Oxidized conversion van

[RegalGS]

I posted a thread about cleaning up oxidation on a conversion van - it got lost, no biggie. But I wanted to thank bretfraz for his guidance in using DACP and SFP.

This is the before shot of my friend's van. The van is a chevy single stage, two-tone 1985 van. A beast, for sure, but the engine is in great shape (for 320,000 miles on it). The paint needed help though, as you can see. It was overcast, but you can still see the lack of any kind of shine. Heavy, sandpapery feeling oxidation. Yuck.



This is the after shot. Lighting is much different - I'm using my obsession lights here, and you can see it's just after sunset outside. But now it shines! And the paint isn't brown, it's a dark cherry!



I've found a new dislike - conversion vans. I'll never do another one like this again, even though I'm happy with the outcome. There is still LOTS of work to do - the roof, and the back doors. I'd also like to attack the rubber around the windows, the running boards, the splash guards, mirror housings, etc. The hood and both sides took a grand total of about 10 hours of work, and that was two people working (one with the PC, one buffing off behind), so we pretty well left it for another day. DACP with meg's cutting pad, SFP with meg's polishing pad, and a quick application of #20 to protect all our hard work.

Lessons learned? 1) Buy stock in ThermaCare. My back and shoulders are killing me, even though I have a stool. 2) Fine Cut or Medium Cut compound for oxidation that bad. DACP worked, but there were spots where it needed two and three passes at it. Once it was off, though, the SFP easily conquered the haze. 3) No more conversion vans. There's just toooooo much paint to work on.

[Scottwax]

Wow! Nice work! I also despise conversion vans-especially the high tops. I don't like the running boards either and those captain chairs covered with velour can also be tough to clean.

[edschwab1]

Nice work and thanks for advice on conversion vans.

Eric

[4DSC]

Wow! What a monster job! I can tell you made a huge difference already, and I can't wait for some daylight pics.

[bretfraz]

Fantastic job!!!

My parents owned 2 conversion vans when I was a kid and I can still recall the smell of Turtle Wax Rubbing Compound I had to use to remove oxidation from the hood and roof. I think my mom has a pic of me waxing the van when I was 13 or so. I would have done anything for a PC and some DACP.

Glad it all work for ya.

[RegalGS]

It still has a ways to go, and took a lot of work to get where it is (my shoulders are feeling it this morning). I'll see if I can't get a pic or two today - should be a good day for pics. It's overcast, just like in the before shot. Anyway, thanks for the compliments, I wouldn't have known what to do with it until I found this place!

[RegalGS]

I had the chance to get another pic of the van. Fortunately for me, time of day is close to the "before" pic, and lighting conditions were nearly identical! In this pic, you can really tell that we didn't touch the running boards or the trim around the windows.

[4DSC]

Yeah that's a good before and after comparison because of the similar lighting. It looks pretty smart now! Thanks!

[Scottwax]

You really did a nice job, looking at the before and after shots shows a very dramatic improvement.

Now the trick is for the owner to not let it get bad again.

[RegalGS]

Thanks for all your compliments. Especially Scottwax. Coming from you, wow!

As to the owner not letting it get bad again... he knows better. He helped me work on it, so he knows what went into it. After we called it quits, he joked that he would take it to the bay wash once it got dirty and go after it with the brush. He almost got a PC in the face! That van was bought from his father, who supposedly never ever washed it or waxed it once in it's life. Why people won't take care of their vehicles, I'll never know...

[4DSC]

He probably never waxed it because one look at that monster and his applicator started shrivelling...

[PrinzII]

Nice job! : Thanks for the advice.