How To Make Your Cars Paint Shine

When you’re married to an auto body repairman you get to drive the most interesting cars. Our first car together was a 1966 Ford Mustang with manual transmission, dark blue body, one green fender and red passenger door. Any minute now he’s going to paint it, I’m sure. After all, he’s a body man. I drove that tri-color Mustang for two years without the poor thing ever seeing a drop of paint fall on it’s unsightly green fender. But he brought home other projects I did work on with him. And I learned to put a proper shine on those faded old buggies. Once, while preparing my brother’s car for a new paint job, I was given the tedious chore of slowly, gently wet sanding the surface in preparation of the metallic baby blue paint. Not my favorite color for a big ol Bonneville, but that fresh metallic paint sure glistened like gold in the Sunshine as my brother and his family took off down the driveway. A few years later I happened across a wine colored 1942 Ford Coupe for $300.00. I surprised him by purchasing it. That’s how I learned that cars back in the day were made of real metal, not aluminum foil like the one I’m driving now. The paint was in original and in great condition. The headliner was another story. It looked as if someone stuck a couple of cats in there then scared them really bad. Shredded headliner. But the body man fixed that. Well, at first he wanted his wife to, but she looked at it, backed off and said, “huh uh,” kind of overwhelmed like. Since the paint was so good, and we were so poor, we opted to shine it up rather than spring for new paint. He brought home a tub of rubbing compound and a buffer with a nice, fresh buffer pad. Then, beer in hand (his hand, not mine) he set about the task of supervising the buffing work. I was pretty good at it, too. I loved watching the scruffy, dull paint start gleaming like glass when the buffer passed by. Then I applied a thin coat of wax, let it dry and buffed that off too. That old ’42 Ford Coupe looked like a shiny red apple on wheels. Making your own car’s paint shine is a matter of a few simple steps and a lot of elbow grease. First, wash your car thoroughly. Rubbing the painted surface when flecks of dirt are present can scratch your paint. So clean is the most important first step. Next, whether you decide to use wax for a shine or rubbing compound depends on what condition the paint is in. If it’s badly faded it’s in need of a super boost then rubbing compound is the way to go. With a soft cloth, such as a piece of old tee-shirt, dip out a small amount of compound. Rub it on the painted surface in a circular motion. Remember, be gentle! The shine depends on the compound’s mildly abrasive action, not on how much force you can exert. Let the paste dry a bit then buff it out. If you don’t have a buffer it’s ok. You can rub the paste out by hand with a fresh soft cloth. It will just take longer. If your paint job happens to be in good condition and not faded, a good hand waxing will do the shining trick. Apply the wax, either paste of liquid, on a small area then rub gently with a soft cloth. Let the wax dry, then with a clean soft cloth, gently rub off the dried paste. Last of all, make up an excuse to go somewhere so you can drive your shiny car down the street for all to admire. Category:Home › Autos • Will the trend toward economy-size car models lead Americans back to buying smaller-sized cars? — part 2 • You should never use after-market auto parts when maintaining or fixing your car • Should a new car be rust-proofed? • Will the trend toward economy-size car models lead Americans back to buying smaller-sized cars? — part 1 • Five safest cars in North America • How to ensure your teen drives safely after getting a license • Pros and cons of using an hydrogen generator for your car • DIY automotive maintenance: How to change the oil