Alternative to Meguiars #7
 

Is there anything you guys have landed on for reviving old lacquer without buffing? While #7 has done a nice job of putting oils and glaze back into the paint, it is just a PITA to work with.

It is a medium blue (Bridgehampton Blue) on my 71 LT-1 FWIW.

Thanks,
Tim

I have followed this technique with incredible success and without the paint fading back out in a season.

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url...2&share_type=t

I typically follow the #7 treatment with Meguiars 205 and a foam pad at around 1000 rpm on the orbital buffwr and topping with a carnauba wax. Here's a quick before and after of an original paint '71 C10 I used this technique with. If your paint has gloss and oils from your previous coats of #7, you might be be able to just machine polish and wax.

Jeff

Hard to beat #7.

Jeff, wonderful results.

Dan

Wow,...that’s amazing

Man that truck is killer! Nice work.

Guys, I can't tell you how much i appreciate the compliments. There's nothing I enjoy more in our hobby than bringing original, faded paint back to life. I hope the OP has great results, too!

----What did you do with the holes with the 4 holes below the antenna?......Bill S

I ended up just leaving them. If you zoom on the 2nd photo, they're still there. I think they were for camper stabilizers at some point?

That truck came out so nicely....wow.

After reading through the link provided from Autogeek, I changed back to the terry cloth (was using microfiber). Works awesome! Much like I remember.

I'll get pics of the car to Bruce once I get through it all.

Thanks to all who contributed!

Tim

Wow!
I need to try the same process on this Pontiac GTO we picked up last year.
It has one repaint from the mid 80's, hoping to revive some shine.

I'm glad you found Mike's article helpful and had success with cotton! He's been a mentor to me since his days with Meguiars. If you have any questions along the way, feel free to PM me.

There's no one size fits all with polishing paint, it is definitely an art. On the other end of the Chevy truck spectrum is this green Super with just 43k miles. The paint just needed scratches and swirls removed when I purchased it. The paint had just a light haze over it that can be seen in the first couple photos. If memory serves me, I treated this one to Meguiars 205 & yellow foam pad and topped with Souveran carnuba for that silky, wet look. I'm mentioning all this because your Corvette might just benefit from a light machine polish for defect removal and a topcoat of a quality carnuba wax?

Jeff

Jerry, your '71 is super sharp! Keep in touch with your progress, I'd love to see your car along the way. I wish we lived closer to eachother, I'd love to check it out in person.

Jeff

Do you guys clay bar first?

In my opinion, throw the clay bar away and get a Eagle One surface prep mitt, superior results over a clay bar and 1/10 the time and effort to achieve them.

Google "Eagle One surface prep mitt"

I've also started using clay mitts (different brand) and won't go back to using regular clay.

In both truck examples, I did not clay bar first, mostly because I knew the amount and kind of polishing
I would be doing would remove the surface contaminates the coating process would. For me, whether I clay first depends on how the paint feels and what kind of project I have ahead of myself.

Jeff

Second that,I use it a lot.
Watch:

My Amazon Prime account is on fire!
Thx guys!

Lol, mine starts to combust from time to time, too!

TIM,
Your paint is in very good condition as far as the amount of paint there... it could be polished using an orbital with a speed controller with a foam pad and some fine cut or start with swirl remover.
You are as long as you don't change the texture below the belt line you are good as far as NCRS

I ended up doing it to mine and yours is not NEAR as checked as mine is.
FWIW I was told that your car top flighted at the chapter level last spring southeast chapter.

Interesting!

You can through the NCRS get your judging sheets - they have a charge for the service however the National NCRS show is in French Lick Indiana next summer so your car should be eligible for Flight judging there without any other signoffs or pre-qualifications (any flight certification within the prior 3 years gets you in (if I am not mistaken).

I took your advise and bought the mitt and spray - showed up yesterday, might be able to test it next weekend. Thanks

Tried it on my wife's daily driver - worked great. Can do the whole car in a matter of minutes.

Glad it worked out for you, I was convinced when I used it on a car with 40yr old lacquer paint that felt like sand paper when you ran your hand over it, 1/2hr later it felt like glass.