3 Classic Car Wetsanding Projects

[Mrclean81]

I was contacted a couple weeks ago by a builder/trader of classic cars, and one of my best clients, about doing a series of survivor cars. Some of them have had very light restos, some are as original as they come. Lots of wetsanding, full paint corrections, trim restorations, etc was discussed and agreed upon. I do have to say this upfront - these cars are true survivors. The ones that are repaints are strictly that, and were all done in the 60s and 70s. The paint wasnt perfect on any of them, and the owners of the cars knew that it would never be 100%. On a car like this, 100% is impossible. The owners of these cars wanted drastic improvement on what is already there..paint chips, bad trim, and all. Any altercation of that would compromise its originality. With that being said, here we go :inspector:

First up was a 1950 Chevy 2 Door Hardtop. Ive done this car before, but only wash/wax, interior kind of deals. This car had been repainted (badly) and had never been wetsanded. The normal orange peel and RIDs was everywhere, and had random fish eyes and paint bubbles throughout. Sadly I didnt get any before pics because I forgot my camera that day, but I did snap a couple shots with my phone during the wetsanding process.

The single stage paint on this car was the hardest paint Ive ever tried to correct. Nothing I had (within reason) would touch it. After wasting an hour trying different foam pads and light compounds with no luck, I ended up going old school with wool and Poorboys Master Cut, and thankfully things started to look up. After several periodical wipedowns with ONR, then going on the entire car with SSR2.5 on the rotary with an orange CCS pad, then SSR 2 on white and SSR 1 on red via the GG6 DA, the car was given a coat of Ardex Gold Supreme Sealant by hand.

Remembered my camera on day 2

 

[Mrclean81]

Next up was a '53 Buick. A little rougher shape, but doable. This was an original New Mexico car that was purchased by a collector in Maine, then sold to my client. It went though a terrible winter storm in the New England area during shipping, and was covered in salt. A good handwash with Pinnacle Bodywork Shampoo took care of that.

Once inside and under the intense lighting, I realized how bad of shape this paint was in. Paint bubbles everywhere, orange peel, little risen dots from bumper to bumper..oh and swirls like crazy

I wetsanded the entire car, working one section at a time, with 3000 grit and then using Poorboys Master Cut with wool on the rotary to bring it back out. (The paint was so hard that nothing but wool would cut 3000 scratches out)

Afterward, Poorboys SSR 2.5 and an orange pad on the rotary, and SSR 2 & 1 were used on the Griots DA. I also used the Griots 3 on many areas of this car for compounding and polishing. I cant stress enough how much I rely on that machine.

 

[Mrclean81]

Now for the car Ive dubbed the Widowmaker. An all original '39 Ford Deluxe. When I pulled up to the clients garage, my heart skipped a beat. Its a true barn find, and the owner wants to keep it as original as possible while restoring what is already there. Heres what I first saw..

The owner was completely understanding that this car would never be any where near 100%, and just wanted a little life brought back to her. I used the front fender as the guinea pig, and finally decided on 2000 grit, 3M compound, and wool.

After figuring out what was going to work, it was time to get at it

On day two, I was hoping for a warm and sunny day to finish this car up, but instead I got cold and rainy so sunlight pics wasn't possible. Here's a few after pics with the light I had available.

Thanks for looking [/QUOTE]

 

[Larry A]

Who says you need a new paint job. You do super work with wet paper and compound.

 

[Poorboy]

nice work and thanks for sharing here Nathan

 

[BJohnson]

Great job!!

 

[sscully]

That is nothing short of amazing !

The '39 Ford I would not have given 35:1 odds that it would look that good when done.

 

[Mrclean81]

Thank you all for the compliments. I really appreciate it

 

[BJohnson]

Just curious, what kind of speeds were you using with the rotary. Seems like it would be delicate paint being old and all.

 

[wallywax]

Amazing work! Im sure the owners were very pleased!

 

[Mrclean81]

Thank you
The paint on them really is delicate, but VERY hard. When Im using the wool pad on any car, Ill turn it down as slow as it will go, then roll the speed up just enough to maintain a steady speed. Usually around speed 1 1/2.

 

[oasis mobile]

wow they turn out really nice.
good job