1950 Buick restoration

[Mr. Reed]

Hello I have a 1950 Buick super sedan. I'm thinking of restoring the car to it's former glory. It's not a rust bucket but does have a spot of rust on the edge of the sill plate on the driver's side but the rockers, floors and frame are solid as a rock. I would like to see pictures of some members restored cars for inspiration. I know it's going to take a lot of work but I think it's worth it. Thanks.

 

[neil morse]

Here you go.  @Elpad did a fabulous job with this car.

 

 

[ericmac]

As noted in the Toby thread, a '50 Buick has been one of my all-time favorite cars. As I write this I'm asking myself why I have only owned one. You will love the car. Let's see a photo of it.

[Mr. Reed]

Sure thing. I'll put a few pictures of it for you thanks.

[Mr. Reed]

[Mr. Reed]

[Mr. Reed]

[Mr. Reed]

Picture of rocker is upside down sorry .

[Mr. Reed]

[Mr. Reed]

The day after I bought and brought her home. I was proud I just bought the car. It kinda came out of nowhere. I wasn't looking for a car but something told me this would be a nice car even though I knew the paint was scruffy looking. I think within a couple years I can make it look great again. With much time and money haha. Yes I have all four center caps and trim rings. I took them off for a brief cleaning in the driveway. What do you all think of project Buick that I named Phyllis.

 

 

[mike6024]

Very nice.

[Mr. Reed]

Thank you. The car featured above mine sure had a lot more work and turned out beautiful when it was done. I was afraid mine would be like that when disassembled. Much appreciation for the car above and for the owners integrity.

[neil morse]

14 minutes ago, Mr. Reed said:

What do you all think of project Buick that I named Phyllis.

 

Looks really nice -- Toby's sister.

[Mr. Reed]

Thank you. I have noticed that the inside of the vent window frames are painted the same color as the dash and door panel top moldings.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Nick, your car, BUT, I think it would be a shame to tear Phyllis apart. If you tear it apart, it will be 4-5 years before you can drive it again.   I believe it drives now?  Beautiful upholstery.   Perhaps an inexpensive paint job.  I did a Maaco on mine. Looks good 10 years later. 

 

  Ben

[Mr. Reed]

Thanks Ben. It doesn't need rocker or floor replacement but will need the trim polished and a nice repaint. I want to enjoy the car and not loose interest in it if it's not on the road. It runs and drives great. Still have to adjust the carb though.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Nick, a lot of what I see will polish out.   Try 600 grit wet or dry paper with a trickle of water. I actually used a spray bottle on one .  Made a big difference.

 

  Ben

[Walt G]

Listen to what Ben states! DO not take your car apart! It doesn't need to. His advice for working on the current paint is sound - if when you do a section ( rear fenders and trunk lid for instance) and you don't like it then you can go further. Car does not need a strip down to bare metal respray. Do you have a decent size compressor? can you paint where the car is without getting your neighbors and the village mad at you? The interior/dash etc are wonderful . Spend the time trying to clean and preserve what you have.Have questions? Ask here!

Walt

[The 55er]

I always thought that with the tremendous amounts of money shops charge today for the quality refinishing of antique cars the average person could buy say, a good HVLP spraying system and teach themselves how to do it. Sand, fill, prime & paint. There's definitely a learning curve but it's not that hard once you get the hang of it. If you don't have a place to do it find a friend that will let you use his garage. You have an advantage over most people as your car looks nice & straight with minimal body work needed. You can wet sand, compound, polish and buff til your arms ache and want to fall off but you'll still have those ugly brown surface rust spots and will probably not be happy with the end results. Nothing beats the look of a consistent shiny fresh repaint. Remove all the bumpers & trim (you can buff the trim yourself) and have at it. The prep is still a lot of work but IMO with a nice enough car to start with (like yours) you might be surprised what you can do yourself. 

[Mr. Reed]

The car has been repainted much earlier in its life because the paint on the passenger side is flaking off in chips. On the quarter you can see the layers of paint. The only bad spot of rust is where the sill plate is on the driver side and it's a small hole.

[Walt G]

Try to determine what type of paint - lacquer or enamel. If lacquer it will be easier to repaint and spot area paint in sections.

[Mr. Reed]

I believe lacquer paint. The roof has all these lightening strike looking spots maybe called crows feet spots and is faded around these spots. The doors and fender line up perfectly so I doubt it was in an accident.

