Old school "rub out" with 40+ year old products!

Joe@Superior Shine

Joe@Superior Shine

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Here is a re-post I did a number of years ago on Meguiars Online.

I decided to polish out a part of an old school hood that was painted in laquer in the early 60s. I would have polished the entire hood but about half had undercoating overspray on it.

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I bought a polisher that I guess was made in the 50s. A wool pad with a leather backing was tied (yep, tied) to a rubber backing plate.

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My plan of attack included using a mixture of corn starch and water to deep clean the paint, (I have heard for years thats how it was done in the "good ol' days") -- a couple of applications of classic (might be from the 50s also) mirrior glaze #7 out of an original glass bottle and a coat of mirrior glaze wax dated to be from about the 60s (I think)

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I started with a mixture of corn starch and water. It was a weird mix. I adjusted the ratio and came up with just about right mix to get a watery paste on the hood. The polisher runs at about 1000rpm (my guess) and is very easy to use.

The corn starch mix would dry quickly while being buffed and would powder up something fierce but it worked!!!

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I followed that with a few applications of Meguiar's #7. I used a soft cotton towel to apply and remove the product.

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That was followed with the old paste wax. It was the first time I opened the can and the product looked and worked fine.

I put on one coat followed by a second once that first coat was removed.


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WOW, IT WORKS!!

Look at these pics!

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A few more passes with corn starch would have cleaned the finish a little better as I pulled a little bit of the green from the finish when I waxed it but not too bad.
 
Neat little machine. It is roughly the size of a G100/PC.

I had to put a new cord on it and a disassembled the switch to clean the connections. I works like a charm and is VERY easy to use. I really enjoyed polishing with it.

The threads on it will not take buff pads and backing plates that are common now but I am sure an adapter can be found.


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Shortly after I polished this hood I sold (or gave away, I don't recall) the vintage polisher to none other than my pal Mr. Mike Phillips. I wonder if he still has it?
 
I love it! Can't wait for Mike to chime in.
 
That is amazing. Like using Kerosene on old laquer paint!
 
Nice work, Joe!
I still have and use the traditional Meguiar's #3 and #7 on the old lacquer of preserved 60's and 70's cars. Can't beat it! 30 years ago, after hearing the stories from the old painters about cornstarch, I tried it out after compounding a '77 Vette on which I had just done some spot repair. I was quite amazed at how well a food product worked as a machine polish, but too impatient to see it thru, so I switched to #3, applied with a wool pad and my trusty 70's vintage metal case, single speed Rockwell buffer that still gets occasional use to this day, finishing with a hand rub of #7.
Today's technology in polishers, pads, polishes and sealants is truly amazing to someone like myself, who grew up in the car business 40+ years ago, but the best of the old guys could still get 'er done back then with whatever they had to work with.

Bill
 
A great stroll down memory lane!! :props:

I loved spraying lacquer!! :dblthumb2:
 
Hey Joe, I remember reading the article when you wrote it. Must be getting old.
 
Very cool!

I took some time at one point to try and track down some old bottles of product. I'd really like to gather a small collection, cause outside my shop is sort of a display window. I'd like to fill it with some old classic stuff for show, and coversation.
 
You continue to impress Joe - seems like you have tons of fun doing what you do.... good to see :dblthumb2:
 
Oh poo! Now I reallly feel old.

Corn starch (dry) was also a medium that was used AFTER waxing to get that final smooth finish.

Help me my rocking chain there youngin...

Bill
 
Corn Starch was also used to help remove the old style Simonize. After you used the corn starch Simonize treatment, you had a dusty mess . You would have to hose down the car to clean up the corn starch , and at the same time you would harden the Simonize.
 
Larry A said:
Corn Starch was also used to help remove the old style Simonize. After you used the corn starch Simonize treatment, you had a dusty mess . You would have to hose down the car to clean up the corn starch , and at the same time you would harden the Simonize.
Click to expand...

How could I have forgotten 'that.' Maybe I just wanted to forget it..lol

Bill
 
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