Snowed in and bored

[Zundfolge1432]

I decided to take this old deck lid with original paint and see what could be done. We are pretty much locked in with single digit and wind chills well below zero.

A couple of years ago wife and I took class at local vo tech. Professional auto detailing. The instructor has over 30 years experience and a wealth of knowledge. The main lessons taught. 1 don’t damage what you are working on.
2. Know your chemicals, mix your own. 3. Don’t buy retail, shop detail supply houses which cater to the trade. 4 stay current technology and products change at a rapid pace.

I bought a professional model Rupes Bigfoot polisher. This is made to run all day everyday and not wear out the user. I’m also using Barney’s leveling polish which is made right here and is way cheaper and as good or better than consumer level products. So we took it all apart and made a pass through the parts washer tank. I did a quick pass over and look at the difference.

This 40-50 year old paint came right back and this is just preliminary. I’ll finish it off with a mid grade ceramic coating, not the spray but a process which will shine minimum of 3-5 years under normal use. Maybe longer if you baby it.

And here it is that’s OG paint

Among the other finer points we learned was paint correction and how to apply ceramic coatings properly. Here the detailers at better shops are charging 600 to 1000 and up to apply these coatings but anyone that can follow simple directions can do this. It’s better than wax and last years not just a few months. In the long run it’s cheaper than wax so why are people still using wax?

Also ditch the terry cloth towels they are scratching the paint. Use micro fiber and remove the labels so as not to you guessed it scratch the paint. BTW that leveling compound I used works on late model car headlights and tail lights too. Wool pads are out too everyone went to foam several years ago, this keeps heat down too.

This is one of three detail supply places I can use. From the outside it’s hard to tell but look at the inside. I can get everything here way cheaper than Amazon and the guy stands behind the products he sells.

[Dibaltic]

Shined up really nice good work

[Zundfolge1432]

Finished it up today and did both sides. Back in the old days people used different grades of polish to get the desired effect. Now we have products which start out coarse then break down to medium and fine which makes the job go most faster. I was able to do this in one pass using single product, about 20 minutes with the buffer.

It looks acceptable as is but I could make it better clarity and lock in that shine using the ceramic. That will have to wait until temps here get within the working range of the ceramic coating.

[Zundfolge1432]

I couldn’t wait 😀 not much to do here. I had speculated about applying the jee whiz ceramic coating but once you crack the seal it’s best to use most of it then. So I wimped out over cost. It’s costs 75 dollars with my discount, the cheapest I’ve seen it is 100 online so I get a better deal buying local.

I did use a new rubber seal at the license plate light to deck lid. Cleaned and checked all wiring it’s complete back to the union for taillights. Finishing touch I’ve managed to save a bunch of old plates and frames over the years so I put Arizona plate on it just for the Cusser. The frame is off 80s Cadillac. Cat eye reflectors on top. There’s not another one like this😀 it’s now a wall hangar till it gets to a swap meet. The ill fitting rubber seal is going to require some tweaking.

[67rustavenger]

[Zundfolge1432]

It’s been almost two years since we got out of school and I’m behind the times. The 2 in one polish we were shown was a German product and they are in our other home in St. Louis, so I asked the experts.

We were Looking at the Rupes system. They make a line of polishers and the various compounds and polishes so it’s easy to follow and get results. The pads and the polishes are color coded and they have eliminated some steps. You know time is money so this appeals to the detailers. I would think it doesn’t help the bottom line of Rupes but maybe it’s a marketing hook, who knows? But since it’s a trend within the industry there’s something driving this.

I’ll say it again technology is driving this business and the people making these chemicals are all trying to one up each other. I’d sure like to get loaded and stay in Vegas to see the SEMA show and see this on a large scale. 😀

Anyway the detail supply house guy who is also the owner is probably best one to ask and I’ll be glad to give his name and number if you want, PM. Look at these pics in detail zoom in look at the prices and remember it’s gallons. If I was younger and in better shape I’d start a little side business doing detail.

The demand is there especially Mobile detail. I ramble😀

https://www.rupes.com/

[Zundfolge1432]

[Dan the workingstiff]

Nice write up! Thank you!
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'69 Beetle
'66 FG buggy
My other air-cooled's
'76 IH 1200
'75 IH 1200