delco1946 Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 I’ve been researching making the plunge into getting a dual action polisher to attempt to restore my trucks original paint. A couple questions: A 1981 ford pickup would have a single stage paint job correct? Sounds like you’re limited with regards to rubbing compound if you’re dealing with a second stage/ clear coat. Anyone have any general tips/recommendations? I’m leaning towards a porter cable for both cost and review reasons - and would expect to toss the foam pad it comes with based on comments - no big deal. If I wanna pay a bit more the Meguiars DA looks good but seems to have more problems with vibration and mechanical quality issues. Any products/ processes youve used with success on these trucks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 Not all Bullnose paints were single stage. The page at Specifications/Exterior Paint Codes has a table that shows which ones did. I put a snippet below from that page and you can see that Light Charcoal Metallic in 86 and '7 had a clear coat. So you can find your code from the certification label, look it up in the CODE column, and see if it was clear coated. EDIT: You said '81, and I don't see any of those paints having a clear coat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delco1946 Posted September 5, 2019 Author Share Posted September 5, 2019 Not all Bullnose paints were single stage. The page at Specifications/Exterior Paint Codes has a table that shows which ones did. I put a snippet below from that page and you can see that Light Charcoal Metallic in 86 and '7 had a clear coat. So you can find your code from the certification label, look it up in the CODE column, and see if it was clear coated. EDIT: You said '81, and I don't see any of those paints having a clear coat. My paint codes are 5G (Dark Caramel Metallic) and 9A (white) so I have single stage paints (whew!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reamer Posted September 6, 2019 Share Posted September 6, 2019 My paint codes are 5G (Dark Caramel Metallic) and 9A (white) so I have single stage paints (whew!) Interesting the snip-it does not show code "3G" Bright Regatta Blue Poly....That's what 00-BGUB is.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 6, 2019 Share Posted September 6, 2019 Interesting the snip-it does not show code "3G" Bright Regatta Blue Poly....That's what 00-BGUB is.. That is interesting. I even went back to the MPC to see if I'd missed it, but there's no 3G their either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesPonies Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 A dual action polisher is almost worthless. I paint, which means I cut and buff often. You don't want a DA buffer, trust me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delco1946 Posted September 7, 2019 Author Share Posted September 7, 2019 A dual action polisher is almost worthless. I paint, which means I cut and buff often. You don't want a DA buffer, trust me. I started last night, and boy are my arms tired. I totally get what you saying now about the DA polishers (or probably any polisher). There are so few flat spots on my truck that it wouldn’t get much use. Considering it’s about a 200 dollar investment, I’d rather have those trailer mirrors on eBay . I did the passenger side and it looks pretty good! Still rust spots of course but the rest of it looks much nicer. The hood is pretty toasty from years in the sun so I went to a professional grade abrasive (doesn’t break down) as well as a coarser one. Stuck a pad in my drill to speed up that indelicate process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delco1946 Posted September 7, 2019 Author Share Posted September 7, 2019 I started last night, and boy are my arms tired. I totally get what you saying now about the DA polishers (or probably any polisher). There are so few flat spots on my truck that it wouldn’t get much use. Considering it’s about a 200 dollar investment, I’d rather have those trailer mirrors on eBay http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/uploads/6/5/8/7/65879365/head-rotfl-57x22_orig.gif. I did the passenger side and it looks pretty good! Still rust spots of course but the rest of it looks much nicer. The hood is pretty toasty from years in the sun so I went to a professional grade abrasive (doesn’t break down) as well as a coarser one. Stuck a pad in my drill to speed up that indelicate process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 Wow! That looks good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesPonies Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 I started last night, and boy are my arms tired. I totally get what you saying now about the DA polishers (or probably any polisher). There are so few flat spots on my truck that it wouldn’t get much use. Considering it’s about a 200 dollar investment, I’d rather have those trailer mirrors on eBay . I did the passenger side and it looks pretty good! Still rust spots of course but the rest of it looks much nicer. The hood is pretty toasty from years in the sun so I went to a professional grade abrasive (doesn’t break down) as well as a coarser one. Stuck a pad in my drill to speed up that indelicate process. Not true about" any" polisher, or I would have said that. You just bought the wrong piece of equipment. You probably also didn't get the best material to use. If you are serious, I will lay it out for you. Let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts