Glass Cleaner. Love the dual role it plays on the paint. Lubricate and CLEAN the dirt and grim off the surface.

As always....thanks for your time and efforts to inform and educate myself and the car detailing community.

Craig

 

[Vette Ski]

I had a 1975 Bronze colored 'Vette that I bought from my brother who purchased it new. He sold it to me and purchased a 1965 yellow coupe. My '75 was a dog, I think it had around 195 hp. My '19 'Vette GS has 460 horses
Rich

 

[JDGolden]

Incredible turnaround. I agree with Aaryn, and probably everyone else, but give me the original car. Original paint is only original once.

 

[DetailZeus]

The polish is actually the BLACKFIRE One Step - I apply to the entire car and let it fully dry before removing.

Mike do you do this with most of your AIO's or is this unique to One Step?

 

[Jacob Harrod AUTOCLEAN]

Re: 1976 Corvette Orignal Single Stage Paint - Paint Correction and Waxing

Mike,
I'm with craigv. How come you didn't use the Meguiar's #7 approach this time around? Also do you have an article on how to select the correct products and pads to correct the paint? What would you have done had there been coloration on the clay? Is there a cure time for the BlackFire One Step, and could you add another layer of protection with a product like Beadmaker? I noticed that you used the Tornador air gun as a pad cleaning tool. That's a slick trick! Let me just say that the paint looks absolutely fabulous! Any response you can give is much appreciated in advance. Take it easy Mike, and keep on shining!

 

[theamcguy]

Mike, interested in that question as well why was Megs #7 not used? Very interested as well as to how you restored the tires.

 

[Jacob Harrod AUTOCLEAN]

Mike, interested in that question as well why was Megs #7 not used? Very interested as well as to how you restored the tires.

You know I did think about it some. Perhaps the paint just wasnt in a condition where it needed that step. I mean I didn't see a lot of if any oxidation. Plus the paint was thin as well so perhaps it could not hold up to the additional step of Meguiar's #7. There were mostly just scratches and swirl marks, which compounding would remove no problem. Did you see that one patch? It was really scratched up.

 

[2wookies]

Re: 1976 Corvette Orignal Single Stage Paint - Paint Correction and Waxing

Mike,
I'm with craigv. How come you didn't use the Meguiar's #7 approach this time around?)

I thought for sure he was gonna do this.

Solid 10 footer results.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Impressive result Mike. You are a magician with a buffer in your hands.

Thank you. It was nerve-wraking buffing out this car simply because of all the thin spots. But it was

A: Compound it.

B: Repaint it.


I could as a couple of local restoration shops what they would charge to re-paint this car the RIGHT way, and by the "right way", I mean, do whatever it takes to get the body panels and paint right. Never mind rebuilding any of the mechanicals, just the paint.

My guess would be in the range of $30,000.00


And for a lot of people, myself included, before I dumped even half that into a paint job I would do what I did, that is buff it out. Cross your fingers, use great abrasive technology and then be damn careful.

The paint looked pretty old and hammered. Surprising that you used a compound. You are more brave than I would have been. I would have bailed and just used Blackfire One Step twice. Just kinda snuck up on it.

That was the original plan, JUST use BLACKFIRE One Step. This would be a very safe approach. I tested the BF One Step on the passenger side roof panel and it simply didn't remove enough of the damaged paint to make a "wow" difference. In fact, if all I used was the BF One Step, it was going to look like shiny dull/cloudy/whitish paint. In other words, it was still going to look like crap.

The 2 pads in the back left you see in this picture, these were my Test Spot pads using only BF One Step. One is the RUPES wool polishing pad the other a LC Hybrid polishing pad. Neither did enough correction to make the kind of before and after difference you see in the after pictures. I tried the least aggressive approach, I HOPED it would work - but it simply wasn't enough.

I have seen you use Meguirs #7 Glaze before on that condition of paint to give the paint some nourishment. Why not this time?

Good question. I get this question a lot for different projects I tackle with either original paint or antique paint. I'll answer below because others are also asking.

Lastly, I see you used my favorite lubricant to clay with. Sonax Glass Cleaner. Love the dual role it plays on the paint. Lubricate and CLEAN the dirt and grim off the surface.

Yeah it's one of my favorite products. It's truly a great glass cleaner but I use it as a rinseless wash and a waterless wash. When using as a rinseless wash I simply dump half a bottle into about 3 gallons of water. I did this for the 1967 Camaro convertible for both the vinyl top and the paint, glass and chrome.

Review: Machine applying RaggTopp Vinyl Cleaner and Protectant - 1967 Camaro Convertible


Click this link and I show how I used the SONAX Glass Cleaner as a wash.

Mike Phillips - Rinsing without running water

As always....thanks for your time and efforts to inform and educate myself and the car detailing community.

Craig

Thank you, I'm always thankful to have a job I love.

Just to comment, we've tried 2 TV shows to showcase car detailing, and the one thing I always noticed about them is that unlike all the other "Car Guy" TV shows - none of them ever have a platform where they share their knowledge and also answer questions for their audience. For example, name one Car Guy TV star and include the link to where you can go to ask them questions and get their answers? Or read their articles, reviews or write-ups? Maybe that's why the shows didn't make it.

Mike,

I'm with craigv. How come you didn't use the Meguiar's #7 approach this time around?

I'll answer this in a dedicated reply, not this multi-quote reply. Good question and as I shared above, I get this question a LOT when it comes to working on original and/or antique paint.

