Fool proof lacquer polishing

[Greg L.]

Well I finally have my 69 painted(Cortez Silver). In the end I managed to get a friend of a friend do it for me out in Vancouver(long story). It's PPG lacquer(sorry Chuck) and I think it looks great but now I need to polish it and need some good advice so that I don't screw it up.

It was painted last July and has sat in my garage ever since. I haven't had time or drive to do anything since then but I need to get back at it and polishing is my next step. I have a Makita 9227 polisher that I bought just for this but if need be I WILL do it all by hand because I can't go through all that "paint fun" again!

Anyways, I'd like to get some sound advice on products and methods that work for you all on polishing new lacquer(well about year old now but still unpolished).

Thanks as always!

[Donald T.]

Re: Fool proof lacquer polishing

I assume the car has been painted and yet to be buffed. There is definitely a learning curve with buffing. I would say you have a high likelihood of damaging your paint if you have never done it before. You need to practice on some test panels before attempting to buff a new paint job. There are instructional videos available or have a knowledgeable person assist you.

Also, I doubt you will have any luck attempting to buff by hand. It will take hours even with a buffer to do the job.

Good luck!

[Jack H.]

Re: Fool proof lacquer polishing

Mike Phillips at Autogeek has a good article on polishing single stage paint. Do a site search and it will be easy to find. You can also email him and he will respond. He was at Meguiars for along time before joining autogeek.

[Bruce B.]

Re: Fool proof lacquer polishing

Greg,
Has the car been sanded and buffed?

[Donald T.]

Re: Fool proof lacquer polishing

BTW, I tried Meguirs Solo a while back and was very pleased. Not having to change compounds really simplifies the process and it works very well on lacquer.

http://www.meguiars.com/solo/

[Harry S.]

Re: Fool proof lacquer polishing

Greg, can't help with the polishing but I have a question. Since the car sat that long, covered or not, it is possible for junk in the air to embed itself into the paint. So the question is, will the paint scratch if you go directly to polishing.

My 63 sat in a shop for 3 months covered as the chassis was being restored. When I got the car back the paint felt like 1200 grit sandpaper. I needed to clay-bar the entire car. Saying that, do you need to clay-bar your car before you polish it?

Hopefully someone with more experience than I can answer the question.

Good luck.

[Mark D.]

Re: Fool proof lacquer polishing

Greg,

Paul Schuster is the NCRS paint guy. I'm sure he would answer any questions you may have. I'm no paint guy but, if you start moving that metallic around your car's nickname will become 'Spots' real quick.

Good luck,

Mark

[Greg L.]

Re: Fool proof lacquer polishing

Just a little more info- the car has not been touched since the last coat was put on in July, not sanded, washed or anything and there is a light film of dust on it.

[Pat M.]

Re: Fool proof lacquer polishing

Greg, I assume you're going after factory appearance since you used lacquer. If so, after buffing be careful not to polish it so much that it becomes so shiny that it appears overrestored.

The previous paint job on my 70 was lacquer but was sanded and polished to the point where it almost looked like BC/CC. When I had it repainted with lacquer I buffed it to a correct appearance and did not polish it at all. It's plenty shiny enough for me and judged very well.

[Domenic T.]

Re: Fool proof lacquer polishing

Greg,
If you didn't paint it then have a pro buff it out because it is SOOOO easy to burn thru trhe paint and I'm sure you want it right.

Thats not saying that you wont get it right but maybe you can get a pro to show you while you do it.

There are a lot of detailers out there that can give good advice. I don't think there are enough words or instructions that will give you a good first job.

you learn how to buff by making mistakes, don't make them on your vette unless you have some of the paint it was painted with.

DOM

[Rich P.]

Re: Fool proof lacquer polishing

Greg,

no one can advise you on buffing the car with out having several questions answerd.
How many coats of paint were applied?
What thinner was used (Slower thinner will let the metallic lay out better)?
Was any clear used? If so how much/what % and in how many coats.
Now moving on to another area.
What do you want the paint to look like?
Show quality perfectly flat?
True factory quality?
Once you know these answers you can get a better answer.
One last thought I have been painting for 30+ years and I can say you will be very fortunate to buff your car with not one single screw up. Buffing is an art form and can be used as a tool to produce the peel you desire but it can also be as dangerous as a chain saw.
BE CARFUL!!!!

Rich

[Greg L.]

Re: Fool proof lacquer polishing

Thanks for the help so far. I'm still at work so I'll look it all over closer when I get home.

To answer a few more questions...

I won't source a local polisher because like finding a local lacquer painter, there are none around and I don't want someone that buffs clear coats all day experimenting on my silver lacquer.

It has about 4 coats of lacquer.

Yes I am going for the factory look.

I don't remember off hand what thinner was used but I can check when I get home..

Clear was mixed with the silver but there is no pure clear over a base of silver.

Just so you all know, I have buffed and polished cars before and got really good results but they have all either been a solid color or had a clear coat and NONE were lacquer(i'm starting to hate typing that word). Like I mentioned, if I have to I WILL hand polish this car. I had so many headaches trying to get it painted that I don't and won't go there again with this car so my polishing has to work. The guy that actually did paint it was a life saver for me and for what it's worth he has painted more that one Top Flight car and one Duntov car that I know of so I know I'm starting with a good polishing base. Why not just get the guy that painted it to polish it? Well I'd have to trailer it across the Rockies and back again and he is super busy anyways.

Geeez I hope polishing won't be as difficult as the painting was....

[Edward J.]

Re: Fool proof lacquer polishing

Greg, I have polished a few car is my days that were the old school lacquer and enamels, and the newer clear coat cars, if you have some experience with using a buffing wheel, thats what you'll need,

The best advice I can give is to take take the car just one panel at a time, keep the buffer away from the edges, this is the area where paint is generally the thinnest, Clockwise direction around the door handles, elbems,or anything the pad can get tangled on. If your buffer has different speeds start on a slower speed, I saw the post above pretaining to the maguaries new product it looks promising to someone without alot of experience, but would say that you call there tech dept. and see what they say about there product with the newer lacquer finishes.(just a safety precaution). good luck

[Jim T.]

Re: Fool proof lacquer polishing

When I painted my 1970 coupe with Dupont lacquer I did not use any power tools to buff the new lacquer. Did it all by hand. My first step after the color coat dried was to wet sand by hand with 3M micro fine 1200 followed by 3M micro fine 1500. I followed the wet sanding using Dupont 101 lacquer rubbing compound. The 101 brought the shine out and I was pleased with outcome. Used Meguires #7 polish to top it off.

[Alan S.]

Re: Fool proof lacquer polishing

Hi Greg,
Perhaps waiting this length of time is a GOOD thing?!
The fellow who painted my 71 feels that the longer the lacquer can sit the better.
He believes the harder the lacquer becomes, the less paint needs to be rubbed off in order to obtain the surface and shine desired.
Good Luck!
Regards,
Alan