Paint on 40 Buick

[DCDS]

We have a black 1940 Buick Special. Conditon is very good. The paint is good on most of it, but is thinning in spots. One spot is worn off to the metal. No rust to speak of. It needs repainting at some point, but I would just like to get it looking better than it is right now. I was thinking of using the DC 3 step. Should I be concerned that I will take off too much paint where it is already thin. Thanks for any suggestions.

[Mike Phillips]

Hi DCDS,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!


I'm glad you asked this question, I'll do my best to answer it and also tell a little story.

First the answer.

The Deep Crystal System consists of a dedicated pant cleaner, a dedicated pure polish and a dedicated pure wax. By the way, while the label on the wax states the product to be a Carnauba Wax, and yes there is high quality Carnauba wax in the formula, if you turn to the back label on the bottle and read the copy, it will state that the wax is a blend of Carnauba, Polymers, Silicones and Resins. By blending different ingredients together, you get a wax that offers more benefits and features than a wax based only upon a single ingredient.

Anyway, the Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner, (Step 1), is a very gentle paint cleaner that relies on chemical cleaning action only. It contains no ingredients with the intended purpose of abrading the paint. So if you want to use a gentle paint cleaner, then this is your first best choice. It also keeps you within Meguiar's Philosophy of,

Always use the least aggressive product to get the job done"

Apply this product using a clean, soft foam applicator pad and you will be as gentle to the finish as possible while still cleaning the paint effectively. For just a little more cleaning power, or to clean some areas that need a little more cleaning strength, apply this product with a piece of terry cloth toweling.

Assuming this is the original paint, it will be very soft. This mean you will want to be extra careful when working on it. Chances are good, your going to see some paint removal as you work on it. So to answer your question, "Yes", you will more than likely remove some paint all over the car, and in the thin spots.

The paint you remove will be dirty, oxidized, and deteriorated paint, (at some level), because it is the outer surface that is exposed, but this sleight amount of removed paint will reveal a more clear and beautiful color of the original paint to your eyes.

I would definitely recommend a thorough, but gentle cleaning, polishing and waxing process because the end-result will be worth it.

If you lived in the SoCal area, I would love to help you polish out the paint on this car.

Now for a little story,

All my life I have met people with a car in neglected condition, but with a little polishing, it could be restored to a term I coined for the end-results, I call, it's maximum potential.

It might not be perfect, but it will be the best it can be, it will be in a state of its maximum potential.

Right now in fact, I'm going to go and polish out the paint on my old Blazer, it is thin sin some area and you can see the primer showing through, I can't fix this without re-painting the truck. But I'm not going to re-paint the truck. At the same time, I want the paint that's left to look its best, I want it to be at its maximum potential. (I'm going to put it up for sale).

The point is, I always meet people with a car whose finish is neglected, or in other words, way below it's maximum potential, and I strike up a conversation with the owner and explain how he, or we, or I can restore the existing finish to a dramatically improved condition, and often times I get a response like this,

"Someday I'm going to get it painted"

(Or something close to this)

That's their choice, but through my eyes, and understanding what can and cannot be accomplished with the right Meguiar's paint cleaners, polishes and waxes, I know that the owner of the car could be driving around in clear, high gloss, shiny car, instead of a dull, oxidized neglected looking car. Getting a car painted is a lot of work and cost a lot of money. When people say they're going to get their car painted, that's often a day and time years down the road.

As a detailer, that just kills me.... that's because I like to polish paint, especially on special interest cars.

Anyway, I'm glad to see that you're going to polish out the 1940 Buick Special, I am confident that the Deep Crystal System will produce stellar result, at least in the context of taking what's left to its maximum potential.

Remember to shake each bottle up well before using and have fun.

Mike