[The 55er]

You say that the paint's flaking off in chips, but paint is only a few "mils" thick. Make sure what's coming off is paint and not body filler from a previous repair. If there's Bondo under there you've got more work ahead of you. Cracked paint and crow's feet mean all the coats of paint in that area have to come off down to the bare metal. In my experiences I've come across very few old cars like yours that don't have some kind of a previous body repair somewhere. 

[Mr. Reed]

Here's the worst spot of paint on the car.

[Mr. Reed]

My car came from Huntington West Virginia and was sold new I'm Williamson by Price Chevrolet. The previous owner told me that the original owner was older and the car was cherished with the first owner and was passed down on the family until the grandson got it and the car was in a barn on the original owners property and nobody wanted it and was sent to the junkyard. It was rescued and when I took the radio out it was owned by a man named Dr price. Is anyone familiar with that area of West Virginia? That's the story I was told when I purchased it anyways.

[Mr. Reed]

The cars last registration sticker was in 1962. The titles are from all different years. How do west Virginia registrations work as far as the car driving on the road. Just curious as to some insight on the background of the car through the years. I like history haha

[Mr. Reed]

Sorry for all the questions at once guys. 

[mike6024]

You certainly need to do something with the paint, but like others said don't go overboard. Get down to bare metal where rust is present. Use 2K (2 part epoxy type primer sealer) to stop rust from coming back. Then some filler if needed, then regular "sandable" primer then paint. Maybe by word of mouth at garages or cars shows you might find someone local that does some body and painting out of his home? Only rust areas need to go to bare metal. I'd just do some sanding of the hood and other good areas and then being going over with the primer and paint, leaving most of the original paint on. "spot priming" and bringing up the bad spots, then "respray" the whole thing.

[Mr. Reed]

Luckily pretty much all the panels are in bolted on and can be painted off the car if necessary. I'll go over the car to see how bad the rust is under the sill plates. 

[Mr. Reed]

I'm torn on removing the seat covers to sit on the factory seat material or not. It's in beautiful shape under the covers. What do you think?

[Mr. Reed]

This winter I'm doing some work to the outside of the engine with it in the car. The timing chain cover, spark plug cover, water pump and side cover are all painted the Buick turquoise blue color correct?

[mike6024]

Yes Turquoise, a greenish-blue.

 

 

[mike6024]

1942-1952 & 1953 Specials:  Buick Turquoise

 

 

https://www.libuickclub.org/buick-engines   (various colors depending on the year )

 

 

[Mr. Reed]

Thanks for the pictures. I think I'll start smaller and do some under hood painting of smaller parts to start with.

[Mr. Reed]

The spark plug wires with the 90 degree elbows. Will they fit under the spark cover because the straight ones don't. Anyone have this problem? Thanks, Nick

[kgreen]

If you do take the car apart, I can tell you from experience that one disassembled car takes the space of about three cars.  Make sure to leave room to work as well.  Taking the car apart has some appeal, but once that appeal wears off, you have a non-driver that takes far more energy to reassemble into drivable condition.

[Walt G]

On 9/23/2021 at 5:04 PM, Mr. Reed said:

Sorry for all the questions at once guys. 

Don't apologize for all the questions at once! We have all been there many times. It gives you something to look over for the answers and then be able to determine what you want to do first or next or drift into to get away from what you are working on to "take a break " from that. Get tired of the cleaning off rust or old paint and priming, then go degrease some mechanical parts for a while. At some point you will ask yourself " why am I doing this, why did I start" we all do . BUT know eventually you will have a sweet ride to go down the road in, and will be sharing it all with those who see you drive by........................ I have been doing this since 1964.

[Mr. Reed]

Thanks. That gives me na good feeling to start with some smaller things this winter. I don't have to do everything all at once right

[Walt G]

2 minutes ago, Mr. Reed said:

Thanks. That gives me na good feeling to start with some smaller things this winter. I don't have to do everything all at once right

ReRead what I have said and what you answered when you get to the "what am I doing - wow am I tired" stage, then sit back, read a car magazine, look at some of the other stuff other people are working on here, read the comments ( take some seriously) , and most of all look at the period images that transport you back to an era before any of us were born - except a few who won't admit that they are that old....................😆

[Mr. Reed]

I will thank you.