My 62 caddy's paint is showing it's age...has been for awhile. Outside of the bondo cracking and some chips and peeling here and there it still looks decent. I want to try and bring back some of the shine. From what I can tell it's single stage black, and is about 15-17 years old. The car sits outside all the time. I wash it fairly frequently because of this...and remember...Texas summers are brutal and the car is black! I did the Turtle Wax Color Back about 3 years ago and havn't messed with it since. Should I wetsand the car with 1500 or 2000 to get some scratches, oxidation, etc. off of it? Or should I just do the old compound and wax method? This is a daily driver, just want it to look a bit nicer is all. Thanks for your help.
i would go with the polish only first. chances are that old paint is pretty thin and sanding will take it right through to primer. if it polishes nice, but still has imperfections., then try the sand paper, but id be vary carefull, till you see how much material you have left skull
give it a nice wetsandin with the 2000 and as long as you aren't sanding in one spot too long you're fine. stay away from points and edges though. machine polish with 3M's regular rubbing compound, followed with swirl mark remover. that will give it a nice high gloss. if you're real anal about the swirl marks you can follow it up with the ultrafina compound, but this shit can get expensive and for the condition of your paintjob you probably don't need it. don't have too much fun now!!!
I tried to freshin up my 64 Caddy. I wet sanded the hood with 2000, did a cut and buff job. The paint looked damn near new, except where it got a little thin. The factory paint is very thin, this makes sanding almost impossible. I'm an experienced painter and wet sanding the factory paint was touchy. If I were to try this again, I would just clay bar it, then buff it with a chemical compound, the less grit the better. Meguiars diamond cut #9, or something close to that.
I did a quick wet sand on my caddy with 2000 grit being careful not to take too much off and then did a cut and buff after that. Turned out great except where the body work was failing (bodo chipping, etc) Looks alot better until I can do the body and paint.
I wouldn't wet sand unless you have some minor scratches you are trying to remove, and than remove those very carefully. If it were me I would use 3M 6060 or 6085 with a wool pad followed up by 6064 machine polish on a grey foam pad. Apply some pressure to the pad, keep it wet, dont do it in the hot Texas sun. Good Luck
Ok, looking like I'll pass on wetsanding right now. I don't have a buffer/polisher right now...I'll be doing this the old fashioned way. Is there a good single product 3M or someone makes to this or am I looking for compound and then a wax? Thanks
Like i said 3m makes a real good c ompound. a lil pricey but it works great. go with extra cut if you're doin it by hand. she's gonna be a reeeaaal cunt! haha
Clay bar it c-l-e-a-n. Then, try some cleaner/wax on the flat area's. Stay off the edge's, corner's ect. Lot's of hand glaze will give an old paint surface some shine. When you feel you've swam the Mississippi upstream.........you are ready to lay on the carnuba wax to seal the deal. Oh, Rain-X that glass too, son.
You could use Wizard's Finish Cut 1-step compound. It works best if applied by machine, but I applied it by hand on my own car it it worked just fine that way on my oxidized daily driver.
i've had GREAT luck with a product called TR3* resin glaze. i can't tell you what's in it or why it works but i've used it to successfully freshen old finishes. seems to take off just the right amount of haze. *not affiliated with triumphs in any way...
Check out this thread: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=361893 I asked a question regarding older paint and got some great responses. Hope this helps.
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