Also do you have an article on how to select the correct products and pads to correct the paint?

Yes. This recent article answers your question, but not with specific product recommendations but instead, a big picture point of view. The key when working on car paint is to always use GREAT abrasive technology. If you use crap for products you'll get crap for results.

The two reasons WHY you should always do a Test Spot before buffing out any car


And anyone reading this into the future, if you haven't read this article, I recommend it.

Abrasive Technology - THE most important factor when it comes to polishing paint

What would you have done had there been coloration on the clay?

There was discoloration. It's the color green and it's dead paint coming of the car, just not tons of it.

Here's a single stage paint Bronco I detailed back in 2004, just 16 years ago, look at the amount of paint coming off the Bronco and onto the clay.


1986 Ford Bronco II - Extreme Makeover

Before

After just one half of the hood.

Back in 2004 - Nanoskin towels had not been invented yet. All we had was clay. After claying the Bronco the clay was so contaminated it was thrown away.

Is there a cure time for the BlackFire One Step, and could you add another layer of protection with a product like Beadmaker?

The cure time for BF One Step is the same for ALL products. After application and wipe-off, wait for a WINDOW OF TIME for 12 to 24 hours before disrupting the finish. Give whatever Magic Voodoo Juice is in the product the time to do it's thing, whatever it's "thing" is,

Polymerize, Bond, Crosslink, Hydrogen Bond, Set-up, Dry, etc.


And yes you could do what's called Topping. This article dates back to 2011, that's 9 years ago as I type today.

Topping - Definition - How to Top also called Topping

I wouldn't use a product like the Beadmaker though, I would use something more substantial like the BLACKFIRE BlackIce, which I have shown as a topper for the BF One Step. But any NON-CLEANING wax or sealant could be used including SONAX PNS.

I noticed that you used the Tornador air gun as a pad cleaning tool. That's a slick trick!

While the Tornador Blow Out Gun is great for cleaning microfiber pads I would never use it to clean foam pads. I don't use a lot of micorifber pads because I don't like how they feel when buffing and most of the time they inflict their own scratches called micro-marring. I've explained this hundreds of times n this forum but here's the short version.

Fibers are abrasives

On soft and even medium hardness paint - each one of the fibers in a microfiber pad will CUT the paint leaving tiny scratches in it and when using any brand of orbital polisher, these tiny scratches are called micro-marring.

It's okay to micro-mar the paint if you're going to do a follow-up step using foam, (uniform texture, not individual fibers), but if you're NOT going to so a second step - then you're leaving micro-marring in the paint.

I think I recently posted somewhere I've been using microfiber pads since before the world knew about them so it's not that I'm not WISE to their capabilities, I just prefer to buff with foam. And I can really go DEEP on this topic if anyone wants me to.


See this article I wrote just a few weeks ago and specifically post #2

Fibers are a form of abrasive - Foam Pads vs Microfiber Pads by Mike Phillips

Let me just say that the paint looks absolutely fabulous! Any response you can give is much appreciated in advance. Take it easy Mike, and keep on shining!

Thanks for asking your questions, I'll answer about the #7 below.

Mike, interested in that question as well why was Megs #7 not used?

Good question - I'll answer below.

Very interested as well as to how you restored the tires.

Ask and you shall receive...

Review: 303 Multi-Surface Cleaner as a Tire Cleaner + 303 Protectant as a Tire Dressing by Mike Phillips

You know I did think about it some.

Perhaps the paint just wasnt in a condition where it needed that step.

I mean I didn't see a lot of if any oxidation.

The above is correct.

Plus the paint was thin as well so perhaps it could not hold up to the additional step of Meguiar's #7. There were mostly just scratches and swirl marks, which compounding would remove no problem. Did you see that one patch? It was really scratched up.

I'll post in my follow-up why I didn't use #7 for this project.



Thanks for all the great questions....


Like I always say, the opportunity to work on any car with the original antique paint is RARE.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

More....


Here's the short answer to the question about why I didn't use the #7 Rub Down Technique for the paint on this car.


It didn't have chalky oxidized paint.


The #7 Rub Down Technique is for a car that has the original, antique paint that has turned chalky. The chalkiness is oxidation.


A hard shine
Yes this paint was oxidized but it still has a hard shine to it. This is a picture I took after the car arrived and BEFORE I did anything to it. See the hard shine to the surface?

The paint is NOT chalky. In fact, the surface was almost case-hardened with time. There was light oxidation, you can see a little green paint came off the car and onto the clay bar, but there was not tons of green paint i.e. oxidation coming off when I clayed it.

The paint was simply aged, stained, spotted and filled with swirls and scratches.

The #7 would not have done anything to bring the paint back to life so I first tried the very safe BLACKFIRE One Step and when that wouldn't cut through the years of hardening, I resorted to the Pinnacle Advanced Compound.


I guess it's a judgement call as to when to use the #7 technique or not and the judgment comes from years of experience buffing out just about everything under the sun.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Continued.....

1924 Model T

My friend and alumni student of my 3-day class sent me this picture yesterday. He's going to try to bring it by for me to take a look at.

I will test the paint to see if it can be saved or if it's past the point of no return and if the pigments have become unstable.


I explain this in my how-to book,

The Complete Guide to a Show Car Shine Paperback Book by Mike Phillips

And also in these articles,

Category 12 - Past the point of no return by Mike Phillips


Past the point of No Return - Some paint just cannot be saved


Here's what I'll mostly be looking for,


Paint Condition Category #9 Unstable