The #7 rubdown technique on a 51 Mercury

[2wookies]

Had a customer this weekend with one cool car! The car was a 1951 Mercury with some history in the body, meaning it wasn't the original color it had some rust and the 50 year old paint had cracks and blemishes. The owner bought it 15 years ago out of a barn find trip where it'd sat for 20 years, only thing he'd ever done was wash it and not very well.

Wish I'd gotten some better before pictures, but here it is after a nice foam bath and hand wash.
51 Merc by John Wilkinson, on Flickr
51 Merc by John Wilkinson, on Flickr
51 Merc by John Wilkinson, on Flickr

I knew I wanted to try Mikes #7 Rub down, it just seemed to make so much sense for this old car. So after the wash I put the entire bottle down on this car, let me say that was SO much fun!! Just throwing down all that glaze and letting it sit was so calming.
51 Merc by John Wilkinson, on Flickr

The next morning the owner was there when I started buffing off the product and started to get really excited watching the paint come back to life. Just kept walking around the car saying how good it looked, I told him to just watch what happens after I buff it.

With this job I knew that the condition of the paint and the owners expectation that attempting any type heavy compound with aggressive pads wouldn't be cost effective. He wanted it to shine and that's what I did, using the Uro-Tec Maroon pads with CarPro's Essence Xtreme Gloss Enhancer I set out to work. After the machine passes I topped with CarPro's Reload, little bit of old school with new school protection.

I've done some pretty incredible jobs and customers have always been impressed, but I've never seen one cry when he saw his car in the sun. This was a first, he just kept walking around saying he never thought his car could look like this. This made this job one of my favorites, yeah the car has blemishes and that what he loves about it.

51 Merc by John Wilkinson, on Flickr
51 Merc by John Wilkinson, on Flickr
51 Merc by John Wilkinson, on Flickr
51 Merc by John Wilkinson, on Flickr
51 Merc by John Wilkinson, on Flickr

Thanks for looking, happy detailing guys!

[Mike Phillips]

Incredible results!

Such a cool project! So rare now days for any of us to get to work on antique single stage paint.

Thanks for sharing!

[Sizzle Chest]

Excellent work! Looks so much better now! Great story too...that's the greatest that the owner was so blown away!

[Paul A.]

Unbelievable shine and gloss to that old paint! I swear, I could almost do something like that for free if the owner reacts that emotionally. (well, almost).

I am dying to get my own "Mike's #7 Massage" someday.

[PaulMys]

Now THIS is cool.

I am sure that made you feel like a million bucks.

Great job!

[axel06]

great work love this kind of stuff !!!!

[Aaryn NZ]

Wow!!!

That is cool! Fantastic results, I’m so happy the owner was pleased too. That’s a seriously cool car.

Thank you for sharing mate, outstanding work.

Aaryn NZ.

[BillE]

Nicely done!

Now...what's under the hood, flathead or 'modern'?

Lotza flashbacks seeing this, thanx.

Bill

[SWETM]

Awesome work and write up! Beutieful car and the finish you get from it is outstanding!

/ Tony

[MadMerc]

Outstanding job!

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