DA Practice on 'The Beast': 73 Nova

[ScubaCougr]

New to using a DA, I found a car I could practice on, and in the owners words "not hurt anything"...his 1973 Nova.

Originally set up to drag race, The Beast is designed for go, not for show. He's owned it for a dozen years, drives it to work occasionally when he wants to scare small children, and otherwise it sits outside.

So last Saturday, this is what we started with:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/SM_Before.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/SM_Hood_Before.JPG



Washed, clayed with DP Universal Clay that revealed a decade of oxidation:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/SM_Trunk_Clay_Half.JPG

Since the paint was a fast garage re-spray not original, I used a Griots and 5.5" LC CCS Orange pad with XMT 2 until I ran out, then switched to Megs Fine Cut #2 to remove oxidation.

The Megs #2 was a pain...dried almost instantly despite temps in the mid 60s and being garaged. Single pass, then wipe like crazy with a MF before it dried like cement. But progress was being made. I've always thought it was a black car...

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/SM_Hoodl_Half_Polish_2.JPG


A couple passes with XMT 360 and a CCS white pad removed most swirls. It's now a 10 foot car, not a 20 footer, and the neighbor says I can practice on it anytime...

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/SM_Done.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/73NovaDone.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/SM_Done_Angle.JPG




Lessons:

The Griots has plenty of power. Worked OK on wheel arches and other curved surfaces without full pad-contact. I can move to more 6.5" pads to speed production.
I need a bigger selection of compounds. I was aiming for least aggressive product, but XMT 2 was a bit too timid for the beast.
You can never have too many pads or too much compound. I could easily have used 3-4 pads each to avoid constant washing, and used more than a bottle of XMT 2 and 360. But now that I know a bit about what works, BOGO Friday is coming.


Thanks for reading, advice for next time welcome...

:xyxthumbs:

[coreymg51]

very nice so far great work!

[panthercz]

That 50/50 of the flat dull greyish black paint on one side and then the nice glossy green on the other side is great!

[ScubaCougr]

That 50/50 of the flat dull greyish black paint on one side and then the nice glossy green on the other side is great!

Thanks! Wanted a head-on to match the first hood, but there's a great big paint run from the garage re-spray in the way....didn't want anyone to think I'd burned the paint.

[BobbyG]

Hey. you did a nice job restoring some faith in that old finish. :props:

I suspect that it's a single stage paint and took quite a bit of time to remove all the gunk and get to some decent paint.

The old Nova now looks respectable!! :props:

Thanks for the photos!!

[Mike Phillips]

Excellent and dramatic Extreme Makeover!

Can you share your thoughts on what it's like to work on an extremely oxidized single stage paint as compared to working on modern clear coats? Maybe your thoughts on the softness/hardness factor? Or paint build-up on your buffing pads?


One thing for sure, the before and afters for neglected single stage finishes are always a lot more dramatic than removing swirls out of a clear coat finish.


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/SM_Hoodl_Half_Polish_2.JPG



This is also exactly what I mean in this article,

"Taking your car's paint to it's maximum potential" (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/27081-taking-your-car-s-paint-s-maximum-potential.html)



And good job of getting the "Before" pictures before working on the car...


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)



:xyxthumbs:

[Mike Phillips]

then switched to Megs Fine Cut #2 to remove oxidation.

The Megs #2 was a pain...dried almost instantly despite temps in the mid 60s and being garaged.

Single pass, then wipe like crazy with a MF before it dried like cement.




Part of the problem would be the liquids or carrying agents in the #2 Fine Cut Cleaner were probably soaking into the paint leaving the solids on the surface and thus shortening the buffing cycle and making wipe off more difficult.

That's characteristic of extremely oxidized single stage paints.


:)

[Rei86]

I love reading threads like this! This is why I visit the forums, not to see great looking cars getting great jobs done (IE Exotics and almost brand new cars) but seeing extreme makeovers like this one!

[ScubaCougr]

Can you share your thoughts on what it's like to work on an extremely oxidized single stage paint as compared to working on modern clear coats? Maybe your thoughts on the softness/hardness factor? Or paint build-up on your buffing pads?


Really new to the buffer world, so not much to compare it to. But it did seem that it took 3-4 section passes over the same area instead of 1, and a more aggressive swirl remover. On newer cars I tread lightly with XMT2. I quickly wished I had XMT 3 (or other heavy swirl/light compound) here.

The paint seemed quite soft and plugged up the pads with gummy residue very quickly. I was washing/changing pads 2-3 times on small body panels, more on hood/top. Pads are also permanently stained a greenish-blue, along with hands, pants, cat and everything else. Messy!

[ChrisGT]

Wow! Who would have known that car was green? Epic 50/50 hood shot. Great work, dramatic results!

[Yellow06GT]

Great Job!!!

I love seeing threads like this. These are the things that make this hobby so much fun.

[Mazda.Mark]

awesome job my man!

[vet]

Good job on bringing it back from the dead.

[CEE DOG]

Huge difference! I though for sure it was black!! Nice work

[Kaleb G.]

Heck of a job, man. Those are the kind of pictures you want to keep to show potential customers.