The Secret to Removing Oxidation and Restoring a Show Car Finish to Antique Single Stage Paints

[Mike Phillips]

Reposting pictures properly this time, and a new one with the actual scooter.
Thank you.

AWESOME VESPA SCOOTER!

I'm not sure about the best way to address the rusty spots.

Should I definitely avoid using the Meguiar's #7 (and the clay) on rust, or is it fine to just apply all products on both painted and rusty areas?

I've restored paint like you show in the pictures above and here's how I handled,

First I accepted that rubbing old paint hard with a terrycloth wash cloth and the #7 is going to remove some of the loose paint around the scrappy rusted areas. That's a done deal.

Then, I went a head and used the #7 liberally with a terrycloth wash cloth and a lot of elbow grease and let the oils in the #7 lubricate the rubbing process and let the nap of the terrycloth be my abrasive and with enough rubbing you can remove the rust and make the steel that is now exposed with no paint SHINY and restore the color to what's left of the paint.


Put most of your focus on the rusty portions as you don't want to rub and rub and rub on the painted areas needlessly as the paint will restore faster than the rusted metal will clean up.

I'd also consider buffing the rusted areas by machine, like by using a foam cutting pad with a compound. The foam and the compound will gently abrade off the rust.

Here's the deal, if you want to maintain the ORIGINAL PATINA then you can rub that rust off and make the metal shiny and the paint pretty and then by regular polishing and waxing you can keep the paint looking great and the metal looking shiny. I've done it on my own classic cars that had thin paint. It's just a matter of regularly polishing the metal to prevent it from rusting.

Using some wax will also slow down the rust but retain the shiny metal look.


Hope that helps and way-cool Vespa...

[Mike Phillips]

Mike i`ve startet to read your book, verry helpfull, finished this thread and i still dont understand one thing, single stage paints before 1980 i`m not very intereset in this because in Macedonia we don`t have such old cars, but here cars after 1995 all look like single stage paint, people here dont take care of their cars, never polished, never waxed, non-stop in a direct contact with sun, non garaged.

It's possible these cars you're working on do in fact have single stage paint. No way of knowing without testing.

And i don`t know if they may be single stage or are wery oxidasied.

Clear coats CAN and DO oxidize, just slower than single stage paints. The good news is the fix for oxidized clearcoats is simply either polishing or compounding and polishing.

Click the link below to read my article on how to test for single stage or clearcoat paints.

How to Test for Single Stage or Clear Coat Paint

[1959Vespa]

AWESOME VESPA SCOOTER!

Thanks so much for your reply, Mike!

Here's the deal, if you want to maintain the ORIGINAL PATINA then you can rub that rust off and make the metal shiny and the paint pretty and then by regular polishing and waxing you can keep the paint looking great and the metal looking shiny. I've done it on my own classic cars that had thin paint. It's just a matter of regularly polishing the metal to prevent it from rusting.

Using some wax will also slow down the rust but retain the shiny metal look.

OK! I'll do that and then will post before/after pictures

Hope that helps and way-cool Vespa...

It will get way cooler soon, thanks to the great tips you gave here!

[xxnonamexx]

Great article and I think this will explain how to get my Brother in Laws MG oxidized paint looking showroom shine. My question is in regards to Saturation. I read about how to apply a section at a time and over lap then removing it. For saturation do you recommend covering the entire car in #7 for 24hrs? Then remove it and apply a second coat per section and wipe off? Thanks

[xxnonamexx]

Can you use a machine when taking off #7? If so what pad do you recommend. I did the initial saturation and I think I need to apply a few more times. Thanks

[Stampe]

Hi Mike!

Thanks for all your great posts! I rely like them and you inspire me!

I have a question regarding the menzerna PO85RD could it be used for feeding singel stage paint? I did as you did with putting it on some paper and it looked greasy?



Kind regards
Magnus

[BillyJack]

Can you use a machine when taking off #7? If so what pad do you recommend. I did the initial saturation and I think I need to apply a few more times. Thanks

Even though I try to use a machine whenever possible, I still prefer hand application with M07, applied with, as Mike says, "some passion". Whenever I'm doing multiple soaking apps, I'll just do a quick wipe with no intention of removing all the product and let my subsequent app melt away the rest. If you do multiples, you'll find it getting progressively easier. You'll almost sense that the paint is feeling "saturated" and no longer soaking up product like the earlier apps, which is the signal to wipe it all clean and assess the finish to determine your next step.
If you're either pressed for time, or charging by the hour, Mike has shown time and time again that a single soak and skillful polishing gives great results. Personally, on my own car with marginal paint thickness from too much rotary polishing from my pre-forum days, I'd rather spend the time with multiple M07 apps and go lightly on the machine polishing steps.

Bill

[LarryS]

First post, although I've been reading this forum for quite some time. I've now read the initial article in this thread and all 15 pages of comments and, believe it or not, I still have questions about how to care for my 1975 Corvette. The car is always garaged, and covered, and the original lacquer (I believe) paint actually shines quite well (it is Classic White per Chevrolet). But the paint is nearly 40 years old and pretty badly checked in some areas (worst on the rear deck lid), has some chipping (I try to keep up by going on Chip Patrol regularly) and due to both age and many washes/waxes, is very thin in spots (worst where the driver/passenger would rest his/her arm when the window is down).

First, what I have learned.

One, the car will never again see a hose and a bucket of car wash. Waterless wash from now on.
Second, Meguiar's #7 Show Car Glaze is magic stuff.
Third, when used appropriately, a microfiber cloth can act as an abrasive.

Now the questions.

The No. 7 bottle says to apply sparingly and not to let it dry, but everything here says to put it on wet and let it stay on overnight. I'm much more inclined to follow the recommendations found on this forum but is there any chance that the formulation has changed and it should be used sparingly and not left on? ("Just because your paranoid doesn't mean they're NOT after you!").

With the No. 7, it is best to avoid the areas immediately surrounding chips so as to not promote further lifiting of the paint, or (gently?) treat them with the 7?

What would be the recommendation for sealant/wax after the #7? The #7 bottle says follow up with Meguiar's Mirror Glaze Yellow Wax (#26), which I have and could certainly use. But I also have Meguiar's Deep Crystal Carnauba Wax which I like quite a bit. I also was recently introduced to Blackfire products and have used their Crystal Seal on my newer cars. I'm not all that familiar with the newer polymer products - would they be recommended for older single stage paint?

That's it for now but I'm sure I'll come up with more questions. I've attached a few pictures illustrating my questions below. The first is a shot across the decklid that shows the paint checking, the second shows a chip on the hood, the third and fourth just show the overall condition of the paint. It's raining today and difficult to get decent shots in the garage so I hope that the pictures show something. Thanks in advance for any advice provided.

LarryS

[BillyJack]

You can most certainly use M07 as a traditional glaze, either before your LSP, or even as a final step for a short-term enhancement in gloss and depth. I've been using it that way for over 30 years on older lacquer paints. The purpose of the overnight soaks is for the oils to penetrate and moisturize old parched paints, making them much more workable for polishing. I treat the whole car, bad paint as well as good. The areas with checking or cracking take a bit more labor to get the product wiped off, but M07 won't cause any loss of adhesion.
For LSP, it's whatever your heart desires and what looks best to your eyes. I'd just stay away from coatings to avoid any bonding issues with the oil content of M07.

Bill

[LarryS]

Bill,

Thanks. I'll use the #7 as suggested and I think I'll follow with the #26.

LarryS