To clear or not to clear.....

G

Grandmas69

Hi all, here's a picture of my very first paint job, circa 1989. Painted in my parents garage with Centari, pontiac saddle bronze metallic. This was the day before my senior prom and I got it all together except the front bumper in time to pick up my date. Fast forward 28 years, and I still have the car complete with my first paint job. It has a couple small scratches and one dent since then, but overall looks pretty good. I have since done a few restorations and several full paint jobs, but don't really want to get into a full resto on this car, at least at the moment. The paint is very dull and I was considering clearing right over it just to make it shine. I would appreciate any info on prep techniques that would be best, and which product I should use. Keep in mind I'm not looking for perfection here, just shine, and partly just to experiment and see what can be done with a little clear. Thanks,
Jeff

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Sweet Car, I bet you had a lot of good times in that poncho;). You know my opinion!
 
Yeah you think I should take off the stock hubcaps, put the old outlaw IIs back on, stick a blower through the hood and paint it JD Blitz Black:)
 
I'd just spend some time with a buffer and some polish, then hit it with some good wax for now. Prepping that singlestage metalic enamel with enough scuff for good clear adhesion would ruin it I think.
 
Yes go what Bob said. for the cost and time you can put towards a restoration one day. Nice and rare car.
 
Thanks guys I really appreciate the response! I guess what I meant is even though I know I shouldn't, I still want to more as an experiment than anything. The car is probably 3rd in queue for restoration so it will be a couple years, and I figure the time I spend lightly sanding and clearing the car would probably be comparable to the time I spend with a buffer and compound sequence. More of a curiosity thing for me than anything..almost can't lose if I screw up the 28 year old paint because it will all be blown apart in a few years and fully restored.
 
Sanding ruins single stage metallic jobs. The only way to do it would be with grey scuff pads and prep paste to clean and degloss the finish. But clearing a vehicle requires all the same steps one would take to paint it, so why not just sand it, base coat it, and clear it? All it takes is some base coat and a little extra gun time.
 
I think he is in his experimental phase. And I'm being serious about that. Jeff and I are a couple of "hacks" who have put out some very nice paint work. I think he is looking for some quick satisfaction. Understanding that sanding metallic would kill it, I like the scotchbrite and scuff paste idea. Also understanding that we know what lurks under that paint is high school butchery, a can of worms would be opened. Big worms. So here is a question, could a guy mix in some paint with clear for the first coat or two and finish up with straight clear. We both know this is the completely wrong approach. This more about a couple of guys reliving their high school/college days and having a short term ( a couple of years) half decent result. Keep in mind we only have a couple of days to get this done as we now live 2000 miles apart separated by a country because someone felt like it was a great idea to move to Alaska...We truly appreciate everyone's input, and understand that real paint and body guys are rolling their eyes.
 
Haha well put Deej! I really do appreciate the input from everyone on my little experiment....
 
It was a common practice back on the day to mix single stage with clear for the final coat. So if you're experimenting, let us know how it turns out.
 
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