Prepping 60 year old single stage lacquer

S

Sevillian

New member
Due to moving and COVID quarantine, I’m just now getting around to what is usually the “Spring detail” of my totally original ‘61 Cadillac’s black lacquer. Car is a garage queen; never wet, driven 1500 or so miles/year. So it got the M7 bath and a couple of coats of Souverain last April (2019). I waxed again 6 months ago or so. When wiped down w/ detail spray, it still feels somewhat slick.

Two questions: given the amount of time that has passed, should I just do waterless wash. glaze and wax, or should I still start with a paint prep? And given that the paint still feels slick and healthy, do you guys nonetheless recommend M7 soak, or can I wait until next spring/summer to do that again?

I want to do what’s best for paint preservation, but given the size of the car and the time it takes to do this by hand, I’d like to skip any unnecessary steps.
 
If the car is garaged 365 days/yr, why would you need to re-wax? How could it need it? Why not just wash/dry and be done with it?
 
I`ve always thought wax loses its gloss and protective qualities over time, particularly the old school carnauba`s. Obviously going to last longer on a car that`s constantly garaged, but I would expect it to last 18 months. But I`m not pretending to be an expert.
 
Bill D said:
I`d just add more Souveran. That`s what I do with my garage queens.
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re-tired said:
Rule #1
The less things that touch the paint- the better , less chance for swirls
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wannafbody said:
Rub the car down with WD40 for the ultimate wet look
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I`m with Bill and re-tired...but skip the WD-40. "Wash" it and re-Souveran. If it`s still glossy and the paint "feels slick and healthy" then I don`t see why you need to do the #7. But I haven`t had a car with lacquer paint since 1999 and that was before I was an Autopian, anyway.
 
SS lacquer of that vintage can "dry out" regardless of what the LSP/etc. does. (That`s why they originally called M07 Sealer and Reseal Glaze.) So yes indeed, even under ideal conditions it *might* need redone.

But I wouldn`t do that unless it really is called for and that`s gonna be Sevillian`s call. Maybe he *will* be able to just add more Souveran (fingers crossed), but otherwise...well, that`s just the nature of the beast.

I have *ZERO* problems with "things touching the paint" as long as that touching is done in a way that doesn`t instill new marring. Yes, there`s always *some* risk, but it can be minimized to the point that it`s not a consideration (I`d never worry about that...I *don`t* ever worry about that and if somebody does they might ought reconsider how they`re doing that touching).

All that said...

Sevillian- From your description, I`d wager it does *NOT* need a redo of the M07. I`m actually pretty confident that it doesn`t as I bet you`d notice if it did. Just be oh-so-careful with your waterless as I could never wash anything that way without risking that marring that you`ve been warned about (and that I did indeed say I wouldn`t worry about...but I don`t wash the way you do).

Oh, and I`ve been wondering for the longest time...what`re the other two power windows on your Fleetwood?!? I know about the vent ones, and I`m trying to remember my various Fleetwoods (is it a 60 or a 75 or something I`m not recalling?) but I still haven`t figured out what the "two extra ones" might be so I guess I`ll give up and ask :D


EDIT: while they`re slightly different versions of SS lacquer, just FWIW...my Jag has sat (under pretty ideal conditions) for *years* with just a conventional "beauty wax" on it. Sometimes it does indeed stay "freshly LSPed" for a long, long, time. Sorta surprising to me, but OK...And yeah, other times it did need redone as do some cars in museums. You just don`t know until you know.
 
Thanks, folks. I think I`ll try try waterless wash and another coat of wax. I suppose I should explain my view of the WW. I`ve found that hose washing old cars can get water in places you don`t want due to panel gaps, worn weatherstrip etc. Had a `59 Fleetwood that I had repainted in SS lacquer in late `80s (big mistake, but I was young and stupid). That car was also a pampered garage queen, although being black, it was gently washed fairly often. After 20 years, I was getting bubbling in the lower doors, I assume from wash water getting in there. I also have a `60 Eldorado that I had to remove the rear interior panels on to access some trim for paint, at which time I removed some surface rust on the floors at the base of the quarter windows. That car got washed a few timers over the next year, when for reasons I will spare you, it was necessary to open up the interior again. Despite not having g been washed in many weeks, the carpet padding and sound deadening material at the base of the quarter windows was damp. That convinced me to get on the waterless bandwagon. On occasion, when I have washed that car, I have put painters tape around the based of the windows.

