1980 TransAm car XMAS project

[Bigpat]

Okay everyone i dont have pics yet but they will come as soon as i get started... heres the story my father is the hardest guy to shop for but he has a 1980 trans am that has been sitting for a while... he told me he just got it started the other day so for part of his xmas pressie i would like to make the car look good... its covered in a metric shhhhh ton of dirt and dust, im pretty sure its single stage so heres my plan of attack and let me know if i might need anything else.... ill be placing my order shortly after bogos come out on Friday

Wash probably do a dawn wash
clay with blackfire clay ultima UWWP for lube
polish with megs #7 and white pads ??
Full interior shampoo and clean

So im looking for advice on how many pads i may need and what i should use for dash, i havent really looked at the car not im sure it needs to be nourished if you will....i mean its 32 years old so any input on how to get oils back in the paint/dash would be greatly appreciated...maybe some megs 40?

[Setec Astronomy]

Unless it's already in good shape, IMO you're going to need more than #7. Mike's got a good thread somewhere on single stage paint. That's a cool car, although I prefer the '77-'78 without the droop snoot, not to mention the engine was detuned by '80 unless it's a turbo.

[Meghan]

I think if you can get some pictures that would help, has it been sitting outside, or in the garage...
We need to see just how bad it go or how well it aged to appropriately help you out.

[Flash Gordon]

I think if you can get some pictures that would help, has it been sitting outside, or in the garage...
We need to see just how bad it go or how well it aged to appropriately help you out.


:iagree:

:Picture: are in order for us to determine your next move :coolgleam:

Cool car!!! :hotrod2:

[Bigpat]

That's a cool car, although I prefer the '77-'78 without the droop snoot, not to mention the engine was detuned by '80 unless it's a turbo.[/QUOTE]

Yea engine may have been tuned down a bit... so my uncle (previous owner) had a 455 super duty worked by some race shop i cant recall name... its got a modest 425 hp plus had NOS set up.... shes a beast lol.. ill get pics up as soon as i can

[Meghan]

I think this will be a fun project for you and for us to watch so make sure you share some photos!

[Mike Phillips]

im pretty sure its single stage

Wash probably do a dawn wash
clay with blackfire clay ultima UWWP for lube
polish with megs #7 and white pads ??
Full interior shampoo and clean

i mean its 32 years old so any input on how to get oils back in the paint



Cool project and the paint if it's original is probably single stage like you guess. Single stage black paint, at least old-school solvent evaporation lacquers and enamels are the softest paints there are to work on so it doesn't take much to remove swirls and scratches.

The #7 is non-abrasive and even with an aggressive pad it won't remove defects really well but if the paint/car is important to you, that is preserving the original paint, then to wash and then the paint down with #7 will revitalize it BEFORE you cut it.

Just an option.

I talk about that here and I wouldn't machine apply it I would do it like I show in the article,

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)


Removing Oxidation Without Abrasives
Now that all the bonded contaminants have been removed off the top of the paint it's time to remove the dead oxidized paint off the surface and to some degree some of the embedded dirt and oxidation below the surface. To do this we're going to use a plush, microfiber polishing towel with some Meguiar's #7 Show Car Glaze.


Always fold your microfiber towels 4 ways
What you want to do is take your polishing towel and fold it 4 ways to create a working cloth that is large enough you can place you hand on it when working the #7 over the paint. Folding the cloth 4 ways will also provide plenty of cushion to spread out the pressure of your fingers and palm. This enables you to work gently and safely on antique, fragile paints and will also help you to avoid instilling fingermarks (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/20496-finger-marks.html).

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/859/NonAbrasiveMethod011.jpg



Non-abrasive abrasives...
Here's a close-up of the tufts of microfibers that make up the working face of this microfiber polishing towel. When used dry this microfiber polishing towel is soft and absorbent. The way we're going to use it however, it will still be soft and gentle to the paint except that I'm going to put a little passion behind my hand (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/23568-put-little-passion-behind-pad-mike-phillips.html) as I move this microfiber towel over the paint and the pressure I apply is going to engage the microfibers with the paint and provide a very gentle scrubbing and even abrading action.


Tufts of microfiber threads... these are your abrasives...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/859/NonAbrasiveMethod034.jpg



Shake well before using
Shake your bottle of #7 up exceedingly well. One of the reasons #7 used to come in clear glass bottles and later clear plastic bottles was so that you could see that the product had separated out and the hope was that as a thinking human being you would see the product had separated in the bottle and thus shake the bottle till the product had a uniform color and consistency.

After you shake the product up well you want to pour a generous amount of product out onto the face of just one side of your folded microfiber towel and note that you're going to use this one side for each panel over the entire car.

The words or terms for how much product you use goes like this,

Use the product heavy or wet

Because this is important, let me repeat these instructions...

Use the product heavy or wet!

