Bringing back 50 year old paint

[ethorpe1588]

Hey guys. New to the detailing forum. I was hoping to get some tips on doing paint correction for my 1964 impala. It's original paint, I know I'm not going to get anything perfect but would like to improve what's there.






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[GSKR]

Mike Phillips maybe will chime in and get you going the correct way.

[LSNAutoDetailing]

I would start with these articles:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...nz-280-se.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...one-place.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...s-careful.html

[richy]

Megs #7 will be your answer. Mike's article on using it will be perfect for your case.

[BillyJack]

Cool ride! I had a '64 Impala SS 327-300hp 4 speed in my college days. Many fond memories.
Having done a number of old lacquer restorations, I heartily endorse a thorough reading of Mike's articles that Paul linked to. Mike usually has some serious time constraints with the cars he does, but if you have the time and energy, multiple apps of #7 with soak times of overnight to 24 hours will yield increasingly better results.
#7's formula has changed within the past year. If you have availability of a low-volume independent parts store or hardware store that might still have the tan-colored old formula still on the shelf, as opposed to the new white color,buy it up. Don't worry about shelf life. I've used 30 year-old #7 and it works great. Just needs a really thorough shaking. Don't worry about any areas that have the checking or cracking typical of old lacquers. Mike's process won't fix the damage, but it will make it look a lot better.
Just for inspiration, here's a split shot of my El Camino roof to show how effective the #7 can be:


Keep us posted on your progress.

Bill