The Vette Lady - Route 66 Rendezvous®

[Mike Phillips]

April's Corvette. April is also known as "The Vette Lady"

Before



Here's a model of her car



What's unique about this car is that it still has the original factory clear coat paint, we're talking 1982! This clear coat finish is 23 years old...

After






I detailed this car a year ago for Route 66 Rendezvous® car show in San Bernardino, CA. April had me go over it again to make sure it looks its very best for this year's show.



Like last year, I massaged the antique clear coat very carefully with M80 Speed Glaze but this time I applied two coats of the NXT Tech Wax Paste by machine using the G100 with a W-9006 foam finishing pad. After making the final wipe-off of the wax, the paint came out very wet and glassy looking.

I'm going to go to the show sometime tomorrow to make sure it looks okay on display and also to take some pictures of the show itself for those of you who can't go as it's a very nice show to attend.

[imacarnut]

as usual.... nice job mike!

p.s. was this garaged most of the time?

[Shiny Lil Detlr]

Wow..... it really shows that the car has been meticulously cared for over the years if the original paint can still look like that

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Shiny Lil Detlr
Wow..... it really shows that the car has been meticulously cared for over the years if the original paint can still look like that

While the finish looks very good, let me be the first to state that it's not flawless and flawless is always my goal. The clear coat has cracks in the vertical panels which I tried to capture with my camera and will update this thread with when I get time, the horizontal surfaces still have some deep cobweb scratches that in my judgment would be unsafe to remove if the goal is to preserve the original paint and have it endure till the natural death occurs.

For this reason I didn't get real aggressive and stayed with the M80 and I also strongly urged the owner April to resist any Sunny Young Buck detailer who might come along and suggest that they could do better.


Could all the swirls be removed?

Yes.

Would the factory clear coat last for another 23 years?

I'm not willing to take that chance and at this point in time neither is the current owner.


There's a song from a band by the name of Kansas called "The Point Of No Return", when you're working on someone else's toy, you don't ever want to reach the point of no return...

[SeabreezeDetailing]

Mike,

Anyway we could see some up close shots of the paint? Particularly what your speaking of? Im actually in the market to purcahse a Vette nad am just curious.

[Mike Phillips]

Yes, I'll try to add some photos tonight when I get back from the Route 66 Rendezvous® car show, I'm going to leave here in a couple of hours and head on down the hill to San Bernardino to try to beat some of the crowd.

After I talk with Chip Foose I'm leaving the show and heading home, so when I get back I'll share some photos from the show and of the before shots and process shots I took of the Corvette.

While I'm gone I expect the forum to sail along smoothly...

[MandarinaRacing]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips

After I talk with Chip Foose I'm leaving the show and heading home...

See if you can talk him in to switching to Meg's products for his TV show

Alex

[Shiny Lil Detlr]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
While the finish looks very good, let me be the first to state that it's not flawless and flawless is always my goal. The clear coat has cracks in the vertical panels which I tried to capture with my camera and will update this thread with when I get time, the horizontal surfaces still have some deep cobweb scratches that in my judgment would be unsafe to remove if the goal is to preserve the original paint and have it endure till the natural death occurs.

For this reason I didn't get real aggressive and stayed with the M80 and I also strongly urged the owner April to resist any Sunny Young Buck detailer who might come along and suggest that they could do better.


Could all the swirls be removed?

Yes.

Would the factory clear coat last for another 23 years?

I'm not willing to take that chance and at this point in time neither is the current owner.


There's a song from a band by the name of Kansas called "The Point Of No Return", when you're working on someone else's toy, you don't ever want to reach the point of no return...

Ah -- see I was judging only by what the pictures you posted show -- which is to say that all of that damage is hidden from view. I certainly understand what you're speaking of; I've detailed 'older' original finishes before as well. I did one of my regular clients' "toy" cars, a 1980 MGB Special Edition, with the original paint. I was so scared to get agressive with it, that I did the entire deep crystal 3-step system (aside from subbing #26 for the step 3 wax) by hand. It came out well, considering the vehicle also has hail damage.

I definitely agree that the very last thing you would want to do is destroy the paint on a customer's car under circumstances like that. Even at the point that vette sounds like it is at, I would want to make the owner sign a release form saying that any damage which occurrs, or clearcoat failure is not the detailer's fault, it is merely due to the age of the paint.

[Mike Phillips]

Here's April's Corvette on display in the Citrus building... Chip Foose is over against the wall signing autographs and drawing scetches...




The yellow roadster behind April's Corvette is a Boyd Coddington design

[Shiny Lil Detlr]

What's the story silver/black car (looks like maybe a riviera?) behind the 'vette?

[Superior Shine]

looks like a 66=67 riv