Single stage paint

[dcodetailing]

Reposted.....sorry, Mike

Hi Mike

Great article on restoring single stage paint. I was lucky enough to be hired to restore the paint on a red 68 Buick
LeSabre. Only problem is the thing's been sitting in a garage for 30 years. Not only is it oxidized, it's literally caked with dried dirt and moss!. I understand what you say about getting into these paints. Given this condition, would you still consider the waterless wash?
Thanks

Dave

Hi Dave,

Yes.

I would waterless wash it to get the heavy layer of dust and dirt off and then do just like I do here,


The #7 Rub Down Technique by Mike Phillips


And be sure to take GREAT before pictures.

The power in the after shots is created in the before shots




Then lots move our discussion to the public forum instead of PMs.

Please post your questions to our discussion forum - Don't send them to me in a PM or E-mail...

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Mike

Great article on restoring single stage paint. I was lucky enough to be hired to restore the paint on a red 68 Buick LeSabre.

Only problem is the thing's been sitting in a garage for 30 years. Not only is it oxidized, it's literally caked with dried dirt and moss!.

I understand what you say about getting into these paints. Given this condition, would you still consider the waterless wash?

Thanks

Dave

Hi Dave,

First thank you for bringing this discussion from PMs to the forum, this is were I much prefer to invest my typing time. Now days I simply cannot keep up with all the various methods people contact me through with questions so I try my hardest to keep it all here on the forum.

Facebook is a horrible interface for any substantial amount of helpful information, typing tiny messages boxes with no way to format text or place pictures in a linear manner that follows a stream of thought is impossible. It's good for shallow stuff but not deep stuff.

With e-mail, I have know idea if a link I share stays usable by the time the recipient opens the e-mail in their e-mail client.


And with both PMs and messages only one set of eyeballs see the information.

So thank you for bringing this to the forum. Now give me a second to put together some info that can actually help you and help anyone else that finds this thread into the future.

[Mike Phillips]

You didn't mention if it was a hardtop, vinyl top or convertible so I just snagged this picture to show everyone what a great looking cruser these cars are...





As to your predicament....


While normally I make it a professional courtesy to not wash classics at some point if the car is dirty enough the "yes" it's time to wash the car. Instead of using running water however I'll use a waterless wash and this is key,

1. Use lots of product
2. Use lots of towels

The idea behind using a lot of product is to saturate the dirt on the surface to loosen the grip it has on the paint and to also liquefy it so you can wipe it off.

The idea behind using lots of towels is so you don't inflict more scratches into the paint via cross-contamination.


So "yes" get a good waterless wash and spray down a heavy or wet layer of product and start wiping.


For anyone reading this into the future, here's an article with lots of pictures and tips...


Waterless Car Wash - How to safely clean you car without a hose & bucket





Just to note: The gentleman that owned this car lost his life to cancer and before he left us I detailed this car to bring in the maximum sale at an auction. Here's the link to this write-up,

Christmas Detail - 1955 Ford Crown Victoria with Black Label Surface Coating

[Mike Phillips]

After you get her clean, since you say she's oxidized, I'm guessing enough for you to call her oxidized, then the next thing you want to do is follow the steps I share here,


The #7 Rub Down Technique by Mike Phillips







And while the whole detailing world is always using microfiber, here's where old fashioned 100% cotton terrycloth is your friend. And... I explain why in detail in the above thread but here's that portion...



Cotton terrycloth
Cotton terrycloth toweling or wash cloths are the preferred method for massaging the #7 oils into single stage paint for a couple of reasons,

1. When restoring neglected paint you don’t want a cloth that is soft and gentle to the paint, (microfiber), you want a cloth that is stout and has some substance to it. That would be old school cotton terrycloth.

2. My technique for restoring antique paint that’s important to you includes NOT using abrasives for the initial step. The initial step, (applying #7) is about gorging the paint with oils, not grinding on it. That said, when antique paint has been neglected there will be some level of dead, oxidized paint on the surface and you do want to remove this dead paint. Instead of using abrasives however, cotton terrycloth, because of its stoutness, together with the #7 oils as a lubricant, will gently abrade off the dead paint. Thus the cotton terrycloth IS the abrasive. Fibers are a form of abrasive they are just a gentle version in the form of cotton terrycloth. Thus by using terrycloth with the #7 your remove the dead paint without abrasive and this is important if preserving the original paint is important.



Please read the entire article as everything you need to know is shared in detail - no pun intended....

[Mike Phillips]

Next...


Assuming this approach works to safely removed the dead, oxidized paint, at this point you should see,

Some shine being restored as you smooth over the surface.

The full richness of color returning to the pigments as the trade secret oils found in the #7 do their magic


So then you need to evaluate the results and decide the next steps.


A: For some people, it's good enough to slap a wax on her and then stick a fork in it and call it done.

B: For others, they are going to want to squeeze more shine, depth and clarity out of the paint. If this is you then you can do this one of three simple ways.

1. Use a high quality cleaner/wax like the 3D HD Speed. Apply by hand or machine but if it were me I would apply by machine using any free spinning orbital polisher and foam polishing pads.
   
2. You could also test the paint with a dedicated polish and then inspect the results. If they look good could slap on the wax an call it good.
   
3. If you think you want to try for more correction then you could test out a compound, followed by a polish and a wax and see if this get the paint to where you want it.

All of the above approaches will work it's just a matter of doing some testing.


If you want to discuss any of the above, give me a call at my office number

1-800-869-3011 x206



I'll be into work at 6:00am tomorrow morning and into the garage by 7:00am to detail a car and test out some new products for new product reviews. After I finish the car, (couple of hours), I'll be back at my desk making pictures magically appear on the old Interweb.

If I don't answer, leave me a call-back number and I promise I'll call you back.