Question: Black St. Louis 1981

[FactoryC3]

I have a black St. Louis 1981 Coupe. I know that they used lacquer on the St. Louis 81's.
My question is did they use clearcoat over the lacquer or is the finish all lacquer?
I have a bit of spot work to do and want to know what I am working with.

Also, will a random orbit polisher do acceptable compound work or does one need a buffer (direct drive)?

 

[bill81vette]

They didn't start using the clear coat until BG opened...
not sure about the compound...

 

[KANE]

Also, will a random orbit polisher do acceptable compound work or does one need a buffer (direct drive)?

Depends on how much buffing you need.


If the paint is dull- but not oxidized... I'd consider using a clay bar first and then buffing.

3M 3000 Grit Extra Cut has worked extremely well for me when it comes to buffing things out.




I start with a clay bar, move to 3000 grit buff, followed by Liquid Glass, and then finish up with Meguire's Gold Class finish.

 

[FactoryC3]

More info

Depends on how much buffing you need.


If the paint is dull- but not oxidized... I'd consider using a clay bar first and then buffing.

3M 3000 Grit Extra Cut has worked extremely well for me when it comes to buffing things out.




I start with a clay bar, move to 3000 grit buff, followed by Liquid Glass, and then finish up with Meguire's Gold Class finish.

My finish is a beautiful factory original black...really deep and nice.
Where my problem lies is where someone repaired gravel chips under the lip of the upper nose...above the grill.
You can see where it was masked and sprayed poorly...lots of runs. I plan on shaving down the high parts and hand block wet sanding out the area...then 3 step 3M compound (Following a autogeek.org video) Will the orbital handle this?

 

[KANE]

Ah... Got it now.

Yeah, I wouldn't use an orbital for that.


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