need help on detailing my 68 buick

B

bigmike667

New member
Hi

I have a 1968 riviera and would appreciate some help on how to detail it and make it shine! How would I make my car shine and what products should be good? unfortunately, I dont have a machine to buff, etc. I would have to do it by hand, which I don't mind taking the time to do, as long as I get a good shine, etc.

the car is black,has some oxidized areas and dull/dirty areas in the paint, and some paint chips which I would have to fix aswell. it feels a bit rough, it feels as if it has overspray on it.

Firstly, I was going to do the meguairs 3 step process by hand, but it said the cleaner was for clear coats, my car is from 68, I doubt it is clear-coat finish. I would highly appreciate some advice on how to tackle this project. Thank you!
 
I believe it has about 117 000 miles on it.



it is original! I like my classics original with a muscle car look!

pic is in avatar.
 
here is the only other pic I have for now, but unfortunatly the bumper was damaged when I bought the car, and its a pain to find another bumper here in Canada.



114-1443_IMG.jpg
 
yeah the clay will work on any surface and the 4" cordless in my opinion won't even touch those swirls you may have, not enough power. Honestly, if you can afford it, you should have someone from Autopia do the job and then you can maintain from there.

Look here for a possible detailer



Canada - Autopia.org
 
No, i dont have that much to spend on hiring someone to do it. I have to save up for a bumper to be imported from the US. I was hoping I could've dont it myself even if it took me a while to do it by hand, but I guess since its black, it needs to be done by a lot better machine/equipment.
 
well you can do it be hand of course it just won't look as nice as it could. You could give it a nice wash with good quality shampoo and clay the paint which will make it look better. 1Z products work well by hand. #7 will restore the oils to the SS paint. Just do what you can; it will look better than it does now. Use the search feature here to get more info on what to use for SS by hand
 
Nothing wrong with trying yourself !! and learning from this site !

All these guys here give good advise ..and if you read a lot.. you can learn a lot.

But I have to agree... a PC buffer is definitely a very good investment !

I've been hopelessly trying to get my first 1977 Lincoln to SHINE with my bare hands and elbow grease.. (almost losing interest in it...)

But once I got the PC... it finally started to SHINE ...

Now I've used the PC on my 71 Catalina... from the start... and as you see the SHINE appear.. you'll smile and be very pleased ! (you spent the money on the PC)

btw I use the excellent 3M prof products with it... give great results !
 
Ya I'll give it a try by hand first. then hopefully, I will save up for a PC.



Whats the difference between the clay bar and the meguars cleaner system?
 
when using clay the key is to use lottsa lottsa lube, the more the better. The clay removes the contaminates whereas the polish doesn't. Automagic Blue clay can be found in alot of auto parts store. Pepboys, Autozone etc. You can buy the kit (Clay& lube) together for about $10-$15. Read how to use the clay thru the tutorials on Autopia. The bottle of lube probably won't be enough to finish the job so when you get half way thru the bottle, fill it with water so you'll have a full bottle to complete the job.

Process would be wash first(make sure to wash it well), clay, polish, glaze (Meguairs #7), wax. Good MF are essential as well as a Lambswool mitt( when choosing one of these, feel it to make sure it's nice and soft). Two bucket method. Use foam applicators to apply each step. You'll need a new one for each step or you can clean them between steps. They're cheap enough to just use a new one each time.

Really, I would spend time here using the search feature for what you want to do before attempting. Knowledge is key
 
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