Best way to clean up and preserve patina

[demian5]

Lets hear what people are doing to preserve patina.

• I have heard of scotch brite and clear coating.
• I have heard of baking soda and wax.
• I have heard of a religious regiment of WD-40.

What works?

What keeps it looking real and not the clear coated "fakeness".

[Grumpy old man]

I've heard NEW PAINT works wonders ...

[cooperhw]

I have a buddy who used CLR (calcium lime rust) and a scotch brite pad to safely remove the rust and leave the patina. Then he cleaned it a couple times, and clear coated over it. Looks great. Not my cup of tea exactly, but does look great and he gets tons of compliments on it.

[LUCKTRUCK]

If you have any future plans to paint the truck at some point, I would stay away from WD-40, or any other lubricants or oils. That stuff will get into the pores of the metal and you may never get it out. Just my opinion.

[hewittca]

My truck had oxidized original paint on it when I got it. I started with CLR and gray scothbrite to clean the paint. Then I used 1000 wet to smooth out all the imperfections and orange peel. Then came 2000 to smooth out the 1000 grit. I followed that with a wool wheel and compound. This process left a really clean, smooth, and shiny finish. For me, it was too shiny, so I followed up with #000 steel wool wet to knock some of the shine off. I finished it off with a quick polish by hand, and maintain it by wiping down with mineral spirits.

[demian5]

Originally Posted by hewittca

My truck had oxidized original paint on it when I got it. I started with CLR and gray scothbrite to clean the paint. Then I used 1000 wet to smooth out all the imperfections and orange peel. Then came 2000 to smooth out the 1000 grit. I followed that with a wool wheel and compound. This process left a really clean, smooth, and shiny finish. For me, it was too shiny, so I followed up with #000 steel wool wet to knock some of the shine off. I finished it off with a quick polish by hand, and maintain it by wiping down with mineral spirits.

That is quite a process. How about a couple "before" pictures?

[Grumpy old man]

Steel wool doesn't belong anywhere close to your truck , It's just raw steel and small filaments will break off and embed themselves into your paint , it scratches chrome and aluminum trim and really has NO use on a car or truck ,

Use Bronze wool that has the same cutting properties as steel wool yet it won't rust it's safer on chrome it's self lubricating and won't leave raw steel in your paint .

Don't want bronze wool use a scotch brite pad which is aluminum oxide grit bonded to a synthetic pad again it won't increase rust


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_wool

[ElKotze]

Wetsanding 1000 and 2000, then cut and buff. To keep clean wipe down with Slick Mist.

[dmjlambert]

Originally Posted by ElKotze

Wetsanding 1000 and 2000, then cut and buff. To keep clean wipe down with Slick Mist.

For the benefit of those like me who don't know how to do this and don't know what those buzz words are, could you describe each? I've heard the term wetsand but don't know what is involved and if it is a hand or machine process. What is cut, is that something you do by hand or is there a machine? Tool?

[ElKotze]

You take 1000 and 2000 grit sandpaper and let it soak in water. Then you use it to sand the paint, start with 1000 then 2000, usually by hand. Then you use an electric polisher with a foam pad ( some prefer wool at this step), like 7", and apply a cutting compound according to the instructions on the product. Then do the same with a buffing compound, here you have to use a foam pad. Wipe clean with a micro fiber towel.

[dmjlambert]

Thanks very much for the details, this helps a lot.

[Grumpy old man]

When wet sanding keep a sponge in the bucket of water and load it with water and as your sanding squeeze it to allow water to drip over the area your sanding , this with keep the fine grain sandpaper from loading up and make it last longer

[Overdriven]

There's a guy next door to our shop who owns a bunch of old heaps. He likes to "shine" then up by wiping them down with ATF. ATF has lots of detergents so it cleans and protects!

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by demian5

That is quite a process. How about a couple "before" pictures?

Yeah, it was a bit involved. This is what it looked like when I bought it:



This is what it looked like after the wool wheel and compound:



Most stop there, but I didn't like how shiny it was. This is after the steel wool. It's still bright and looks clean, it just doesn't have a mirror reflection of everything:



In regards to using steel wool, I agree brass wool would probably be better. However, I didn't grind the wool into the paint. It was a very light buffing by hand. The truck does not sparkle from embedded steel filaments and it has been soaked several times and does not flash rust. I'm not saying there isn't any steel stuck in the paint, but it's nothing to fret about either.

[ratman90]

We used 000 steel wool on glass for over spray and on chrome all the time in the paint shop. Should not have any problems on paint. Was always told not to use on a mirror though. Could be urban myth, not sure.