Okay so I just bought a new to me 78 C3. I would like to save the 43 year old paint. It is pretty sad, faded badly with some damaged spots that will need repair but it’s only original once. What are your thoughts about sanding with 2500 grit and clear coating with rattle cans. I don’t have a compressor. Be honest.

 

Try a few spots with rubbing compound and see if you are happy...
no i would not clear rattle it..
if original paint it will buff up..cutting through may happen but so will sanding and it won’t rust

 

Under 'General Corvette Topics' there is a Paint/Body forum. You might want to post there as well.

Clear rattle cans are definitely amateur hour. Don't even think about it.

I saw an article in Hemmings Muscle Car mag about bringing back Steve McQueen's Mustang paint job. It looked pretty good. I think a lot can be done.

Here is the system I followed religiously when finishing my car

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/collisio...ts/perfect-it/

 

Try a clay bar in place of the sandpaper.

 

If you have the time check out this channel on YouTube from Apex Detailing. This guy is awesome and a great instructor. He is big into corvettes and did a great job with a 1974 barnfind C3. Skip down to the paint restoration and watch those ( 5 parts he numbered them but they are out of order) and see if you think its something you can do. Its a lot of labor but his results were beyond what I thought could be done and I do all of my own paint correction so I have experience but nothing compared to this guy since it's what he does for a living.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...307JtRPBNaZru-

Eric

 

Thanks!

 

Thanks Eric

 

I will look into it Mike. Have never tried that. Thanks

 

Have a detailer do that. Worth the price. They know what they are doing and can do some amazing things. Had a detailer do our car body, it was wonderful. Paid $100. Prices may vary

 

Using rattle cans is not preserving the original paint.

 

On corvettes that were painted with lacquer and not base coat clear coat here is the best way to improve original factory paint:
1. Buy Meguiar's no 7 show car glaze





https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

2. apply it heavily to the paint and let it sit for 3-4 days or longer
3. Use a spray detailer to wipe off the glaze
4. If the paint luster comes back out then buff out the car
5. If the paint is still dull try another coat of the glaze then buff out the car
Your paint may just be too dead to bring back. But I have used this process on a number of survivor cars and it works great!

 

Really? My understanding is that the original is two stage so if I can lightly sand through the old clear coat and then cover it with new clear coat with a rattle can or even a roller is that not preserving the original? I’m not trying to be argumentative, just bored and overthinking things.

 

Here is a before an after of my barn find 69 with lacquer paint:


After using Meguiar's no 7 process and buffing out the paint.

 

Clear coat paint was not used at the corvette factory in St. Louis. They started using two stage paint at Bowling Green in 1981.

 

that’s something I will try. I need to determine if the Silver Anniversary silver was two stage or lacquer. Thanks

 

All cars built in St Louis were lacquer even the cars produced in 1981 there.

 

thanks!

 

Sure thing! Just don't clear it because the original lacquer will dry out and eventually you will get cracking and checking. I would work to bring the paint back and then decide what areas need to be resprayed or touched up. Good luck!

 

thanks

 

I like your mindset in trying to preserve the paint. Kudos!

Really, in order to chart a future course of action (how you'll ultimately proceed) one should determine the exact condition of the existing paint and any and all blemishes. This is so the restorative action you ultimately take doesn't set you backwards, which can happen. On some blemish conditions, buffing can make it look worse than when you started. Honestly, none of the suggestions above should be tried until you know what the true condition is and which will work best. Sometimes a car can exhibit multiple types of problems too. The point is, paint issues can vary, there's no one-size-fits-all remedy.

You gave a few good clues and ideas of the paint, that helps. But more details are needed. I would encourage you to post some detailed close-up pictures of the paint and any blemishes so we can give you more ideas/feedback. You might consider having an older guy at a bodyshop look it over and give you his assessment of it. Someone who's famaliar with paint issues on 70's/80's automotive paint. Lacquer paint back then often suffered from cracking (AKA 'Checking', 'Crazing' or 'Crow-footing'). This was a common problem. Usually on horizontal surfaces. If you have this issue (micro-cracks in the paint), buffing will take you backwards. The compound will fill in cracks and will look chalky. But if your paint is just chalky, yeah, you could really get a nice job buffing. And like the other guys said, don't even THINK about using rattle-can clearcoat. Rattle can paint of any color should never be considered as an automotive top-coat ...just painting engine parts, brackets and no more.

So, really get your eye down to the surface and post some pictures of what your up against. We'll do the best we can to help you out.