Advice on old single stage vette

[Alansr]

In a few weeks I'll have a late 50's or early 60's vette. It's red single stage paint. It's in great shape, garage kept and has no signs of oxidation. It does have a lot of swirls and rids.
I'll probably start with mcguires 7 glaze and let it sit over night.
Would you guys recommend going for m105/205 combo? The swirls are pretty bad.
Any other recommendations are welcome.
Thanks

 

[Bill1234]

In a few weeks I'll have a late 50's or early 60's vette. It's red single stage paint. It's in great shape, garage kept and has no signs of oxidation. It does have a lot of swirls and rids.
I'll probably start with mcguires 7 glaze and let it sit over night.
Would you guys recommend going for m105/205 combo? The swirls are pretty bad.
Any other recommendations are welcome.
Thanks

I personally would go for meguiars ultimate compound, its a bit less cut than m105 but is perfect for older cars with single stage. I would try to get most of it corrected then apply a good coating like collinite or something ever stronger. I would definately clay though

 

[tuscarora dave]

If that's an old lacquer paint, chances are it will be very soft and delicate. I'd try steering clear of any heavier compounds like 105. I'd look into seeing what could be done with the #7 using it as a pad dependent polish as a first step in your test section. Then go from there if that doesn't work out so well. I like using oily products on old SS paints, but only after the #7 overnight soak.

#205 worked OK on the 1969 Monza Red Corvette I did. You can remove that paint a lot faster than you can clear coats so be sure to be gentle with it and proceed slowly until you find what's going to get you the results.

 

[cire]

This thread is very similar to what I will hopefully be working on in a few weeks as well. My wife's friend's dad owns a 66 vette. She came over Sunday to pick my wife up to drive around and have fun. I couldn't help but to check it out and offer my services. It has single stage red paint, no oxidation and medium on the swirls and rids.

I have been thinking of what my process would be and would plan on:
1. Take pics and inspect\document the paint issues
2. Use a waterless wash (it's not that dirty and it's an antique!)
3. Fully decontaminate the surface
4. Waterless wash again
5. Dry with dedicated MFs
6. Use Meg #7 and soak in overnight
7. Wipe off and decide if another application is needed vs. start polishing process
8. Test spot using M205 with black pad then stepping up the pads gradually if needed
9. Proceed with LSP of customer's choice

Let us know what you decide on as well as pics! That would be a cool car to work on!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

In a few weeks I'll have a late 50's or early 60's vette. It's red single stage paint. It's in great shape, garage kept and has no signs of oxidation. It does have a lot of swirls and rids.

Weird coincidence....

I've been helping a guy via e-mail to restore the original white paint on a 1955 Corvette....

Hi Mike,

I have a 1955 Corvette with mostly original paint (a few decades-old blended areas here and there so even the blended areas are very old and dry).

The paint has visible cracking in some areas and my best guess is the worst of the cracking is in the blended areas. I love originality and I like the appearance of the paint on this car as it looks original yet not dull and faded.

My end game is not to try to make it look unnaturally shiny, but to protect the paint as best as I can from possible future cracking.

I was considering using Meguiar’s #7 and the technique you show online that Wayne Carini used on his ‘54 Hudson.

Is this what you would recommend for my Corvette and are there any special considerations in the areas where the paint is already cracked?

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Dave

Here was my reply,

Hi Dave,

I would highly recommend rubbing the old single stage paint down with the Meguiar’s #7 Show Car Glaze. This product has been around since the Model T was introduced so that’s like saying it’s been around as long as most automotive single stage paints.

I’ve saved more original paint than I can remember using this product.

Here’s a tip… if you need to remove oxidation then use the #7 with a cotton terry cloth wash cloth. The “nap” or little tiny loops of cotton will act as the abrasive. A very gentle approach.

If you just want to do maintenance polishing then apply using a soft foam applicator pad.


Check out these articles I’ve written on this topic….


4 Steps to restore single paint - 1972 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...le-paint-paint-1972-mercedes-benz-280-se.html


Here’s the long version of the above, this is my original article on restoring antique single stage paint. Some pretty cool pictures too…

The Secret to Removing Oxidation and Restoring a Show Car Finish to Antique Single Stage Paints
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...w-car-finish-antique-single-stage-paints.html



I’d recommend the second edition of my how-to book, it’s packed full of great info…



Detailing How-To Book and Detailing How-To E-book
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...-detailing-how-book-detailing-how-e-book.html



Wayne Carini 1954 Hudson Hornet Original Paint Restored by Mike Phillips

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...et-original-paint-restored-mike-phillips.html

I'll probably start with mcguires 7 glaze and let it sit over night.

Can't hurt, only help via capillary action.

Would you guys recommend going for m105/205 combo?

The swirls are pretty bad.

Any other recommendations are welcome.

Thanks

M105 is on the aggressive side. It's a SMAT product so as long as you watch your progress and stop when the paint condition meets you expectations you'll be okay.

Maybe stick with a foam polishing pad to apply it instead of a cutting pad.

What kind of buffer are you going to use?

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

For anyone reading this....

The opportunity to work on a cool, classic Corvette with single stage paint is becoming pretty rare now days. If you get the chance, relish it and be sure to take before pictures.

It's the before pictures that have the power and once you buff out the car you can never go back in time to get the before pictures.

 

[Alansr]

Thanks mike!
I think I'm more excited than the owner is. I'll be sure to stay with the softer pads to save the paint

 

[Alansr]

Do you recommend applying 7 with a soft pad or by hand?

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Thanks mike!
I think I'm more excited than the owner is. I'll be sure to stay with the softer pads to save the paint

Do you recommend applying 7 with a soft pad or by hand?

Great question....

Here's the deal....


When working on antique, single stage paint that is oxidized and the goal is to remove the oxidation then you want to use either microfiber or terry cloth for your application material because when you do this the material itself becomes the abrasive. It's a very GENTLE type of abrasive but working with the polishing oils it will gently remove dead paint to reveal a fresh base.


If you're working on antique single stage paint that is in GREAT condition already, then you use a soft foam applicator pad because now you're not trying to remove dead, oxidized paint you're simply maintaining the current condition of the paint.


Here's the exception to the rule.


If you're working on antique single stage paint that IS oxidized but you know for a fact that the pant is what I always call,

Whisper Thin

That is you can see the tale-tale signs of primer showing through like I could on Wayne Carini's 1953 Hudson Hornet, then you stick with foam and just do the best you can or you're going to see a lot more prime.

IN some cases, seeing more prime is just the price you have to pay to restore and revitalize what's left of the original paint. That's a decision the owner has to make. The big picture for some people is to get the paint looking as good as possible without having to repaint the car. And it's these case that you do what you have to do.


Here's some pictures I took to document how whisper thin the paint was on Wayne Carini's 1953 Hudson Hornet.

Also note how Wayne is watching me very carefully as I hand rub-out his baby....


Wayne Carini 1954 Hudson Hornet Original Paint Restored by Mike Phillips


It's hard to see in this picture here but where the yellow outline box is there's a thin spot showing black primer.

Here's the same spot from a picture I took with my iphone...

Close up cropped out of the original...

And this shot cropped out of the above shows the oxidation and cloudiness over the entire Hudson before restoring the original paint.