Interesting cleanup.

K

kustomsol

New member
Yesterday, my 28 year old son brought home a 1961 VW Beetle which had been kept in an open shed since 1972. The car has only 36k is all original and complete including toolkit, spare tire, radio delete trim, manuals, service receipts, etc. He, his two older bropthers, and his brother-in-law are all old VW afficianados and mechanics. But since I'm the detailing nut in the family, they have asked me to research the cleaning and detailing of the car. It is pearl white. (The pics were taken 5 months ago when we brought my 55 and '56 Packard Patricians from the same site where they had been stored since 1971).



Cleaning and detailing suggestions, interior and exterior, please.



http://photobucket.com/albums/b271/HRP/?action=view&current=PackardsFeb2005013.jpg



http://photobucket.com/albums/b271/HRP/?action=view&current=PackardsFeb2005016.jpg



http://photobucket.com/albums/b271/HRP/?action=view&current=PackardsFeb2005022.jpg



http://photobucket.com/albums/b271/HRP/?action=view&current=PackardsFeb2005014.jpg
 
Wow, license plates and everything. Isn't it all rusted? Or is the red just staining? There must be a heck of a story about these cars--care to share?
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Wow, license plates and everything. Isn't it all rusted? Or is the red just staining? There must be a heck of a story about these cars--care to share?
Click to expand...



FYI, since you asked: I purchased a 1955 Packard Patrician in 1969 while in the Navy at Portsmouth, Va as a daily driver; then found another one (1956) in a junk yard in better shape, but with "popped" freeze plugs. When I was transferred to JAX in Florida in 1971, I dropped the Packards off at my cousin's in eastern NC with plans to restore them. After 34 years and never getting around to it, I gave them to my son-in-law who plans restoration.



The VW was owned by my cousin's aunt who bought it new in 1961, but never got her driver's license. She drove it around out in the country on errands until she died around 1969. It was inherited by her nephew who parked it under my cousin's shed and started it every week or so until the mid 80's. When my sons and son-in-law went to get the Packards in April, they found out that the VW could be bought. The discolouration is mainly dirt, dust, and stains. Most of it, except the stains, washed off. Plans are for a complete mechanical restoration over the next 2 weeks, then when it is running; a concerted cleanup effort. I've cleaned up and detailed a fair number of cars and am a Zaino Zealot, but I've never done one with this much staining and dirt.
 
HRP- Heh heh, don't let those guys get you down, I suspect it might not be nearly as bad as it might look to some people. Yeah, there is rust, but it might be mainly surface rust that has bled over the surrounding areas.



Plenty of "barn finds" are worse than that, and are kept original. Remember that it's only original once ;)



I do think that this one might call for a process other than Zaino though. Horses for courses, if you get my drift.



I'd start with a decontamination system, either ABC or the one from FinishKare. Clay while the acidic step is dwelling and plan on claying again. Try to get it as clean as you can first.



Then a rotary with a soft wool pad and something that'll really cut through crud. There was a thread recently where somebody fixed up a *very* oxidized older car with Meguiar's products (sorry, I forget the specifics). I'd use a similar approach with this VW.

There's gonna be a lot of work before you get to the point where the PC is the proper tool.



Once you get it cleaned up, you'll be able to tell how extensive the corrosion really is and how you should deal with it. I'd be optimistic and hope that some rust converter will arrest what's already there without requiring much actual bodywork.



Eventually, IMO the glaze/wax approach will be the way to go. The trick will be getting to that point.
 
Just my own opinion, but from the looks of things it may be past the point of claying. You might try a four step process: Prep with a thorough washing, and with extreme care and caution compound first with rotart and a wool or med. cut foam pad. Next use a polish designed to remove the swirls introduced while compounding, and finally seal everything with an orbital buffer and a good paint sealant. The correct pad with the right product is the key. However, I would use extreme caution, as this car is older and in rough cond....without a paint thickness gauge you don't know how thin the paint could be. Good luck though and I hope it works out for you.



Take care,



Matt Williams

Silver Lining Detail
 
[quote name='Accumulator'] There was a thread recently where somebody fixed up a *very* oxidized older car with Meguiar's products (sorry, I forget the specifics). I'd use a similar approach with this VW.

There's gonna be a lot of work before you get to the point where the PC is the proper tool.



QUOTE]



The other detail I think you're referring to is the older car done by Joe with Superior Shine. That car was in REALLY bad shape and the results that Joe came up with were amazing. Good luck as I seem to remember Joe saying he had something like two days worth of work into the exterior of the car!
 
It was Meg's heavy duty boat polish, I think. #43, maybe? It was a very strong chemical cleaner, with maybe mild abrasives. I'd take off as much chrome/trim as possible, decon, use the boat polish via light cut wool pad @1000RPM, follow with Optimum and light foam pad @1350, Red Moose Machine Glaze @600RPM with finishing pad, wax.



Keep a lot of pads on hand, as they will cake up very quickly. I would not use a foam pad for the initial cutting, as it will load up within less than a minute. Go wool, on a mess like that.
 
Nice find, I love to find treasures like this, but thats just me ! The rust just looks like rust leeching from the hinges and steel hardware. Its better to have it original than if someone had repainted it, the restoration is sure to be done well if you know what you did to it.
 
The Beetle looks pretty rough but if the green scum and rust come off then it may end up okay after all.



Here's a link to the Megs forum where they polished out a 1941 Packard with pretty rough paint.



Good luck with the Beetle. Take lots of pictures!
 
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