Single Stage or Clear Coat?

[CDN88]

With a couple of new drivers in the family over the past couple of years, we've now accumulated selection of vehicles. Guess who the go-to guy (and product supplier) for cleaning them is? While the ends of the spectrum are obvious, the middle is muddy...

Is there a date/model year when manufacturers changed from s/s paint to bc/cc? Seems to me it happened in the late eighties or early nineties somewhere... I've searched around on-line but i guess I'm not using the right criteria as I don't seem to be able to come up with a definite answer. I've even called a few stealerships and could't get a straight answer on a specific model unless it was only a few years old. Was it manufacturer specific?

Mom's car - '83 Datsun 280ZXT 2+2 White
Daughter's car - '88 Honda Prelude (beater - at least four colours of red )
Son's car - '89 T-Bird Black
People and dog mover - '99 S10 Trailblazer Black
Dad's baby - '88 Corvette Bright Red

All of them seem to show some kind of colour coming off on terry bonnets with a PC, although, it could just be product and dirt. The black cars seem to have grey bonnets while the red ones seem to have kind of a brownish tinge (depending on which corner we're doing, the Honda is defintely RED it's hopeless) . The white one just looks grey as well.

If anyone can give me a definitive answer on these models, I'd appreciate it. Knowing what we're dealing in the first place with would be a big help. Thanks everyone!

[CDN88]

BUMP!

Anyone know what kind of paint is on these cars? SS or BC/CC? Best products/practices?

83 Datsun 280ZXT 2+2 - White

88 Honda Prelude - Red

88 Chev Corvette - Red

89 Ford T-Bird - Black

99 Chev Blazer - Black


Thanks everybody!

[Murr1525]

Well.. the easiest answer is that it doesnt really matter.

All off Meguiars products are clear coat and single stage safe, so you will be ok either way.

Hard to say whether it is dirt or paint, esp on the black ones.

Is there a certain problem you are having with any of the cars that causes this concern? Are you getting your good results, or having trouble getting good results?

[CDN88]

Sorry this is kind of long, but, I'm worried that I'm approaching all these cars the same way and maybe I shouldn't be.

For tools, I have a 10" random orbit polisher as well as the PC (both with terry bonnets). For products, I've collected up a supply of Meg's over the years, including 3, 9, 26, 83, DC1, and ScratchX. Everything gets washed with DC car wash, dried with terry cloths, and touched up with QD as required.

The red vette was in remarkable shape when I got it in '98 and gets washed at least weekly during it's Mar-Oct driving season. It gets covered for the remainder of the year. I've been maintaining with 3, 9 and 26 via PC. Other than a few rock chips, it's in pretty darn good shape for an 18 yr old car. I don't see a lot of residue on the terry bonnets after use so I think it's likely CC'd. http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/sho...&threadid=8777

Along with my lovely wife, I took on the white Zcar about six years ago. Not sure about maintenance before that, but, for an early 80's Zcar, there is almost NO rust other than a few bubbles starting to show up around the lower wheel wells and rockers. The paint is a little rough, but there aren't any large scratches, just a lot of swirls that I don't seem to be affecting much with the products I have. Bonnets are definitely gray after use. Kind of suspect this one is is single stage. Would 83 be of any benefit here? Or do I need to be looking at something a little more aggressive?

The black Tbird is the latest addition and the one we're having the most trouble with. It will be a good project for our son (and me) to learn on. It has more than it's fair share of bird etchings and general neglect - including a couple of RIDS (right to the metal) that will need filling and some wet sanding. After disappointing initial results with DC1, I bought some 83 and it made a huge difference. We'll try another application(s) of 83 with the PC and see where it takes us. Definitely black on the bonnets, but, it's in rough shape to start with. Don't know if this one is SS or BC/CC... I think we're taking a lot of dirt off as well as perhaps a little paint.

The red Honda is a cheap car we had to come up with in a hurry for our daughter when she got a new job that required commuting. As mentioned below, the paint is pretty much hopeless and I think the best we can hope for is to try to get all four corners close to the same colour.

The black Blazer is the newest vehicle of the bunch and, other than the Honda, probably has the worst paint job of all of them. There are a ton of tiny little cracks all over the hood which could be CC failure. They go away for a bit with a good application of polish, but come back within a couple of days.

The vette and the Zcar aren't daily drivers, but the rest are.

I guess I'm just looking for a little reassurance... never had to worry about this many cars before. Thanks for your patience guys.

[Murr1525]

Have you gotten to read these two links over?

They will really help show what to use with the PC, as far as products, pads, etc.

Recommended Products - G100a Dual Action Polisher

Using the G-100 to remove swirls with the Professional Line

PC + #83 not "Cutting" it! - The Limits of the Dual Action Polisher

[rosenberry]

to figure out if it is clear coat or single stage is to use some #80 on a applicator pad and rub it on the paint if you see the color of the car on your pad its single stage

[WaspHunter]

Originally posted by rosenberry
to figure out if it is clear coat or single stage is to use some #80 on a applicator pad and rub it on the paint if you see the color of the car on your pad its single stage

Make sure you test more than one panel. My car is clear-coat on everything except the rear bumper.