Pinstriped my van!

[Viva]

Thanks Ultrasport -- good info. (Just as a side note, my particular 80's car has clearcoat in good shape, thanks to an original owner with a garage - but the breed has had many failures. In their case the solid colors didn't have clearcoat and the metallic ones did.)

In the case of my white Ford SMB, the paint is lacking in luster but seems sound - it lived outside some of its life, but in a northern climate so fewer UV rays. I did rub out a little test patch (inconspicuous area) by hand (with some 3M compound I had on hand - I forget whether it was Finesse-it or Imperial Finishing Compound or...? but it was one that could be used on paint), and it came up nice and shiny with minimal effort.

Interestingly the (very obvious) clearcoat over the painted stripes (added by SMB) is shiny as a mirror.

Now that I know the main body is clearcoated, and that buffing sound clearcoat is possible, I'll research products/pads a bit further and then proceed. Thanks again

[Ultrasport12]

Originally Posted by Viva

Thanks Ultrasport -- good info. (Just as a side note, my particular 80's car has clearcoat in good shape, thanks to an original owner with a garage - but the breed has had many failures. In their case the solid colors didn't have clearcoat and the metallic ones did.)

In the case of my white Ford SMB, the paint is lacking in luster but seems sound - it lived outside some of its life, but in a northern climate so fewer UV rays. I did rub out a little test patch (inconspicuous area) by hand (with some 3M compound I had on hand - I forget whether it was Finesse-it or Imperial Finishing Compound or...? but it was one that could be used on paint), and it came up nice and shiny with minimal effort.

Interestingly the (very obvious) clearcoat over the painted stripes (added by SMB) is shiny as a mirror.

Now that I know the main body is clearcoated, and that buffing sound clearcoat is possible, I'll research products/pads a bit further and then proceed. Thanks again

Good luck with it...you might want to put masking tape near those stripes and near the openings so you dont grab them wih the buffer. Finesse It works good on white I think but there are many good and newer products these days. Personally I love 3M automotive products. I have used the clay bar and the Finesse It Show Car wax exclusively for years on all my cars, trucks and vans and it works great. When I had boats I used their marine line also with great results. It sounds like you know what you are doing and your van should look great when you are done. Just remeber the Ford Oxford white is not really a white white (not much blue in it) like newer cars have on them so just make it shiny again, don't try to change the color .

I also add that like any field some of the professional products work well and are cheaper and sometimes only need one step to get really good results if you have access purchase to them.

Malco products like Flash and Rejuvenator work well, we used to use those at my old dealer to get cars look nice and done quickly and easily.

http://malcoautomotive.com/Catalog.aspx

Meguiar's Mirror Glaze has a nice looking semi pro system that has different degrees of cutting marked on the front of the bottle.Everything from a light cut to a full on compound and everthing in between. Down load the PDF at the bottom of this page.


http://www.meguiars.com/en/professional/


Is your 80s car a GM by chance? They did have a bunch of clear coat problems but so did a lot of companies as that technology was embraced.

...Jamie

[carringb]

I use this stuff:



It has a very mild abrasive which cuts through stuck on grime while giving a good polish, but won't hurt the clear coat. It will rub out minor clear coat scratches, like swirls from using a dirty wash rag (or rub marks from cam straps flapping in the wind). Plus - it smells like Coconuts!

[Gnarvan]

Originally Posted by carringb

It will rub out minor clear coat scratches, like swirls from using a dirty wash rag (or rub marks from cam straps flapping in the wind). Plus - it smells like Coconuts!

"cam straps flapping in the wind"

B.....your boater is showing.

[Tapatio]

I happened to see this product at Costco yesterday so I bought a 3 pack for $12. We'll see how it works for the deeper scratches. Most of them buff out easily.

http://www2.dupont.com/ProFusionColo...cts_index.html

[Viva]

Thanks so much for the specific product recommendations. I'm all for using something newer/better if it exists - I just happened to have some of the 3M on hand (but not enough left to do the whole van so I'll be buying new product regardless) so I used it for a test. If anyone has more/other recommendations, feel free to keep them coming!

I tend to like 3M products as well, although I've also used Meguiars (on boats). My one complaint about 3M is that they have so many different products with similar names, and there doesn't seem to be any way to effectively compare them all (vs. say Meguiars who number theirs). I mentioned that to them on the phone once, and they said one problem is that pros have "old favorites" and so when they bring out new products they often don't retire the old ones, and it gets "messy." Also, they have automotive lines, marine lines, consumer lines, etc. Still, I think they could do better with some chart(s) to make sense of it all (unless they have some now that I am not aware of - been awhile since I checked).

The van is shiny below the "waistline," and semi-shiny on the sides above that line (but still in need of more shine). The hood is the flattest, of course, being horizontal. I'd like it all shiny if I can get it that way without ruining the clearcoat or engendering a re-paint. I do plan to mask off the stripes and their clearcoat. It's just one horizontal band around the van, so won't be too arduous to mask off (no swoops, whew!).

My car is a Volvo. In the early 80's they started to have a lot of metallic paint colors (whereas before it had been mostly solid colors). Through the mid/late-80's and I think at least the early 90's the clearcoat (which was only on the metallic paint colors then) would give up the ghost. Not right away, but the "problem" is that the cars last so long! By the late 80's the solid colors became rare as hen's teeth - I guess because the metallics just look sharp. The clearcoat on my current car is fine after nearly 25 years, but it was garaged. One parked in the sun would usually be failing on hood and roof by now.