Re: Check out Mike on AutoTrader Classics
That's one great article Mike.
Thank you for the kind words, it's a very long, in-depth article for sure with lots of information about working on antique single stage paints that is really only known by old-timers.
I was hoping to use a car like shown in this pictures as all but two of the classic Cadillacs in these pictures have the original non-metallic single stage paint.
The Caddy King's Hidden Collection of 1959 Cadillacs!
It was very cool to look inside as the door moved out of the way to reveal a row of original 1959 Cadillacs... all but 2 of the cars in these pictures have their original paint.
And here's row of fins... The 1959 Cadillac is most famous for it's massive fins and dual bullet taillights on both sides...
Problem is I didn't learn about these cars and meet the owner till
after I worked on the car used in this article. As I pointed out in the article, restoring a
metallic single stage paint is the
hardest thing to do, restoring a
non-metallic single stage paint is like a walk in the park. I'm a big believer in using what you have and at the time what I had was the car used in this article, it had original paint that was
savable. I'm a huge Cadillac fan and have owned five 1959 Cadillacs myself, I'm not a huge Continental fan but to me, the project is never about the car...
it's about the paint.
This is the nicest 1959 Cadillac I owned, it a 4-door Flattop and I bought it with 56,000 original miles on it. The below Cadillac has the original paint as you see in the picture but it didn't look like this when I bought it. I used the techniques in the article to restore the paint to original condition and then show it at car shows.
Would you use #7 before polishing on a clearcoated paint?
Not really. If a clear coat has gone bad or suffers what we call clear coat failure, that is the paint is starting to turn white throughout the entire layer or worse is starting to flake off and look like a rash then nothing is going to fix it. Because moder clear coats are very impermeable, it's not really going to penetrate into the paint like happens with antique single stage lacquers and enamels.
I don't use #7 personally on modern clear coat paints, I do know that some people do like the gloss imparts but that would only be for a clear coat finish that has been polished to perfection. M81 is a better substitute for this type of a product on a clear coat finish.
I know I heard you saying something about "working forward"...Is #7 considered something that cleans the paint before beginning polishing or is it something used as a final glaze after you've completed your polishing steps?
#7 is non-abrasive, it offers no cleaning ability in and of itself. In the article I show using it as a lubricant and the nap of a microfiber polishing towel as the abrasive, this provides a gentle cleaning for single stage paints but wouldn't really work for a clear coat plus there are so many modern products you could use instead.
This article was really targeted at antique single stage lacquer and enamel paints like you would find on a 1966 Mustang that's been hiding in a garage since 1977 or a similar scenario.
I've restored a lot of original antique paint and talked to the owners of cars that have had their original paint destroyed by a detailer that just goes straight to a rubbing compound, (caveman style), so the article really lays out who the information is targeted at and that would be typically the owner of an antique or classic car that has the same thoughts about the car's paint that I express here...
The Mindset of a Professional Detailer
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