This means you use a lot of product, you want the surface wet with product as you're working a section. You're trying to saturate the paint to gorge it with the rich polishing oils found in the #7 but you're also trying to emulsify and loosen any embedded dirt or oxidation off and out of the paint. For this car I used one full bottle on just the hood and the top of the trunk lid and most of another bottle for the passenger and driver's sides. The horizontal surfaces are always the worst because they are exposed to direct sunlight, water from rain and air-borne pollution and contaminants and thus always require the most work to clean, revitalize and restore.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/859/NonAbrasiveMethod012.jpg


Fold the cloth into itself to spread the product out and wet the face of the cloth.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/859/NonAbrasiveMethod013.jpg



"It ain't braggin' if you can back it up" -Dizzy Dean

Now comes the passion: Start working the #7 Show Car Glaze over and into the paint in a vigorous manner. I'm in pretty good shape as I work out at the local gym and lead an active lifestyle that includes rubbing out cars both by hand and by machine.

I also dare say I'm pretty good at rubbing out cars by hand. I'm not bragging, just stating a fact that I can back up. It's more work than most people think and my point is this, rubbing this behemoth of a vehicle out by hand vigorously got me breathing hard and made my hands and arms tired.

Here's the point I'm trying to make...

If you're not breathing hard and you're not getting tired then you're not working the product over the paint vigorously enough.

Out of all the steps, this is the hardest, most time-consuming and most important step there is to do and it is this step that will determine your end results. If you don't remove the topical oxidation and embedded dirt and oxidation during this step then it will still be there when you make the final wipe to remove the wax. So put your heart and soul into this step. If you need to, take a break in-between panels.


It is vital that you work the #7 against the paint vigorously...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/859/NonAbrasiveMethod014.jpg



Rub out one panel at a time
After you work a small section, about 20" squarish or so, stop, re-apply fresh product and move onto a new section and be sure to overlap a little into the previous section.


Panel = a door, the hood, the roof, etc.
Section - a portion of a panel
Note the color being transferred onto the cloth. Part of the color you see is the color of the #7. The other part of the color is the dirt coming off and out of the paint and part of the color is the oxidation coming off the aluminum flakes.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/859/NonAbrasiveMethod015.jpg



Work a panel at a time, section by section
Continue working your way around one major panel until you've worked the entire panel. In this example


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 but 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


The worse condition the paint, the more times you repeat the #7 conditioning step
For this project I applied, worked and removed the #7 four times to the hood and tops of the fenders. After the initial saturation application I applied and worked in the #7 three more times the next day.

I put as much energy into the last application as I did the first application and in order to do this right it takes the desire for excellent results as well as the human elements of care and passion to rub out a hood 6' long and almost 5' in width 4 times like your life depended upon it but the results will be worth it.



After approximately 12 hours of soaking in #7 Show Car Glaze, we're ready to wipe off the first application off this 37-year old paint.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/859/NonAbrasiveMethod017.jpg



Look at the paint surrounding the towel...
In the picture below, note how after just one well-worked application of #7 the finish is now more smooth and clear and the color is more vibrant and even.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/859/NonAbrasiveMethod018.jpg


Look at the color of the residue coming off the paint and onto the white terry cloth towel; it's black. The single stage paint is butterscotch gold.

Question: Where's the blackness coming from?
Answer: The aluminum flake.


One of the benefits that we enjoy when car manufacturers switched over to basecoat/clearcoat paint technology is there's a clear layer of paint covering over the color coat of paint and this seals the paint and keeps it from oxidizing and deteriorating. This enables metallic finishes to last for a long time without oxidizing and this is why you no longer see any black residue coming off modern metallic finishes.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Lots more information in the actual article.


:)

[Mike Phillips]

Also, I wouldn't wash it with a detergent soap, old paint is already dried out, washing with detergent will dry the paint out even more...


Instead, use a non-detergent soap. Remove all the surface dirt and then let clay and your polishing process do the deep cleaning.


:)

[Setec Astronomy]

Yea engine may have been tuned down a bit... so my uncle (previous owner) had a 455 super duty worked by some race shop i cant recall name... its got a modest 425 hp plus had NOS set up.... shes a beast lol.. ill get pics up as soon as i can

Um...that'll fix that problem! IIRC the problem was in '78 the hot engine was the 6.6 T/A which was about 220 net HP, but in '79 it was a 6.6 which was a station wagon engine that only put out about 180. (this was bothering me so I had to refresh my memory, apparently you could still get the T/A engine in '79, but only with the 4-spd M/T, if you went auto it was an Olds 403)

[Bigpat]

Also, I wouldn't wash it with a detergent soap, old paint is already dried out, washing with detergent will dry the paint out even more...


Instead, use a non-detergent soap. Remove all the surface dirt and then let clay and your polishing process do the deep cleaning.


:)

Could you recomend a non detergent soap?

[mwoolfso]

Mike's use of language is classic; love it. Who else talks about "engaging the microfibers provide a very gentle scrubbing and even abrading action". Love it Mike!

[Mike Phillips]

Could you recommend a non detergent soap?


Just about anything sold on Autogeek for washing your car is non-detergent. Pinnacle Bodywork Shampoo is non-detergent and high lubricity...




Mike's use of language is classic; love it. Who else talks about

"engaging the microfibers provides a very gentle scrubbing and even abrading action".

Love it Mike!


LOL

Yeah... sometimes I get too into my work...


:laughing:

[Bigpat]

Ooh ok cool i have a sonax sample and a wolfgangs sample ill use one of them