Taking Care of old paint
 

I recently purchased a 1972 Corvette that has the original paint job.The paint is nice and glossy, but has a few chips I would like to preserve the paint. I tried using the wax I use on my new corvette, but I am not sure that is the right stuff I should be using on the old paint. I used Savereign pinnacle carnuba wax. I could not tell the difference from when I started and when I finished.

1. Is Pinnacle good for old paint?

2. Should I try and repair the paint chips or is this something that a good detailer might be able to do?

Go to Autogeek forum and look up how to take care of old paint. Mike Phillps has a GREAT write up on it.

Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax is a pure 'nuba based wax with no cleaners or abrasive polishes in it. Its safe to use on pretty much any finish. That said ...

Older paint is likely oxidized. So you need to clean and polish the paint first. You may also want to feed the paint with a glaze to try and rejuvenate it. Then the Pinnacle Soveran as a last step.

Dr. Colorchip offers a great way to deal with minor repairs to paint. Certainly you can use a professional also to prep and repair the finish. Perhaps using the professional to also detail the car for you and have it all done professionally, certainly an option.

I have some Pinnacle Natural Brilliance Paintwork Cleansing Lotion. Will this clean and polish the old paint?

The paintwork lotion is a chemical based cleaner only. It will remove oxidation but will not polish (abrade) the surface. You may want to formally polish your paint also, but this lotion is a great first start. :cheers:

I dug around in the garage and found some Adams Fine Machine Polish, which I applied to one of the T-Top. I followed this Pinnacle paintwork cleanser then some wax. It seemed to look a little better, but I got a little spooked because my applicator (I applied this stuff by hand, not with the PC) was turning blue. (the car is Targa Blue)

Is this normal?

Single stage paint..

For me.... I would strip off wax, then lay down Megs # 7 (apply heavy) by terry cloth, wait 24 hours wipe off, and repeat 2 more times.. Then polish and wax.

Seriously go to autogeek forum and look at Mike Philips thread on restoring old paint.

I think I created a misunderstanding
 

Thanks for the reply and I did in fact look up that thread, but the paint on my car looks more like the "after" picture in that thread than the "before." Like I said in my original posting, the paint on my C3 is glossy. I mainly would like to make it "pop" a little more. My question was related to finding products that would help deepen the shine on my car without damaging the old paint. I am sorry if I gave the impression that the paint on my car looked dead like the one in the thread. That was not my intent. Here are some pictures of my car. As you can see, it does shine quite nicely, but I would like to maximize the way the shines without causing damage to the paint. I did get some valuable information about single stage paints from the article though, thanks.

I may stop and get some of the Mcguires #7 this afternoon and give it a shot. It sounds like it might deepen the shine somewhat without causing damage.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...ew-friend.html

Check out this article by Mike Phillips ....

I used a brush and it came out well!

Does anyone have links to articles/videos about how to REPAIR and blend single stage paint?
The paint on my '61 is original. I have brought it back to a pretty good shine using a processes similar to the one above.

But I have a few problem areas that require paint.. More than just chips. Mainly a previous repair on the door done poorly (not by me) with a not-quite matching rattle can fix - an area about 4-5 inches diameter.

I have had good luck matching the paint color (it's Ermine White).. I've used paint from automotivetouchup.com using the GM color code to paint the headlight trim bezels.
The match is pretty good.. but there is a small gap there, and your eye is forgiving.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...698bd9a40b.jpg


But how do you cover and blend a larger area?

Thanks for any help,
Fred

Fred,

check in the body work area of the forum. There’s a guy call “Dub” that pretty much is the guru of all things paint on a Vette especially c2’s.

He’s very helpful and has helped a ton of guys out

good luck

Rick

edit: apparently replied in related thread instead lol