As for the `61 Fleetwood, being black, it gets dusty fast, and often needs a detail spray or WW in order to get presentable. Its a pretty much untouched original car w/ 26k, with original paint (and weatherstripping that while mostly intact is no doubt not as effective as it was 60 years ago). The prior owner showed it at the national level, and gave me his "paint care recipe" that included the occasional M7 soak and Souverain, although I think he did hose wash it. But the car appears completely rust-free, despite a long east coast history in Rhode Island, and most recently New Brunswick, before coming to me here in N. Cal., and I`d like to keep it that way.

Accumulator- its a Fleetwood 60 Special, which featured 8 power windows; the 4 door windows and 4 (front and rear) vent windows, which are one of my favorite features. I`ve been known to "wiggle" them at stoplights when people are checking it out. I guess this was an accommodation for smokers, as the car also has 4 lighters, or as we call them now, phone chargers.
 
Sevillian- Hey, I really appreciated your response. NOW I understand why you`re not wet-washing...and I know that the other power vent windows *were* on the back doors...couldn`t recall for the life of me! Oh man does that sound like a treasure.

Heh heh, I hope I don`t have your "hmmm..things are still wet after so long.." experience should I get my Jag out of mothballs! Yes indeed, things can, uhm...change...as vehicles age!
 
Well I did as suggested above, and did a waterless wash with Pinnacle WW, followed by a coat of Souveran and it looks good, although I haven`t had it out in bright sun yet. Not many places to show it off this time of year except the occasional Cars & Coffee.

Accumulator- Yes, I was very surprised to discover the dampness, and it could certainly be a disaster if left unchecked. And I know it was from washing, because the car isn`t driven in wet conditions, and I`m in N. Calif., where people complain about 50% humidity, so I would have assumed there was ample time to dry out. Somebody had replaced the weatherstripping at some point, but they probably didn`t do as good of a job as the factory, and who knows whether the drainage is working the way it is supposed to.

Getting a little off topic here with the vent windows, but I`ve been a fan of power vents ever since buying my first `59 Cad when I was 13 with newspaper route savings (back when they were considered bloated obsolete dinosaurs). It had power vents (actually a fairly rare option on Cadillacs; seems like they were more common on Lincolns and Imperials), and they amused me then and still do now. The 4 power vents were standard on the Fleetwood 60 Special, and later the Brougham, from `61 through `68. If you`re not familiar with the `66 Fleetwood Brougham interior, check it out. As a Jag guy you might appreciate its attempt to mimic a Mk. IX/X - real walnut upper door panels and fold down writing/picnic tables, along with fold down footrests and those vent windows.
 
Sevillian- Off-topic or not, I like discussing your cars :) And I`m really glad you were able to just WW/rewax instead of doing a big redo.

And I sure hear you on the drainage issues! Even newer vehicles can suffer from that: my `08 Crown Vic has a factory goof-up that slightly impedes the drainage of the doors..gotta attend to that some time before it matters. The previous owner of my Tahoe didn`t attend to such stuff and I had to fix some rust that`d gotten started, that "bottom door seam" rust that`s so hard to fix right (appears I got it OK). Such stuff rotted my last Mazda out from the inside..and no they didn`t stand behind it.
 
Indeed; even on the newer cars you`ve got to keep the drainage channels clear. Once of my pet peeves is the way people let leaves, pine needles etc. accumulate in the trunk/hatch weatherstrip area, or the cowl area under the hood. A recipe for disaster, especially in your neck of the woods. I did some (academic) time in Cleveland in the early `80`s and saw first-hand what the tin worm could do, especially on the early-mid 70`s cars that were roaming around then. I remember seeing a mid-70`s Country Squire wagon that had the enter lower half of the tailgate outer skin eaten away, exposing the window mechanism,. and being shocked that could happen, especially on a car the was only maybe 6-8 years old.
 
Sevillian- Get this: Ford was so sloppy building the `08 Crown Vic that plastic sheeting that`s supposed to just seal the area behind the door panels was installed in a way that it blocked the doors` drains! Like, *inches away* from where it`s supposed to be. I cut drain-openings with an X-acto knife, but need to get in there and fix it right some time..not that that car sees much bad weather, but even the washes could cause trouble. I`m lucky it hadn`t rusted before I got it (TX car).
 
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