was told to come post over here. working with 30 some year old lacquer paint

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another-user

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ive got a 69 vette with single stage lacquer. to put it bluntly, the paint is shot and it needs a repaint, but i dont have the time or the money for it right now, so id like to get as much out of it as i can.

where would you advise that i start? machine buffing is out of the question, the paint is too fragile and is starting to flake off in a few areas

heres some pictures of it...
bare paint before washing
dscf0578wb0.jpg


after washing and waxing, used nxt 2.0
dscf0592op7.jpg


probably the best ive ever had it looking, but it only looks like that for a day or two before the wax begins to dull
637955891bmmrfo.jpg



and i have never been able to figure out whats up with the yellow stripes. theyre paint, but ive never been able to get them to shine, and its like they absorb water/liquids when wash them, or spill something on them.
dscf0599hz8.jpg
 
Maybe soak it in Mequairs #7 for a day or 2 to get the paint soft again. For me it looks like dried Skin and the #7 is the "body lotion" for the paint,
but Mike will surely tell you what to do. He did "some" old cars before *g*
 
Yes soak in in 7 a few times put a full bottle on it and let soak over night.
 
Welcome to the forum...

Very cool Corvette. I never owned a Corvette but I always referred to my Sanger Drag Boat as a Corvette on the water... it was a little fast...



This is the Sanger Drag boat I owned for 20 years, it's a National Title holder when it ran 122 mph in 9 seconds in the 1/4 mile. That was when Rick Baker, the original owner built and raced it. I bought the hull and put my own 402 BBC engine in it and here's how it looked after my engine install. I also had the custom high-back bucket seats build just for this boat, to this day I've never seen a set-up like this with the tall seats and tall hood scoop.

1boat.jpg




In the picture below ran 111 mph in 11 seconds. I was 23 in this picture and this was the first time I raced this boat.

Racingthequartermilem.jpg




I've replied to your thread here,


http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...0-working-30-some-year-old-lacquer-paint.html


:)
 
Malborex said:
Maybe soak it in Mequairs #7 for a day or 2 to get the paint soft again. For me it looks like dried Skin and the #7 is the "body lotion" for the paint,
but Mike will surely tell you what to do. He did "some" old cars before *g*
Click to expand...

THIS!

Megs #7 put on by hand and soaked will do wonders. You can do it one day, then do it again the next.

I wouldn't be afraid of getting a DA to it. (Certainly not a rotary) Very likely less damage would be done than trying to dig at it by hand. White pad at the most with a mild polish, ( after the #7 treatment(s) ) say some Megs #83, or even Megs UC or UP with a white, green or blue pad. Its all in the technique my friend. ;)

But yeah... those gold stripes are something else! :rolleyes:
 
I may be wrong, but I think the gold strips never were 'shiny.' I just seem to remember, they were 'dusty gold' (semi-matte).

Bill
 
great to see you here .... use Mike Phillips above and some of the pro's to help you on your quest. Consider PM's also and search feature. Mike has several books and a whole area dedicated to different areas of car care.
 
this is my personal opinion , take what you want out of it.

another-user said:
single stage lacquer. to put it bluntly, the paint is shot and it needs a repaint, but i dont have the time or the money for it right now, so id like to get as much out of it as i can.
where would you advise that i start? machine buffing is out of the question, the paint is too fragile and is starting to flake off in a few areas
Click to expand...


"machine buffing out of questions".. said who?
do an da polish with finish polish paste and will look 10x better than any wax you put weekly. as far as you move the buffer you are safe and fine , and the paint will hold.
if the paint is all cracked and pealing at touch than don`t waist your time ...respray

from the pictures the paint has too much orange peal and is oxidized, sure is original paint? most cars like this one has panels resprayed.


another-user said:
but it only looks like that for a day or two before the wax begins to dull
Click to expand...

wax doesn`t dull , what happen there the paint is oxidized, that`s why i recommend polish , at least a safe da on it. that will increase shine and make it look decent till you decinde to put more time or money in it.
 
another-user said:
where would you advise that i start? machine buffing is out of the question, the paint is too fragile and is starting to flake off in a few areas
Click to expand...

Machine buffing is very safe with the right machine... watch this video where I'm working on oxidized single stage paint but mostly watch what I do to my hand to show how safe a DA Polisher like a Porter Cable is...



Removing Swirls and Oxidation By Machine
[video=youtube_share;PWdYCHZrpd8"]How To Remove Oxidation by Machine Polishing with...[/video]​






Products Featured

Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay Kit to clay paint
Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover to chop out dead, oxidized paint
Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish to maximize gloss, clarity and richness of color
Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax - This is a "Finishing Wax" or a true "Show Car Wax"

You could also use the liquid version, I demonstrated the paste version to show how to apply a paste by machine.

Pinnacle Liquid Souveran Car Wax

I used Microfiber Gloves to hold the wax in my hand as I spread a little over the face of the foam pad.

Lake Country 5.5" Flat Orange Light Cutting Pad - To remove the oxidation
Lake Country 5.5" Flat White Polishing Pad - To Maximize Gloss, Clarity and Richness of Color
Lake Country 5.5" Blue Finishing Pad - To Machine-Apply the Pinnacle Finishing Wax for True Show Car Results
Microfiber Wax

Porter Cable 7424XP - For all machine work.


Speed Settings
6.0 for removing oxidation and swirls with firm downward pressure and move the polisher slowly over the paint.

5.0 for polishing the paint to a high gloss with firm downward pressure for the first 3-4 Section Passes and then lessen your pressure and you can move the polisher a tick faster at the end.

4.0 for applying the wax or paint sealant. At this point of the process you don't need high speed because all you're trying to do is spread out and work in a layer of wax or sealant.



