Off The Charts Cool Factor: 1987 Buick Grand National with 33,000 miles!

I don't think I'll be topping this week for a long time! First, that gorgeous Aston Martin, followed by this car. It is owned by a friend and fellow officer. He is the third owner since brand new. The previous owner had the car painted and it's unknown who did it. Not the greatest of jobs, but OK. He just wanted it presentable...I had other ideas. We compromised and I ate some time to make it as nice as (reasonably) possible given the time budget. It was getting coated with CQuartz after being coated. The car has 53,000 km on it which is equivalent to 33,000 miles. IMO it needed to look as nice as its pedigree says it is.

Here it is as it arrived. I can sum it up in 2 words: shocking swirls!


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1937.jpg


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1938.jpg


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1939.jpg


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1940.jpg


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1941.jpg


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1942.jpg


There was a really big scratch/gouge out of the paint on the RF fender top. That got filled afterward as well as many, many chips.



http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1943.jpg


First up was to clean the wheels. The faces were cleaned with Carbrite wheel acid (does wonders on chrome) which I did not allow to dwell for very long, followed by Zep Citrus and Megs HW with a demoted wash mitt. The tires were cleaned (multiple times) with Zep 505 and the wells were cleaned with LATA. There was a lot of wax residue in every seam, etc, so I also used a Race Glaze (soft) brush with Zep Citrus and dipped in the HW to try to remove it from the seams. It was only mildly successful in doing so. I had a lot to do on the car and wasn't going to waste my time chasing stuff like that, so if it didn't get it, it was left.

The paint was cleaned with Megs HW followed by IronX paste. I then brought it inside to clay. I started using the clay towel and I felt like I was rubbing it across a sheet of 150 grit sandpaper: rough as can be! I broke out the old school Riccardo blue which would turn to Riccardo black after every bloody pass. My wife had taken the camera to do something else so I wasn't able to shoot the disgusting looking clay. The paint just look horrific at this point and my hands were shaking as I was lighting my cigar to evaluate my process. Often I find that re-paints can be very hard. This paint was hard, but not impossibly so. I was still using the 3401 + TB and ended up using a mix of M100 and M101 on the pad like last time. I was getting good correction, but each area really had to be worked due to such deep imperfections. Luckily there was lots of clear to work with so I wasn't hampered there. That was followed by M205 and the Carpro gloss pad (Essence did not play well with this picky paint). Even after hammering away with the compound and then working the shine with M205, the pad was looking disgusting after only 3-4 passes. Usually I can get a panel or two until I have to clean the pad. Not with this paint. It was every 3 or so passes which got to be a big PITA. Here is a 50/50 shot to show what that combo would accomplish nonetheless:



http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1963.jpg

It was working, albeit in a very time consuming fashion. The whole car was done with those 2 steps followed by being double coated with CQuartz original for the paint and wheels. Here are some inside shots. Unfortunately, it was finished on a cloudy day.


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1965.jpg


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1966.jpg


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1967.jpg


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1968.jpg


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1969.jpg


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1970.jpg


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1974.jpg


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1973.jpg


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1971.jpg


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1972.jpg


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1975.jpg


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1976.jpg


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/DSC_1977.jpg


My father was a Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealer for over 20 years (GM dealer for 25) and I was working there when these cars came out. I vividly remember the excitement around them and how there was little to compete against them at the time. I sold one to my dentist. This was a great trip down memory lane for me, especially seeing the digital tach and boost gauge and the instrumentation. As I said...what a week!!!

Nice job. I recently had the job of doing the Grand Pooba of the Grand Nationals a GNX with 4300 miles. One thing about old GM straight paint it wasn't very nice but I worked it hard as this car sat since 1999 in a garage and wasn't cleaned. By the way this car is for sale if anyone is interested PM me and I'll get you the guys #

Looks great nothing beats a shiny Black Buick!

Came out nice, Richy. That was back in the Lloyd Reuss era at Buick, a weird time to be sure.

Ooooh Ya, Now we're talkin. Love those cars! Great job makin it look proper my friend.

I love it richy. Beautiful shine on that Buick. Great turn around.

As always, you nailed this job!! Beautiful classic that I would love to take a ride in!

Great job! Yes, crazy swirls! Looks excellent. Thanks for the (always) great write-up and pics!

Stay safe out there!

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Originally Posted by WAXOFF

Nice job. I recently had the job of doing the Grand Pooba of the Grand Nationals a GNX with 4300 miles. One thing about old GM straight paint it wasn't very nice but I worked it hard as this car sat since 1999 in a garage and wasn't cleaned. By the way this car is for sale if anyone is interested PM me and I'll get you the guys #

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Nice GNX buddy!! Wow.

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Originally Posted by Trip

Looks great nothing beats a shiny Black Buick!

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For sure! Thank you.

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Originally Posted by Setec Astronomy

Came out nice, Richy. That was back in the Lloyd Reuss era at Buick, a weird time to be sure.

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At least there was an era then...and thanks!

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Originally Posted by fly07sti

Ooooh Ya, Now we're talkin. Love those cars! Great job makin it look proper my friend.

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Thanks very much Don!

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Originally Posted by AZ Mike

I love it richy. Beautiful shine on that Buick. Great turn around.

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Thanks very much Mike! I appreciate you taking the time.

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Originally Posted by StealthXJ

As always, you nailed this job!! Beautiful classic that I would love to take a ride in!

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Thank you Colin. Hopefully we'll have a bit of a challenge on our weekend.

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Originally Posted by Sizzle Chest

Great job! Yes, crazy swirls! Looks excellent. Thanks for the (always) great write-up and pics!

Stay safe out there!

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Thank you...on both accounts!

Another phenomenal job! Thanks for sharing