single stage paint

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cadd

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Hi guys and girls..any advice on the best polish for a car with a single stage paint?
Thanks !
 
Havent seen it yet. A friend asked me the other day if I could work on it, he had just bought it and said it was very faded. All I know is that's its an 84 porche. Sorry I know that's not much info, but just wanted some general advice on working on a single stage paint. As I have never polished one so far
 
I had seen a topic a while back about Meg #7 I think it was, that someone had mentioned that might work well
 
And I am just assuming being its an 84, that its a single stage paint
 
In my opinion, old school single stage paint is a lot of fun to work on, that is lacquers and enamels. Modern single stage paints are okay but even modern single stage urethanes are different enough from traditional lacquers and enamels that they just don't polish-up the same.

If it's the original paint from 1984 then it's very likely to be a single stage enamel and you should consider this a rare opportunity to both enjoy polishing this type of paint and also take some GREAT before and after pictures to document not only the project but also your skills as a detailer. That is if you're looking for new customers.


Here's a recent thread for a classic 1965 Porsche with the original paint, in this thread, Andrew aka AC in OC used my technique of saturating the paint with #7 Show Car Glaze BEFORE doing any abrading and then AFTER the abrading was done.

Most people that read my article on the secrete to restoring single stage paint miss the point, so here it is...

The point of the article is for people that have something important to them and to them it is important to do anything and everything they can to preserve the original paint. If it's not important then rub the paint out with any quality brand of polishes and waxes and it should come out looking great with this approach too...


If a person is working on a newer Toyota Camry with single stage white paint then this article isn't really for them. :D


Anyway, read through this article,

Resurrection! Breathing New Life Into Dead Paint


And this article,

4 Steps to restore single paint paint - 1972 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE


And here's the original long and in-depth article on the topic of restoring antique paints. I just checked the below thread for stats, 94 replies and a whopping 120,381 views.

The Secret to Removing Oxidation and Restoring a Show Car Finish to Antique Single Stage Paints



My strongest recommendation is to do like Andrew did and that is to take GREAT before pictures of the horizontal surfaces BEFORE you touch these panels in any way and create a shiny spot which takes away from the full beauty of the ugly shot.



The power in the after shots is created in the before shots





:)
 
Wow ! You have me all fired up and ready to go Mike. Didn't realize how much fun this might be as you have stated. I am definitely really pumped about working on this car now. Thanks for the advice. Not sure when I will actually start working on this car, but will take pics and post when I am done, and hopefully, it comes out great ! I am looking forward to the challenge
 
cadd said:
Wow ! You have me all fired up and ready to go Mike. Didn't realize how much fun this might be as you have stated. I am definitely really pumped about working on this car now. Thanks for the advice. Not sure when I will actually start working on this car, but will take pics and post when I am done, and hopefully, it comes out great ! I am looking forward to the challenge
Click to expand...


Just plan everything out and like Andrew did, try to involve the owner. The more you teach him about the process the great the chance he'll take care of it after you're done or pay you to take care of it on a maintenance plan.

Single stage paint needs more regular polishing than clear coats.

Also, if you don't know how to work with pictures on forums, this is just as valuable skill as knowing how to polish paint in my honest opinion.

Attaching photos is lame. Most of the time I won't even click on attached pictures. I will "look" at "inserted" pictures.

Every forum member gets a free gallery here on AGO, and it's to their benefit to learn how to

Frame up your shots
Crop out the fluff
Resize to 800 pixels wide
Upload to the gallery
Insert picture into the thread


It's nothing a person cannot teach themselves...

If you're going to be a "Forum Person" on ANY forum, help yourself by learning how to work with picture on the Internet



:Picture:
 
cadd said:
Wow ! You have me all fired up and ready to go Mike. Didn't realize how much fun this might be as you have stated. I am definitely really pumped about working on this car now. Thanks for the advice. Not sure when I will actually start working on this car, but will take pics and post when I am done, and hopefully, it comes out great ! I am looking forward to the challenge
Click to expand...

I say go all in if your friend wants the full package. Get him/her involved if they're inclined to get their hands dirty. Well worth it. When the owner of the Porsche I did wanted to get involved I said great! It divides up the labor and gives them a greater appreciation for their car. Because they are involved with the work, they are more inclined to maintain it.

I'll say this with the first step: I was glad it was a small Porsche and not that boat that Mike did solo (Lincoln). It's tough work scrubbing dead paint off. But each step gets smoother, easier and rewarding. The finished product produces smiles every time, because you remember what you started with.

Take lot's of pics and I look forward to your post.
 
The oxidation/stuff from any flake on the microfiber towels, does that come out after a wash? And would you reuse them on a normal car (with normal clear) during a detail job? Whether it be wiping off compound, polish or wax?

Or would that garbage stay in the towel and not be usable again?
 
arisking said:
The oxidation/stuff from any flake on the microfiber towels, does that come out after a wash? And would you reuse them on a normal car (with normal clear) during a detail job? Whether it be wiping off compound, polish or wax?

Or would that garbage stay in the towel and not be usable again?
Click to expand...


Some of the oxidation from the metallic flake and some of the color from the pigment used to make the single stage paint a "color" will remain in your microfiber or even cotton towels after washing but it's never kept me from using them again.


:)
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Some of the oxidation from the metallic flake and some of the color from the pigment used to make the single stage paint a "color" will remain in your microfiber or even cotton towels after washing but it's never kept me from using them again.


:)
Click to expand...


Awesome, thanks Mike! I just wanted to make sure so if I ever get around to doing something like this I wouldn't just have wasted a bunch of good towels!
 
Thanks again for an awesome and very detailed how-to. This has given me the confidence to tackle a great undertaking hopefully in the next few weeks.

A friend of my father's has just purchased from a friend a BLACK 1957 Volkswagen Beetle that is all original. It is in very good condition (garaged for life) but does have oxidation and lots of cobwebs in the paint.

I will be taking copious pictures and doing a thorough write-up of the process and results. I'm going to follow much of this process to a T.

If there are any tips or changes to this process that would be beneficial for my application i'd really appreciate them. Thanks!
 
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