Old Lacquer paint.

Yesterday at work my boss pulled in the next project and said he had to go on an errand. So he left and I got to work on a beautiful Jag E Type. This thing needed a lot so I buffed it as much as I felt comfortable. It was painted 30 years ago by the owner with old school single stage lacquer type paint. This is only the third car I`ve done with that type of paint so I find them all big learning curves. I got the paint smoothed out as best as I could. I wish I had pictures but I won`t post any without my boss`s permission. But my highlight of the day, besides being trusted with potentially a six figure car, was getting to drive the thing. Even though it was just around the work area. Such an awesome car. However working with lacquer paint I find considerably more difficult. Does anyone know the reason why it`s so much more difficult? It seems to be a harder paint to me but I have much less experience with it. I can`t keep track of the car`s Ive done with the modern base coat-clear coat and even modern single stages. They feel different. Can someone explain it to me and maybe give any pointers as to how to more efficiently get the best results on these old lacquer paints?

kenny.bacon- Hey, cool care (I`m active in my local Jag Club).

What was tricky for you about the ss lacquer? I generally find it *easier* than b/c.ut that might be because I grew up with the stuff and still consider b/c to be newfangled ;)

I generally stick with old-school products for old-school paint: Meguiar`s Mirror Glaze "Pure Polishes" (e.g., M07) topped with wax (as opposed to sealant).

That said, on my `85 Jag`s single stage, I like Autoglym`s Super Resin Polish topped with Souveran..just my personal preference on that paint.

The sealant went on nicely. The problem I had is that the paint seemed to be a really hard paint. It didn`t respond as well to the compound and I had to take it down a ways to take the orange peeling out. It turned out really nice. That being the case it took longer to buff out than it normally would for me. I`m not sure if it was because of the quality of paint or type. Thanks for those product recommendations though I`ll have to try some on my next lacquer paint project.

I haven`t messed with hardly any single stage paint. But I did find this really in depth post by Mike Phillips on AGO: The Secret to Removing Oxidation and Restoring a Show Car Finish to Antique Single Stage Paints - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum. I found a lot of it very interesting and maybe you can find some help in it.

XxBoostinxX- That *IS* some great info Mike put out! Nice trip down Memory Lane for those of us who grew up with the older Mirror Glaze bottles too :D

Kenny.Bacon- Interesting! Most (non-white) single stage is, IME, softer than most b/c, but there are always exceptions. Gotta be a little careful with old ss *enamel* as sometimes it doesn`t respond well to aggressive abrasion (just doesn`t "come back", you can have a real "oops!" moment if you`re unlucky); not a problem with lacquer.