Single Stage Black Paint on Vintage Race Car.

[Mike Phillips]

The Blackfire sounds interesting. The M100 has been surprising but a good bit of work. To skip through to Blackfire might be the ticket, or to use it at the end or beginning of a season.

Only comes in the quart size at this time, targeted at Pro Detailers but it's Bubba-Proof. You could also use it on any of your daily drivers or car hauling trailer. Nice stuff.

I was leaning towards leaving the stone chips, but your note about a light touch up is what I need - I'd just like to take the focus away from that damage/patina.

Here's my in-depth, multi-picture article on using Dr. Color Chip. The key question everyone asks I answer in the article.

Do I fix the rock chips BEFORE or AFTER I buff out my car?

The answer is AFTER.

Here's the link to the article,

How to use the Dr. ColorChip Paint Chip Repair Systems

Also, the sanding marks and blemishes I noted are only really visible unless you're looking for them. Most people looking at this car probably wouldn't even notice.

I'd agree with you. In fact I have an article on this topic,

The difference between a swirl and squirrel

Most people don't know the difference between a Swirl and a Squirrel...

For clarification...

This is a Squirrel



These are Swirls

I'm not sure much can be done about it and I'm reluctant to hit it with anything really aggressive.

Sometimes it's better to learn to live with a few defects, maybe improve them but not try to fully remove them...


Here's my quote on this topic...

Words cannot describe the heart sinking feeling that overcomes you when you discover you've burned through the paint -Mike Phillips

[Geflackt]

Should I use any sort of cleaner before applying the Souveran wax?

Occasionally on clear-coat polishing I use a light IPA before the wax stage. I'm reluctant to use an IPA mix on this single stage paint.

[Mike Phillips]

Should I use any sort of cleaner before applying the Souveran wax?

Occasionally on clear-coat polishing I use a light IPA before the wax stage. I'm reluctant to use an IPA mix on this single stage paint.

No!

Never chemically strip old school singe stage paint - you will DULL it DOWN. I call this,

Working Backwards

Glad you asked. After wiping off the polish, apply the wax. I have an article that explains why, I'm not at work so harder to function on a forum.

Google

Misible oils Mike Phillips

[Farmallluvr]

Thanks for the note about the pic gallery. Let's try this a different way:

Natural habitat last Fall:


From a few years ago with other MG's in our pre-war class:


Was used in an ad by Savannah for tourism, and that's my friend in an Alfa Monza:

thats a super cool car,do you guys actually race them and push them hard,,,if you do don't you worry about wrecking?

,I did a 53 MG TD for a friend of my dads a couple years ago,,I turned out ok and he was happy with but it was severely oxidated.
It was before I found Autogeek online and I found out a lot of alternative ways I could have went about it.I wish I had to do over just to try all the different things.

[PaulMys]

That car is amazing.

A real piece of automotive history.

It must be a blast driving and owning it.

[Geflackt]

No!

Never chemically strip old school singe stage paint - you will DULL it DOWN. I call this,

Working Backwards

Glad you asked. After wiping off the polish, apply the wax. I have an article that explains why, I'm not at work so harder to function on a forum.

Google

Misible oils Mike Phillips

Great note!! This is the link that I found:
Miscible and Immiscible - Wax and Paint Sealant Bonding

I've had issues, especially on black cars, of the wax getting a haze in spotty areas. A while back I thought it was that polish was left on the surface. After research and reworking technique, I found it was more water/humidity related and that I was just using too much on the application.

If some polish remains(usually at edges or where I would just plain miss a small spot), is the best method to remove that to just use a little polish on a rag to remove it?

[Geflackt]

thats a super cool car,do you guys actually race them and push them hard,,,if you do don't you worry about wrecking?

,I did a 53 MG TD for a friend of my dads a couple years ago,,I turned out ok and he was happy with but it was severely oxidated.
It was before I found Autogeek online and I found out a lot of alternative ways I could have went about it.I wish I had to do over just to try all the different things.

Oh, it gets used and raced!!! Which is why my wife keeps bugging me that I'm spending too much time on this detailing project!

