Why is it that some gn's have very bad checking on the paint and others dont? My car was garaged its whole life other than the prior owners going to work and such during its first 15-20 years. My cars interior is in great shape. The motor is also very nice and clean meaning that the prior owners took very good care of it but the paint has checking on the hood and upper fenders. Low mileage cars with original paint are all nice. Does it mean that the weather caused the checking on mine? Age is age, no matter if its a high mileage car or a low mileage car. Did buick use different paint on some cars for them to last longer? Any ideas?
Original paint question
- Thread starter dragrazor
- Start date
Welcome!
By registering with us, you'll be able to discuss, share and private message with other members of our community.
Phoneguy
Cometic HG stress tester
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2002
- Messages
- 6,882
GM paint was a crapshoot...my 43,xxx mile car had severe checking on the horizontal surfaces. my interior is very nice, not faded from sunlight damage. There are cars with 80,xxx miles that look much better than my car did.
Here is what I did to get rid of the lousy GM paint
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/threads/my-car-getting-a-long-needed-new-paint-job.386153/
Bryan
Here is what I did to get rid of the lousy GM paint
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/threads/my-car-getting-a-long-needed-new-paint-job.386153/
Bryan
Phoneguy
Cometic HG stress tester
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2002
- Messages
- 6,882
Mainly hood, trunk, some on the roof and some on the tops of the fenders. None on the header panel
Bryan
Bryan
Phoneguy
Cometic HG stress tester
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2002
- Messages
- 6,882
The paint used on these cars is lacquer, it shrinks. The ONLY way to make sure it does not happen again is to completely strip the car. You do not need to replace the header. Now the bumper fillers may be at a point where they could crumble when removed. Look at the link in post number 2, it shows my car stripped
Bryan
Bryan
626gn
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2009
- Messages
- 2,679
Exposure to the sun/heat (notice most cars only exhibit checking on the top surfaces?) and/or the use of improper cleaning agents can be factors in accelerating checking in some instances. Single stage paint is more permeable than a clear coat finish. Regular use of Dawn Detergent or similar type soaps will strip the vital oils out of the paint finish, unlike your run of the mill "car soap", that's what they were engineered to do. While detergents like Dawn can be useful when you purposely want to strip off all your old wax, you to have to replenish the oils back into the paint. If you don't, then your paint COULD dry out and crack sooner than it normally would.
I'd also like to know how you could tell if a car still has original paint?. I know you'd look for over spray or tape line ridges etc. Lets say a car has original paint that is in decent shape and it has probably been buffed numerous times over its life so orange peel wouldn't be evident. Maybe a thick clearcoat would be easy to spot but if it was repainted with a color base it might be hard to tell.
I'm just wondering, that's one of the first things people have always asked about a nice car, "is it original paint". Not that it really matters I guess if it was done right. Reselling it though its nice to be able say that...or know the history
I'm just wondering, that's one of the first things people have always asked about a nice car, "is it original paint". Not that it really matters I guess if it was done right. Reselling it though its nice to be able say that...or know the history
626gn
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2009
- Messages
- 2,679
Assuming we’re talking about GN’s here, the poor quality of the factory paint job that everyone hates on these cars can be used in your favor when trying to determine paint originality. If the paint looks “too good” and lacks the usual orange peel, paint checking in the usual spots, and thin looking paint finish, I would start looking harder. A good place to start would be to determine if its single stage paint as opposed to base coat/clear coat. Take some polish (don’t use wax) and rub it into the paint. If your cloth comes out clean you could be looking at a repaint. Black is a difficult color to blend and you should be able to see a blend line using the right angles and lighting to determine if any spot paintwork has been done. Pinstriped cars should be looked at very closely as they can be used to hide blend lines. Feel under the side mirrors, it should be very smooth. Peel the corner of the opera window rubber and look for a paint edge. If it has one you’ll know it was repainted without removing the glass. Overspray and tapelines, especially in the jambs, existence of the factory chip guard, as well as proper emblem placement are also good starting points.
Lastly, many (but not all) GN’s came with traces of metallic in the paint. It won’t be obvious though, you have to really look closely in bright sunlight.
Lastly, many (but not all) GN’s came with traces of metallic in the paint. It won’t be obvious though, you have to really look closely in bright sunlight.
Remember, mass produced cars of that era had few choices of paint. As a new car the shine was much better than the enamels and GM execs were hoping owners would polish to a better than factory finish which was possible. The checking most seen is on top surfaces but a closer look it is all over. Time takes its toll!!
Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app
Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app
If you use rubbing compound or any other abrasive on the vehicle the black will come off onto your towel/rag, 2 stage your compounding clear so its invisible
