How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

Hi guys, when I bought my 69, it had been sitting outside in the sun for years.

Overall the paint looks pretty decent but it’s got some oxidation and pretty rough to the touch.

I’d like to give it a thorough cleaning. What do you guys recommend? Clay bar? Polish and buffing wheel? Mineral cleaner?

I’m all ears here.

Also, on the passenger side, the steel bolts holding the side mirror rusted badly and this rust would drip down the door for god knows how many years in the rain.

Any recommendations on how to get that stain off the door without harming the paint? I’ve included a pic below. You can see the stain on the passenger side door.

Thank you!

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

I'd use rubbing compound on the whole truck first, with polishing compound after that. That's way out of clay bar territory. Maybe that'll take the rust stain off? For the rust stain, I'd use WD-40 and 0000 steel wool if the compounds don't remove it.

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

I'd start with a pressure wash first, then go to a hand wash. After that, you can evaluate the paint and go from there.

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

X2 ^^^. I`d probably use 3 or 4 cutting foam pads for the rubbing compound and a few for polishing. If you spread it out, you can wash the pads and just use 3 or 4. Just be careful not to go through the paint, take what the paint gives you. I would clay it after the rubbing compound, then polish. Then clean paint before you add any wax or sealant protection.

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

Meguiar's #7 is a pretty good first step to clean and allegedly condition old paint. It's abrasive free

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

Google Comet & Scotchbrite or SOS pads.

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

This! Especially if you are going with a patina-look.

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

This… with at least an orange hex logic pad, but I think I’d opt for a yellow on the first pass then move to orange and then to a white, while finishing with a black or red. And running finer product as you go thru the different pad grades, the last pass should be a wax or sealant depending on your preference. I would run a sealant myself.

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

Comet and a car wash brush will get it pretty clean for a start..
Looks like a nice truck.

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

What ever you decide, find a not so noticable section and test all the way to finished result.
All the above ideas are abrasive. The condition and thickness of this original paint is unknown. Be careful. The more aggressive the "cleaning product" the deeper the scratches will be in the remaining paint. Then you have to remove more paint to get those scratches out.
By the time you get to your finished result you have elevated your risk of polishing off all the original paint. Given what appears to be the truck's originality, loosing the paint would be a shame.

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

X2 ^^ Pick a test spot to figure out the best process, start to finish. Start less aggressive and go from there to get desired results. If you`re truly trying to save the paint, take your time and put in the effort. It`ll pay off in the end.

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

Thank you for all the replies

I will start with pressure wash, followed by hand wash, and then assess which option to pursue next.

One more thing, my roof has a bit of surface rust that I’d like to address. What’s recommended there? Thank you.

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

Back in 1969 my buddy and I sat in line at the quarter car wash in Killen Tx and watched a couple of lifer staff sergeants scrub years of outdoor grime off a 55/56 Ford sedan with a couple of cans of Ajax. The car looked pretty decent when they rolled out of the carwash and luckily it was one of those lazy afternoons that we weren't in a hurry on and the only thing going on was washing my 69 Cutlass. A few days later we saw it and they had polished it and waxed it and it looked sharp as all get out.

The only thing that I am going to say about buffers and these old trucks is that you had better have plenty of skill and finesse with with a buffer before you try it on the old original paint on one of these.

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

I got one of these on the recommendation that it was hard to burn through with this type
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/por-7424xp

The pro type 7-9" orbital polishers with the wool pads are definitely going to have a learning curve

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

I used to hand-ball the heavy grit cleaners. No chance for burn-through, but pretty time-consuming. Nowadays, I have to pay people to do it.

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

I started out with that one . It did very good untill it burned out but I was doing a lot of vehicles. I ended up buying the Flex brand made in Germany if I recall but may be made in China now .
https://www.detailking.com/products/...isher-fc3321-z

OP I would start out by cleaning the paint several times by washing . Test a small area with different degrees of aggressive paint correction products . Always try the least aggressive first then work up to what works on your paint . You might even try 2000 to 3000 sand paper to start . I did this on my 68

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

I have one of those porter cable’s. Had it for a few years now with great success. As a bit of follow up to my post above, the foam type pads I mentioned earlier are a lot more forgiving to beginners and can achieve the same results as the old school wool pads. I used to do this kind of work in the body shop and I still do it on the side… my 17 year old Camaro and my wife’s 15 year old Denali for instance. I cut that oxidation on the Yukon (which spends its entire life outdoors; life’s busy it’s not always as easy to keep up with its paint the way I wish I could) with an orange hex logic pad and medium compound. Youd almost have to intentionally burn thru with one of the foam pads. They are quite forgiving when used with common sense.

