Going to detail a 1972 Chevy Pick Up. Help with Polishing...

[Rez90]

My neighbor and I bartered a deal for him to cut my lawn for the summer in exchange for me to detail his 72 chevy pick up.

The truck looks to be in good condition. the paint is original and looks good less a few minor flaws.

I am going to polish the truck but i'm not sure where to start and i'm looking some suggestions.

I have a Flex and a PC
Pads. LC CCS 6.5 inch in Yellow, Orange, Course Green, Green, White, Black, Blue, and Red

LC 5 inch flat pads in Orange, White, and Black

LC Hydro Pads in Cyan, Tangerine, and Crimson

Polishes. Megs 105/205. Poorboys SSR1 and 2.5. Mens 106, 203, and SIP. HD UNO.

I was thinking of trying HD UNO on a white pad and seeing what that would do.

Or maybe Menz 203 on a white or orange pad.

What do you guys think? Where would you start?

[Dubbin1]

Simply start with some test spots and go from there. Its hard for anyone to tell you where to start without seeing the truck in person.

[longdx]

I agree with Dubbin1. There is a good possibility that that vehicle is single stage, which means that it should correct fairly easily. Do start with the least aggressive combination.

[Mike Phillips]

My neighbor and I bartered a deal for him to cut my lawn for the summer in exchange for me to detail his 72 chevy pick up.

The truck looks to be in good condition. the paint is original and looks good less a few minor flaws.

What do you guys think? Where would you start?


I've had the good fortune to work on and restore a lot of original single stage paints and while you can pretty much cut them with anything, I have yet to see a product that will gorge into this type of paint and work to bring out the full richness of color like the #7 Show Car Glaze by Meguiar's which was introduced to the car manufacturing world when care were first being made and thus when car paints were first being invented.

I wrote an article about how to restore single stage paints "IF" you wanted to approach it from the point of view of doing everything you could to preserve the originality of the paint "Plus" make the paint more workable before actually beginning to "abrade" it with "anything".

Here's an article on how I approach working on all special interest cars and a 1972 Chevrolet Truck in good conditioning with the original paint would qualify as a "Special Interest" vehicle.

The Mindset of a Professional Detailer (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/20551-mindset-professional-detailer.html)


And here's the article that explains why and how to restore original single stage paints, probably one of my most detailed articles I 've ever written besides the recent article on how to dampsand (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/wet-sanding-cutting-buffing/25915-damp-sanding-tools-tips-techniques-mike-phillips.html).

The Secret to Removing Oxidation and Restoring a Show Car Finish to Antique Single Stage Paints (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/25304-secret-removing-oxidation-restoring-show-car-finish-antique-single-stage-paints.html)


Here's an excerpt and a few pictures form the above article that drives home how the oils work...




This is key...


Saturation Application --> The First Application
This is a mostly unknown technique and that is to let the first application penetrate and soak into the paint for up to 24 hours before wiping the product off. The idea being to really apply the product wet and work it in really well and the walk away.

The idea is to allow the heavy concentration of oils to penetrate and seep into the paint for maximum saturation before removing the product and continuing with the process. In this case I finished applying the first application of #7 around 9:00 pm and then left the #7 to soak in until the next day. I started wiping the product off then next morning right about 10:00am.

Some will argue if this works or not buy my experience is that with a porous single stage paint it does in fact help. One thing for sure it can't hurt.

Paper Test for Capillary Action
If you place a few drops of #7 onto a piece of paper and then monitor it over a few days you will see the oils in the #7 migrate or seep away from the actual drop of product. It does this through capillary action and the same thing can work to your car's paints' advantage if it's a single stage lacquer or enamel paint.

I placed a few drops about the size of a nickel on a piece of standard printer paper around 3:00pm.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/859/7CapillaryAction01.jpg

The next day I took these pictures at approximately 10:00am, (19 hours later), note how the oils in the drops of #7 have migrated outward via capillary action.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/859/7CapillaryAction02.jpg

Feeder Oils penetrate or feed the paint
This same effect can take place in a single stage paint but not only will the oils travel horizontally, they will also travel vertically, that they will penetrate downward "into" your car's paint and this is where the term feeder oils comes from as the oils penetrate into or feed the paint. The result is they will condition the paint restoring some level of workability as compared to just working on old dry paint, and they will also bring out the full richness of color, something that will showcase the beauty of your car's paint.



37 Year Old Paint Soaking in Seven...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/859/NonAbrasiveMethod016.jpg






Some before and after pictures of this truck would be very much appreciated by everyone that will read this thread AND if you're going to be detailing cars as a part of your life then it never hurts to document at least some of your "Special Interest" vehicles to either show potential customers what you can do or as a part of your resume of cool vehicles you've worked on.

To that point here's another article I've written to stress the importance of good before and after photos with the emphasis on the "Before Shots" because after you start to work on the car you can NEVER go back and get the before shots. (think about it)

The power in the after shots is created in the before shots (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/21216-power-after-shots-created-before-shots.html)


Have fun with it, feel free to call me if you have any specific questions...


:)