buffing old paint

[cjohns]

Any body have any luck buffing old paint?I've hand polished(buffing comp)but it still needs more or should I say it needs to be done correct.Any help would be great!Clark.

[Sinister]

Sorry, no help on the paint, but that's a sweet truck.

[UltraBlue71]

Depends on what kind of paint it is I imagine, if its original and just faded I would try a buffing wheel with some fine cut compound like Megiures to try to bring it back, then wax the crap out of it. the main thing with a buffing wheel (wool pad) is keep it moving, not letting the heat build up, especically on a corner, or you'll burn through. Also use one with a speed control on it, start out slow then slowly speed things up when you are comfortable. Hope this helps...

[cdowns]

looks pretty good to me// using a buffer on old stuff is real chancy in a matter of seconds you can burn thru that old finish . i've seen it done countless times BEWARE

[sameyrasmea72]

Most of the colors on these trucks will buff out nice. But a few of the colors with metalic like the bronze or your color green, If they get too faded no amount of buffing will bring back the shine. Yours looks pretty good though.

[piecesparts]

The truck that is pictured has the green paint, that once it starts to age it will slowly turn black as the base coat shines throught. My 72 had that color and I finally just repainted the truck to end it's pain. It would be nice, if the older paint jobs were the base coat/clear coat paints of today. but they weren't--so they ploishing of that paint is hard to do without going too far. Topolish paint a mild rubbing compound and a large wheeled, slow speed buffer works best. Once polished, then reseal the paint with a good polish or sealant.

[lofly'a]

i'd suggest the 3m finesse-it 3 system with a foam pad. the foam pad is a lot more forgiving to burn thru and is a lot easier on the crowns and edges. if you are not familiar with machine buffing techniques. do a search for videos on how-tos

[cjohns]

Not worried about going through the paint there are dents and scratches all over,this was a farm truck...I just want it to shine!Funny thing is that the box,hood and fenders are painted over black and the cab and doors are painted over red primer???Any reason for this?And it is the original paint.

[hotrod 80]

I have a porter cable double action polisher that takes foam pads of different aggresiveness . I would start with a white lake county pad and a #6 cleaner/wax . Easing up in aggression only if needed . Orbitals are alot more forgiving and work good if a soft cut is needed .

[leddzepp]

Use a clay bar. They work fantastic.

[special-K]

"It`ll buff out."...No i really mean it!

The paint on these trucks was awesome.It`s unbelievable how well it can be revived.But,do be gentle.There`s been some great advise offered already.

[unclewatts]

All of the above advice is excellent but I might add it depends on how deep the dead (oxidized) paint extends into the thickness of the paint. If the paint is really dead, you'll break through to the primer before you reach any shine. If this is the case only repainting your truck will solve it. As to the doors and cab having different color primer, it sounds like maybe they had some body work done on them at some time.

[BossHogg69]

Meguiar's 'Swirl mark remover 2.0', Mother's cleaner/wax, then Mother's carnuba wax - I applied the Meguiar's 2.0 with a craftsman buffer (not orbital/DA sander) then the cleaner/wax with the buffer and hand applied the polish/final wax. Worked great on the single stage paint on my '69. I should've taken a pic of the whole truck before I started, but I took one of the inside of the bed, inside the yellow circle is what the whole truck looked like. the second pic is right after I backed it out of the garage after buffing/waxing.

Before this, the truck had sat outside for about 10years uncovered...

[1956cameo]

As mentioned before, my 72 suburban had dull paint like the blue one pictured above. Used Meguiars swirl and scratch remover and buffed it by hand, it ended up looking like a new paint job again.

[big_al_71]

+1 on the meguiars products...

[factorystock]

Originally Posted by cjohns

Funny thing is that the box,hood and fenders are painted over black and the cab and doors are painted over red primer???Any reason for this?And it is the original paint.

Yes, that is the way it was done at the factory, but don't know the reason why.Your factory paint looks very presentable the way it is, how many base coat clear coat jobs will last 40 years?

[piecesparts]

Originally Posted by factorystock

Yes, that is the way it was done at the factory, but don't know the reason why.Your factory paint looks very presentable the way it is, how many base coat clear coat jobs will last 40 years?

If it is done right, the paint will last a long time, no matter what the type.