expert advice needed on cleaning up a 1930 Ford

[klamen]

Thanks to all that answered the question on my new Dodge truck. I have learned a lot on this website, and just started to get into the forum discussions. Now, a truely unique situation:



My neighbor just got a 1930 Ford with original paint from an inheritance from his great grandfather. The paint is in good condition (car was stored for the last 60+ years, and never saw sunlight in that time). It was pushed into a closed trailer and taken to his garage, where it now sits. He has the engine/drivetrain being professionally checked out currently, and is going to be entering this into a couple of parades later this summer.



With nearly 75 year old paint, what would be the best solution for him to wash/polish/wax this car? Would claybar be advised, or not? It was covered for years, and he is worried about today's chemicals being too powerful for the original paint.



Any advice on which products he should use? From talking to him, he would like to bring out luster on the car, and just isn't sure what products to buy. He said he was going to "turtle wax" it, but I told him I'd see what I can find out from people that know much more than the both of us about the correct process.







Pictures gladly posted when the car is done

 

[tomstin]

Whatever you decide to use, test it in a nice out of the way place. It's a reasonable bet that anything safe for clearcoat will be safe for single stage paint. How about starting with Meguiar's Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner (MPPC) and see what that does to the finish? MPPC is a chemical based cleaner without any abrasives. After that, it depends on the condition of the paint and what level of perfection the owner wants to achieve. The Wolfgang twins seem like a safe choice to me. If it has lots of scratches and swirls, then you will need to get more agressive.

 

[wash-girl]

Yeah--be careful and start in an inconspicuous area. I'm assuming that there's probably some serious oxidation, and would definitely recommend carefully selecting products to chemically clean it. If it were me, I'd probably try something light, like S-100 Shine Enhancing Paint Cleanser first, then move to either AIO or MPPC, if necessary. Clay shouldn't hurt, but I'd clean first, to remove the bulk of the oxidation, and then clay and clean again, before waxing.



If there are scratches or swirls, it might get a little more touchy, depending on how thick the paint is. It might be worth heading down to a body shop and having them measure how much paint is on there, so you know what you're dealing with, before considering swirl removal.



It might just be safer to just clean and protect it, as I doubt anyone would expect a 75 year old anything to be swirl free.