Best compound for original paint?

[theastronaut]

One issue with using a really mild polish or Meguiars #7 is that it probably won't get quite all of the oxidation off- the more you lightly polish it the more gloss it will have, but it will be nearly impossible to have the same level of gloss over the whole truck. I fought this on my original paint '64 VW for years when I was using a really mild cleaner wax that never got all of the oxidation off. It was blotchy, even using an orbital and making multiple passes over the panels. An oily glaze/wax like #7 or Zymol cleaner wax would mostly hide it temporarily but after it was in the sun for a week the oils dried out of the oxidized layer and it would be blotchy again.


We bought a '74 C10 in 2020 and have been tinkering with it recently. A good bit of the paint is already faded to primer so we decided to buff it pretty hard and get all of the oxidation off. I started with 0000 steel wool and CLR on the rusty spots to remove light rust and stains, then 2000 on a thin/flexible plexiglass block to sand the heavier rust down flat, then Jescar Correcting Compound and a wool pad on a rotary to remove all of the oxidation and bring out as much gloss as possible. I went over that with a swirl remover and foam pad, then Meguiars #7 to finish it off.

[68bowtie]

Originally Posted by theastronaut

One issue with using a really mild polish or Meguiars #7 is that it probably won't get quite all of the oxidation off- the more you lightly polish it the more gloss it will have, but it will be nearly impossible to have the same level of gloss over the whole truck. I fought this on my original paint '64 VW for years when I was using a really mild cleaner wax that never got all of the oxidation off. It was blotchy, even using an orbital and making multiple passes over the panels. An oily glaze/wax like #7 or Zymol cleaner wax would mostly hide it temporarily but after it was in the sun for a week the oils dried out of the oxidized layer and it would be blotchy again.


We bought a '74 C10 in 2020 and have been tinkering with it recently. A good bit of the paint is already faded to primer so we decided to buff it pretty hard and get all of the oxidation off. I started with 0000 steel wool and CLR on the rusty spots to remove light rust and stains, then 2000 on a thin/flexible plexiglass block to sand the heavier rust down flat, then Jescar Correcting Compound and a wool pad on a rotary to remove all of the oxidation and bring out as much gloss as possible. I went over that with a swirl remover and foam pad, then Meguiars #7 to finish it off.

Thanks for sharing. That turned out great. My next project will need something similar.

[sscooter]

#7 is an interesting product. It actually "absorbs" into ol school paints and will bring some life and workability into them.


I used to use it exclusively, but found that modern products actually do a better job of protecting and sealing "patina" in. Some paints don't respond to #7.

Astronaut's '74 C10 is the look/finish that I love getting out of old paint!!

Jescar powerlock, followed by Collinite Insulator wax, I have found is the BEST final seal after putting the shine back in.......