I push it hard on the track, but since last summer I'm breaking in a fairly new engine and I just rebuilt the gearbox about 2 weeks ago. Now THAT was a lot of time spent polishing gears(no synchros) instead of paintwork! The engine is 939cc and overhead cam - typical MG engine from the 1930's. But mine is beefed up with bits to double the power and be race ready.

Sort of rare is that this engine is not supercharged but rather I've gone with high compression(9:1) custom pistons and mixture by SU carbs. I've run this a handful of times in the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, at Pocono, Lime Rock, Thompson, and Savannah(the track just across the river from the city).

It also goes to shows occasionally(boring), but we use it to go to dinners, local rallies/tours, and I've used it for errands and geocaching. Plus the occasional autocross:






Sorry for the distraction from detailing!

I too wish I had found the info on this forum a few years ago. On other cars with oxidized paint I've used other methods, but this #7 method would have been the way to go.

The one car I had I just left as a dull paint, but the others look decent now but were too aggressive - I may try the #7 method over the summer.

[Mike Phillips]

Cool video!

Engine sounds GREAT!

I can't imagine shifting with my left hand... the whole right hand driving thing would be very foreign to me.

Lots of pleasure boats, ski boats and such have the steering wheel and controls on the right hand side. My Sanger was set up like a car, steering wheel and foot controls on the left hand side. Felt natural, especially at high speeds.

[Farmallluvr]

Oh, it gets used and raced!!! Which is why my wife keeps bugging me that I'm spending too much time on this detailing project!

I push it hard on the track, but since last summer I'm breaking in a fairly new engine and I just rebuilt the gearbox about 2 weeks ago. Now THAT was a lot of time spent polishing gears(no synchros) instead of paintwork! The engine is 939cc and overhead cam - typical MG engine from the 1930's. But mine is beefed up with bits to double the power and be race ready.

Sort of rare is that this engine is not supercharged but rather I've gone with high compression(9:1) custom pistons and mixture by SU carbs. I've run this a handful of times in the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, at Pocono, Lime Rock, Thompson, and Savannah(the track just across the river from the city).

It also goes to shows occasionally(boring), but we use it to go to dinners, local rallies/tours, and I've used it for errands and geocaching. Plus the occasional autocross:


[video=youtube;j9r5NYgfrhw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9r5NYgfrhw[/vi



Sorry for the distraction from detailing!

I too wish I had found the info on this forum a few years ago. On other cars with oxidized paint I've used other methods, but this #7 method would have been the way to go.

The one car I had I just left as a dull paint, but the others look decent now but were too aggressive - I may try the #7 method over the summer.

Great Video,,,that looks like a ton of fun and the engine sounds great and like Mike said I couldn't imagine shifting with my left,even being left handed it just feels weird,,I have driven a few RH drive cars but they were automatic Subarus

I always wanted to do Autocross with my GTI but work and then totaling it out got in the way.

[Geflackt]

UPDATE!

The car is just about done for this round. Squirrels and Swirls - I had to stop somewhere. Bulk of the paint detail was done about a week ago, but the small details of brightwork, leather, and wheels/tires took a while. I could easily keep going, but wanted to get the other black car detailed for Spring driving.

Paint swirls and scratches took a bit of work. Did the #7 rounds, although it wasn't oxidized. Then M100 on a microfiber for multiple rounds until the light scratches were pretty much gone. Quick round with M205 on foam pads, then a final with the 3800. I don't think the 3800 really helped, though. Did a final round with Souveran - actually tried 2 layers but 1 is probably enough.

Here's the difference on the panels:


Tires: Used some APC and some kind of tire dressing I got as a gift(not bad stuff but don't normally use tire dressing) Left tire is just washed, not yet APC'd:


The dash is engine turned and coated, so a hand polish then a wax with Souveran. Carpets and seats not yet installed:


And the final, just about ready to go!


The black paint is now incredibly bright. With the contrast in the reflection of the lights, it actually hurts a little bit to look at the bright to black boundary. Amazing.

Thanks for all the help!