Buick Grand National One step polish.

[Understated]

Hey guys! I've just graduated college and am now detailing full time. The first car in the books was this

beautiful 44k original mile, original paint, Buick Grand National. The owner wanted it looking good again and I was given the challenge of restoring the paint to a degree that was realistic. The 33 year old paint only had three mils of paint left on the entire car (some areas less) as it had been cut a few times in the past, so I had to be extremely careful not to remove too much paint. Not only did we restore the paint but we also performed a full interior detail.

EDIT: The title says one step polish but I did two stages. It was supposed to be one stage but ended up doing two for better results.

Process:
Two Bucket Wash
Foam Prewash
Wheels cleaned using Griots Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner and Rubber Cleaner
Clayed using Nanoskin fine grade wash mitt
Polished using M205 on an orange lake country foam cutting pad and Menzerna 3800 on a white lake country foam pad
Flex XC3401
Waxed

​

Before:

One stage of M205:

Final polish with Menzerna 3800:

Final Glam Shots:

 

[WaxMaster1]

Sweet turnaround. With the title name I thought you only did one polishing step but you said you used M205 and SF3800

 

[Understated]

Sweet turnaround. With the title name I thought you only did one polishing step but you said you used M205 and SF3800

Yes I know. Originally the client and I agreed to a one step but ended up doing two stages of polishing because I wasn't getting a good enough finish with only 3800. For some reason "one step polish" was stuck in my head when making the post lol

 

[ronkh57]

Looks nice!

May want to look at Mike Philips articles on older cars and Megs 7.

Might be a help in the future.

 

[rlmccarty2000]

I would also like to suggest Poor Boys Black Hole as it fills and polishes. It's useful when trying to save older paint.

 

[damaged442]

Having owned two non-Turbo Regals in the past, and just picking up an 87 442 three weeks ago, I definitely have a soft spot for G-bodies! I really think it is a design that aged pretty well. I know not many of us want to admit it, but let it sink in that that car is 30 years old. I struggled with that when I bought my 87...lol!

Nice work on that GN!

 

[GSKR]

Very nice work and car.


:dblthumb2:

 

[BadgerRivFan]

Love the Grand Nationals! Great work. They have a reputation for having weak paint, so you were wise to not go aggressive. Many of these GN's have been repainted so it's nice to see them preserved...

 

[stevebrm]

Great save! There is a local GN I spot on the highway every now and then looks so menacing coming from my rear view mirror.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

 

[Jaretr1]

Having owned two non-Turbo Regals in the past, and just picking up an 87 442 three weeks ago, I definitely have a soft spot for G-bodies! I really think it is a design that aged pretty well. I know not many of us want to admit it, but let it sink in that that car is 30 years old. I struggled with that when I bought my 87...lol!

Nice work on that GN!

I totally agree. Even though its a relatively simply design, it still looks good (all of the G bodies do).

That particular one looks sweet with those wheels.

 

[spoolinbuick]

Nice work! I have always loved CCW's on GN's.

 

[Bobby B.]

What's better than a Buick Grand National? A Buick Grand National sitting on a set of CCW wheels
Great job with the paint correction on this beautiful classic. I would love to own this vehicle.

 

[buddiiee]

Even better is a Grand National on stock wheels;

Could you have used a glaze under a good sealant in lieu of cutting so much?

 

[DetailKitty]

Nice work.... I love GNs. Always wanted one.

 

[JustJesus]

I really think it is a design that aged pretty well. I know not many of us want to admit it, but let it sink in that that car is 30 years old. I struggled with that when I bought my 87...lol!

Nice work on that GN!

I have to agree with you on that.

The body style of these cars REALLY grew on me over the years. I'm at the point where I want a black one.

 

[BillyJack]

Even better is a Grand National on stock wheels;

Can't argue with your opinion, but as someone who drove GN's for a few years, the stock steel wheels stunk, IMO. I could never understand why Buick chose a steel wheel for their performance flagship. Maybe it was because NASCAR cars had steelies.
They were heavier than the T-Type alloy wheels, so a T-Type was just a little bit quicker and rode a little better. The wheels on the subject vehicle are reminiscent of the GNX wheels of the period, so IMO :xyxthumbs:

Bill

 

[buddiiee]

This is true. I still run the steel on mine.

 

[guess23959]

wow very nice, and with ttops at that! only thing i would've done different would be to just add a little more shine to that plastic front chin on the bottom. other than that, nice job!

 

[dlc95]

Yes I know. Originally the client and I agreed to a one step but ended up doing two stages of polishing because I wasn't getting a good enough finish with only 3800. For some reason "one step polish" was stuck in my head when making the post lol

This is where something like Menzerna 2500 comes in very handy. Nice cut, great finish/gloss. As much as I love my Meguiar's polishes, I enjoy my Menzerna just as much.

Nice job for sure! Love that car too!

 

[matttathome]

Great job! That thing has a killer stance!