Machine Applying a Wax or Paint Sealant
AFTER you have removed all the oxidation or any other paint defects and then after you have polished the paint to a high gloss you can apply your wax or a paint sealant by machine but instead of doing small sections at a time you can apply to pretty much as much paint as you can reach and cover with your polisher as long as you have enough wax or paint sealant to continue moving around a panel or the car. That is you don't apply finishing waxes or sealants to small sections.

The reason you remove swirls to small sections is because you need to focus the cleaning or abrading action of the polishes to "small" sections or you won't remove the oxidation and other defects.

Make sense?



Seriously...

Get the Porter Cable or a version of it, (Megs or Griots), and some 5.5" Lake Country Flat foam poishing pads like you see me use in the above video and some Pinnacle polishes and you will be AMAZED out how nice that old paint will clear up and gloss up.



another-user said:
probably the best ive ever had it looking, but it only looks like that for a day or two before the wax begins to dull
Click to expand...

That's because you need to "clean" the paint. Paint gets dirty as dirt embedds INTO the paint plus it's oxidized. You need to clean it and by the word clean I mean gently abrade it with a Medium Cut Polish like the Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover. This polish works great and it's very safe. I'll be using this same approach on an all original Cadillac for an upcoming project very soon...

The Caddy King's Hidden Collection of 1959 Cadillacs!

Now we're talking about some old and ORIGINAL paint...

CaddyKing004.jpg




another-user said:
and i have never been able to figure out whats up with the yellow stripes. theyre paint, but ive never been able to get them to shine, and its like they absorb water/liquids when wash them, or spill something on them.
Click to expand...

The paint used for the stripes is dried out. It could be it was matte to start with but either way, if you run a white polishing pad over the stripes and the green paint with a polish like the Pinnacle ASR it's either going to improve it or nothing will but it certainly wont harm it and it's the least you can do and try.


Keep us updated, if I lived closer I would jump at the chance to help your take this Corvette's paint to its maximum potential!

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



:)
 
ive got access to a couple of DAs, so i guess im willing to give this a shot.

the pinnacle stuff is a little too expensive for my taste though. how would meguiars Swirl X> Ultimate Polish > Gold Class Carnauba + work? and would i still want to use the orange/white/blue pads with that?
 
Might just go with the 'Ultimate twins' for compound and polish duties. For that matter, you could top with Ultimate Liquid Wax as its very good overall, especially for the money. I keep all three on my cart constantly.

They key is getting the Megs #7 and applying that first for a good soak. Wouldn't hurt to put it on and let is soak, wipe, then put another layer on for a good soak. It'll really breath life back into that old lacquer. (fyi I used to have a 73 Vette that had some 22 coats of metallic lacquer (in places) when we did a color change on it. And it was fantastic looking!)
 
the megs #7 just came in today, so i spent all afternoon washing and removing the wax build up. why didnt you guys warn me that it could take 5+hrs to just remove the old wax build up?

removing the build up has already made the car look better. its made a lot of the little spider cracks much less noticeable, and its made the rear fenders that ive sand blasted with road grime much less noticable.

now i just need a couple of days without rain so i can rub this #7 in.
 
i just wanted to throw a couple pics up of the first pass with the #7.

the paint on the hood is absolutely trashed, but whats left of the paint looks much better
yFiIgaM.jpg


the paint on the left hasnt been wiped off yet, but you can see the yellow is noticeably darker already.
hR0yxfP.jpg
 
another-user said:
i just wanted to throw a couple pics up of the first pass with the #7.

the paint on the hood is absolutely trashed, but whats left of the paint looks much better

the paint on the left hasnt been wiped off yet, but you can see the yellow is noticeably darker already.
Click to expand...


Thank you very much for the follow up posts and picture. So often people join, get their information, fix their cars and move on in life... nothing wrong with that but for us on the forum that invest a little time and effort into a thread it's always very rewarding to read and see the follow-up posts.

There's a component, or substance in the #7 polishing oils that brings out two things in older single stage paints and that's the richness of color and the beauty of the color.

I've recieved a number of e-mails about this topic recently and just to clarify not specifically for you but for anyone that will read this into the future...

For chalky looking, antique single stage paint you use a terry cloth wash rag and eblow grease to rub the paint down and you use the product very wet or heavy. Allow this rubbed-in, heavy coat to soak in for at least a few hours or over night. I'll guess the migration of the oils through old, dried-out paint via a type of capillary action is slow.


For older single stage paints that are in relatively good condition, that is not chalky and oxidized because they've been neglected for years, then you can use a foam applicator pad or even a foam pad an a DA Polisher and still apply a wet application but you don't need the abrading ability from the terry cloth as you're not trying to remove anything, (oxidation), just gorge the paint with oils. So foam is less aggressive than terry cloth.


Looking better, keep up the good work and please do keep us updated.

Also, after you're finished with the #7 treatment, the next step will be to machine polish what's left of the paint "lightly" by machine to really smooth over the paint, restore gloss and shine.

I'd recommend using a light cut polish to start with. I use the Pinnacle AFP for this as it is a Fine Cut Polish as described on page 92 of my how-to book. So whatever you use, just make sure it's a close to a fine cut polish to be gentle to what's left of the paint.



:)
 
Thanks for the update and great info. I'm working on a 87 Buick regal t type black on chrome weds, which the owner thinks is single stage... I'm pretty sure it's just old gm thin clear but as you say Mike, least abrasive first.

Ever use 3401 with foam pads on SS paint?
 
im just putting on the 3rd, and i think final coating of 7.

3 coats on the left, 2 on the right, split down the center.
lEqE3ab.jpg


only 2 coats
DudVXpn.jpg


and 2 coats on the lower section of the car.
JBIq64z.jpg
 
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