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

I had paint fade and small rust spot on top of my Tahoe.

This Iron remover help some.

Link: https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...%20Restoration

Attachment 2444995

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

Regular toilet bowl cleaner works great for rust stains also..

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

Ideal candidate for the Comet wash. Then, cutting/buffing/polish/wax. Or cut/wax, lol

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

Can someone link me to this comet wash?

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

Comet cleanser, but I bet Bon Ami would work just as well, and has no chlorine in it. YMMV

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

Oooh, you guys are actually referring to the powder in the green can that I use to clean my toilets? Really? :-)

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

Not I.

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

My 67 C30 wore the original orange/red color when I got it. I'd bet it was last hand washed 40 years ago.
I used a good detergent and Scotchbrite pads to scrub it down. Had a nice satin look to it when dried. Next, I used a regular auto paste wax and rubbed it in. It seemed to suck in the wax so I did it a second time and that gave me the look I was after.
It didn't really shine like a fresh waxed new car. It has a flat/satin finish that screamed original paint.

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

1) You never stated the goal..... do you want it to be shiny? do you want patina? do you want it jut decent for your daily driver? do you intend to paint it in a few years?

2) Comet and Scotchbrite take a lot of paint off, but they are fast. So these are OK for patina, or for an OK DD, or if you intend to paint it in a few years. These will not give you a mirror finish. A lot of people will put on an oil top coat to make it shinier after the scrubbing is done. Again: quick, easy and OK results.

3) machine compounding followed by polishing could get you a mirror finish if the paint isn't too far gone. This is a slower method and can give the glossiest finish but if the paint is bad then will only give you a finish slightly better than comet or scotchbrite. Note that a mirror finish will also more easily highlight dings dents and other waviness in the body, so this could end-up being a bad approach.

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

That’s fair.

I think on first order, I’d like to get the finish clean. I mentioned that the passenger side door has a rust streak from the side mirror bolts. I’d like to eliminate that. Additionally, when I run my hand along the finish, it’s rough feeling.

In a small section I applied some Meguires polish and that got that section very smooth.

Also, my roof has a bit of surface rust. I’d like to eliminate that.

Once everything is clean, restoring touch of shine would be nice.

I’m a bit apprehensive to do the comet because I think the paint is actually decent.

Let me know what you guys think.

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

Nice truck!

First off, don’t use anything like comet, sos pads, etc. on that paint. Sorry guys, but the goal is to remove the least amount of paint while bringing back the shine and removing as many stains possible. You also don’t want to spend countless hours hand polishing trying to achieve this.

I am finishing up a ‘74 Bronco right now with dirty, stained original paint much like yours. My method is to first clean a section like half the door with a heavy cleaner. I use scrubbing bubbles and hit it at least two go rounds to make sure it’s clean then hit it with a lint free towel.

Then you need a cordless drill, a foam polishing cone (google it), some nu finish once a year car polish, and some microfiber towels.

The foam cones come in various levels based on color so start with a softer one as a safeguard. Apply the polish to the cone in the drill and have at it on your cleaned surface just working around a 6” x 12” section at a time. Wipe off residue with towel and continue. Top with whatever wax you like when done to feed the paint some moisture.

I’m sure there are faster ways to achieve the same thing but I liked taking my time to not cause any damage. You can polish the trim at the same time and get right up to it with smaller pads and no fear of damaging it.

As for the rust stain, you are most likely stuck with whatever is left after the process above. Could possibly try a light acid like citric acid diluted in water on a soaked towel.

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

☝️☝️ Man, that thing cleaned up nice!

I haven't tried this product, but have seen several classics around me that have used it, and it looks really good. They have a matte finish, semi-glossy, and glossy finish product that is supposedly wipe on. It was developed by a local (to me) car guy and has taken off for the patina crowd, but works great on regular paint as well.

https://poppyspatina.com/?tw_source=...hoCtQMQAvD_BwE

Re: How to clean exterior finish that’s been sitting in the sun for years
 

Do you have access to a polisher or willing to buy one (even a cheapo HarborFreight)? Add a few foam pads (flat or waffled). Amazon sells a ton for ~$40-$50.

If so here are my two go-two products for paint restoration:
-3M Rubbing compound # 05954
-3M Polish # 05996

if those are too pricey or too much volume, then you can choose some consumer stuff at Walmart (megiars, Nufinish).

You definitely need to do a good wash/scrubbing to remove grit/debris before compounding/polishing. Start somewhere aware from eye-level and go slow.

If you were local, I'd show you how. But you'll find a method that works for you.