First Place for Worst Paint - 1942 Olds Extreme Makeover

[Wicked61]

Very good thread. Improving, in many instances is the only option. This car was not only WORK, but art as well. All detailers should know how to work a rotary polisher, period. Just as the orbital has it's strong point's, these rotary's used here saved a paint job and a lot of time. PS: Mike would an rub in & overnight soak of #7 at the end of the polish state made a difference? Am sold on single stages getting Ol' #7 treatment.

 

[Jeff Wagner]

Nice job Mike and everyone else. That was alot of work and a big transformation. Big difference in the before and afters :xyxthumbs:

 

[Craig B]

From the worst paint to the biggest improvement! The rotary buffers not only improved the paint's appearance, but gave the team a workout. The owner was really impressed with the results. The team pulled together to shorten the work load.

Thanks to Bob for opening the Autogeek show car garage to tackle this project.
Craig

 

[dlc95]

Absolutely beautiful! I'm in the market for a rotary again, and the Flex PE14-2 is the one speaking to me.

Thank you for the documentation! These synopses are a trusted resource for me.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Absolutely beautiful! I'm in the market for a rotary again, and the Flex PE14-2 is the one speaking to me.

I have around a dozen rotary buffers in the studio for classes and projects. The Flex PE14's are the first rotary buffers to get grabbed by the guys that attend these projects and me too...


The Flex PE14 Rotary Polisher - The rotary I grab first...

Thank you for the documentation! These synopses are a trusted resource for me.

You're welcome.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Very good thread. Improving, in many instances is the only option. This car was not only WORK, but art as well.

I agree.

IN the introduction to my first book, (both editions), I wrote,

Polishing paint is an at form

To achieve a flawless finish, you need to know a lot more than with the directions on the label of a can or bottle of wax can tell you. Like the saying,

"Wax-on, wax-off" from the movie "The Karate Kid, there's a lot more to it than simply wiping wax on and off.

You need to combine knowledge and experience, as well as the right products and tools with the human elements of care and passion.

You need to genuinely care about what you're doing and have a passion for the craft.

When all these things come together, polishing paint because an art form as you truly create a work of art.

All detailers should know how to work a rotary polisher, period. Just as the orbital has it's strong point's, these rotary's used here saved a paint job and a lot of time.

Correct. There is no single best tool. There's the best tool for the job.

PS:

Mike would an rub in & overnight soak of #7 at the end of the polish state made a difference?

Am sold on single stages getting Ol' #7 treatment.

No, not in this case.

Had we soaked the paint in #7 it would have been a waste of #7 as we compounded this paint so hard that any paint that the oils in the #7 would have penetrated into would have been removed.

It's a judgment call and I've worked on paint like this a lot in my life and the first thing you have to do is get in there and start chopping off the top layer to "try" to get past the swirls and scratches as well as all the other defects that were "in" the paint.

This old Mercury had paint in the exact same condition... I compounded the HECK out of this paint using a wool pad, rotary buffer and M100.

1951 Mercury - Black Lacquer Paint - Extreme Makeover



Before


100% Swirled-Out Finish
Here's my Brinkmann Swirl Finder Light revealing the true condition of the paint. Every panel had swirls like you see here and all the horizontal panels had these round crater defects.

This is the cropped out section of the swirls in the above picture...

After

The Beauty Shots...

Now the paint is clear, deep and dark looking with excellent shine and gloss...

The primary difference between the 1942 Olds and this 1949 Mercury is I did the Mercury by myself.

 

[Wicked61]

Ok. after making the surface clear of those mar/scratches the #7 would not penetrate (rub-then overnight soak) to enhance? I comprehend the Merc story to a 'T'. And have made better single stage (above) that most would not touch or had deep pockets to have it repainted. I do love saving what's left of old paint.

 

[jarred767]

Wow, that looks like it was quite a job involving a lot of dedicated man hours. Props to all of you guys, very nice work!!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Ok. after making the surface clear of those mar/scratches the #7 would not penetrate (rub-then overnight soak) to enhance?

Oh no it would help... but the owner was there and taking the car home and my evaluation of his ability to use both #7 and keep the car waxed came up on the lacking side to be honest. First, look how bad the paint was before we started. To me this is an indicator of the past treatment of the paint as well as an indicator of future treatment of the paint. I teach "evaluating the customer" in my boot camp classes and at Mobile Tech Expo and I also practice it myself.

I'll see the owner again as well as the car. I expect to see the results we created to die back, as in I think the paint is unstable in some areas and it's going to turn ugly again. Constant rubbing down with #7 and using a pure wax would preserve it but this requires some physical labor on a regular basis.

I comprehend the Merc story to a 'T'. And have made better single stage (above) that most would not touch or had deep pockets to have it repainted.

I do love saving what's left of old paint.

That's me...


I think you would like this article....


"Taking your car's paint to it's maximum potential"

 

[Wicked61]

Oh no. You mean this owner should really own a vehicle painted w/Rhino bed liner. Dang. That car should have a whole 64 oz bottle of #7 pushed into it or more to truly finish it off. BUT, the main objective was met by you & the crew.......TEACH!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Oh no. You mean this owner should really own a vehicle painted w/Rhino bed liner. Dang. That car should have a whole 64 oz bottle of #7 pushed into it or more to truly finish it off. BUT, the main objective was met by you & the crew.......TEACH!

I see this car all the time at the local car shows and it still looks really good.