I am buying a 77 corvette this week. Waiting for a couple repairs to be completed by the seller. The interior door panels, dash are in good condition but need a good cleaning. Any recommendations of a good product??? The car was also painted a year or two ago, and looks good but hasn't been buffed out real well. How much do you think it would cost to have the paint buffed out?? Thanks in advance.

 

This is what I used to clean my dash and trim pieces.
Works really good.
But you have to remove your door panels and dash.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_151379-91-10...d=3014065&pl=1

 

You have to be very careful with the TSP recommended by havesometo. TSP is highly alkaline and one of its uses is deglossing household type paint for recoating.

Old or new, I begin any car cleaning task with the gentlest possible thing becoming more aggressive only when necessary. The most aggressive products and methods are reserved for a last resort before replacement.

I really like the Wolfgang products from http://www.autogeek.net Their "Carpet and Upholstery Restorer" is aptly named--amazing stuff.

Between Windex (or similar) and Fantastik (or similar) I find few hard interior surfaces that can't be cleaned as well as possible. These are also OK for vinyl but avoid them on leather. Only the seating areas of Corvette seats are leather--the side bolsters of both the back and bottom are vinyl. Be careful with the bright edges of console covers/clusters/trim pieces as the "chrome" is not very durable.

I'm not a fan of Armor All and it (or anything containing silicon) should NEVER be used on leather!!! Wolfgang's leather cleaner and conditioner (separate items) are excellent products as is their vinyl protector.

Removing the seats makes a thorough Corvette interior cleaning MUCH easier!

 

I use a product from NEXA ...and it is rather expensive and you can only buy it in a 5 liter container...so it is rather costly for you to get. So...I would recommend that you look into specific products like the 'Wolfgang' product line....which is what I have at home for the wifes car.

This question is subjective. And being a painter....I often times get asked to sand and buff/polish out 'other painters' paint jobs. AND I generally DO NOT do it. Because I have no way in knowing how much material is on the panel....so I do not know how far to sand and buff it to make it look good. And the LAST THING I need is for someone to come back after me buffing out one and the clear is dying back due to being too thin.....which is the beginning of the end.

So..without being able to look at it up close...and see those things that would make me have a concern in buffing it out...I have no clue on how much time or the cost of doing this.

And PLEASE forgive me....because I am NOT insulting your ability in any way. But...like I wrote above...I have had Corvettes come in my shop and the owner wants me to buff it out....and when I look at it...there is NO WAY I will...and this is because the texture of the orange peel and dry-spray is hiding imperfection in the surface. SO..if I get the paint slick and shiny....these imperfections will stand out and are now more noticeable than ever....but were 'hidden' to the eye due to the surface texture masked them from being immediate noticed. So much of it depends on what you want and expect....and what the paint will let you get away with.

DUB

 

I'm not a sophisticate as it comes to paint etc. I get the impression from DUB's reply that the current appearance of the paint/body work is maybe the best you can expect. It appears some detail, will improve the appearance, but it's all problematical.

My impression is that if you have a 77, you have to accept it's current appearance. If you really don't like it's appearance, you have to remove all the old paint down to the fiberglass, repair any damage seen to the fiberglass, and repaint from anew. It can be expensive, not only because it's very hand labor intensive, but it also requires artmanship. Oh! I forgot. The price of automobile paint today is just jaw dropping. $100's of dollars a gallon.

 

Lemon Pledge....

 

You got that right. Through House of Kolor, I've got right at 16 of those 100's tied up in paint alone. Mind you, it is a complete color change, but geez. Gimme a break.

 

Thanks for all the replies, the paint looks pretty good and I am happy with it. I has a couple of small blemishes which I could easily live with. I just figured buffing it would really improve it. I wasn't sure to try a detail shop for buffing it out or a body shop? Which way would you go if you was going to get it buffed out??? Thanks, I know it is subjective.

 

Spray Nine.

Best
Cleaner
EVAR

/thread

 

Don't overlook mild household cleaners like Simple Green and Murphy's Oil Soap.

 

Either of those will clean the interior panels well. Or, you can use some dish detergent diluted with some water. None of those will 'attack' vinyl or plastic parts. Then, you need to rinse soap residue off with clean water/microfiber towel and let dry.

Final step is to use Nu-Vinyl or Mequiar's protectant for plastics to coat surface and protect it from UV, dirt, and other 'nasties'. It dries clear, won't peel or turn yellow; easy to use and works great.

 

And plain old soap and water.

 

You are asking for advice on which place to take your car ....when there is NO WAY in knowing how SKILLED, MOTIVATED or how much ATTENTION TO DETAIL the person at the detail shop or body shop who will be working on your car actually is.

Hard to say...if the detail shop you choose DOES NOT water sand to remove heavy orange peel texture....then all that might happen is buffing to get the texture to shine. Once again...can not see your paint and what you are willing to accept.

If the body shop you choose is all about PRODUCTION....then this can be a waste of time....and IF the person running the buffer DOES NOT really know how to use it....that person can do more damage than good due to burning through the edges of your paint job.....because AS I wrote before....there is NO WAY in knowing how much material is on the car when it was painted.

You have to go search out who you feel comfortable with....and WHERE this person is actually does not matter. It has EVERYTHING to do with what you want and IF that person has what it takes to achieve the results you want.

AND...kinda keep this in mind. When people do something for years and years and are highly skilled. The costs for them to do work on car MAY BE much higher than someone else.....so DO NOT get confused by thinking that the costs should all be the same...because it is 'just buffing out a car'. Think of this person being like a plastic surgeon. It can either come out GREAT...or a ROYAL CLUSTER.

There is s saying...."You pay peanuts---you get monkeys." And if you want a 'monkeyd-up' buff job......then bargain shop and see what happens.

DUB

 

Well Said