Miracle Shine in a bottle, What really works???

[Paul Dobbin]

Miracle Shine, What really works?    Remember the old TV commercial where a guy goes in a Junk Yard and finds the dullest car and makes it shine with some Miracle Shine in a bottle?    I know the magic of TV can make anything look good.  

Now in real life a friend found a 1964 Oldsmobile 98 two door hardtop, loaded with chrome and stainless steel trim and a perfect original interior, with only 57,000 miles.  Running and driving well, it still looks dull and in need of a total re-paint.   It is maroon with a white roof and would make a great driver if it could be shined up.

QUESTION IS:  Have any of you found that miracle in a bottle that will postpone the $10,000 stripping and repainting quoted?   Share you secret find!

[The 55er]

NuFinish, the once a year car polish. It will sorta work but it's not really a miracle in a bottle. 

[rocketraider]

That maroon ("Regal Mist" in Olds-speak) wasn't noted for holding up well even when new. "Nocturne Mist" (a gorgeous dark metallic blue) was also bad.

 

If it still has the original lacquer and not badly crazed, but the paint is completely "dead", you can try good old fashioned rubbing compound to see if it brings it back. Start with white paste compound or something like Meguiar's 2 or 5 at first. 

 

If the color starts coming back, use progressively finer compounds till you have good gloss, then use swirl remover and a good pure carnauba wax. A buffer will make it easier but can burn.

 

Is it gonna be easy? No. You're trying to bring back acres and acres of Oldsmobile in a color that, when polished out, is stunning, but also didn't weather well.

 

*edit* just curious if this is a bucket seat and console car? A Ninety Eight Custom Sports Coupe is a great find! Starfire engine, cloth and leather bucket seats, and those slinky 1964 Ninety Eight coupe lines...😍

[prewarnut]

   I think it is called an oily rag...

   I sort of laugh at those TV commericals on instant furniture polish whereby they spray on a cleaner like Pledge. As soon as the hydrocarbons flash off it looks as dull as it did minutes before.

   Anyhow you can search for a certain auto detail outfit from FL with the word "geek" in it and look online "he" does some promotional videos on his website. He does do one for antique cars whereby he cautions agressive polishing could conceivably go through the old, single stage paint too fast. However, if his products and methods are to be believed a dull, old (antique) finish can be rehabed with care. It is a matter of not attacking it as one would with modern two stage paint.

[Swear57]

For wood it's Restore. Works great on cabinets and wood modeling's don't use it on flooring. As for paint elbow grease.

[plymouthcranbrook]

I used this on my 1952 Plymouth that had sadly faded paint.  It had been repainted at some point before I bought it but looked really dull. I did it by hand(no buffer) and it really made a difference. Not super great but definitely presentable.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G17216-Ultimate-Compound-15-2/dp/B001O7PNNM/ref=sr_1_48?gclid=CjwKCAiAjs2bBhACEiwALTBWZbT8QyCEOee4z6BvGXEEH_yzGwty3fDmpScRQyWXWtL3X2bDO1PHQhoCdtMQAvD_BwE&hvadid=174233147

[edinmass]

Paul…….10k today isn’t a repaint on a car like yours, it’s the cost of buffing it out! 😎

 

Like all restoration we do on our cars………it’s not difficult. It’s just hard work. Today we are all short on time……and let’s face it. What’s more time consuming than an old car. It’s easy to bring the paint up in your car to its fullest potential. Spend three hours a day on it rubbing it out till your finished. Figure 30 days minimum @ 3 hours for a total of 90 hours work. It may or may not look better when your done……that’s just luck and chance. Simply put, there is NO substitution for garage time……(labor). After so many years now I look at any job I do on a car that is less than 50 hours as “quick and easy”. Pulling an engine? No big deal it’s just nuts and bolts…….and time. I would like to have a dollar for every hour I stood in front of a safety kleen tank sucking in the fumes and trying to get a part clean…….and I mean actually clean. The trick is to put yourself on automatic pilot …..just get in there and do the grind. So, here is my advice. Live with it the way it is……..or be prepared to spend a ridiculous amount of time cleaning it up. Personally, I’m absolutely done with buying shiny cars or anything near being called a show car. Give me a 60 to 70 point rat that runs and is sorted to perfection. How about a photo of your car?

Edited November 16, 2022 by edinmass (see edit history)

[avgwarhawk]

McGuire's Cleaner Wax

[TAKerry]

I think some of those 'miracle' finishes were most likely just a coarser grain of polish. I would agree with a faded old finish I would buff it gingerly. Get a good product and start from coarse to fine. Then after the buffing a good coat of wax can be applied. You may be surprised at how it will come up. And if it doesnt what is the loss other than a bit of time.

[JACK M]

One old boy that lived down the street used to rub kerosene on his car.

It was always shiny.

[rocketraider]

I imagine it stayed dusty too!

 

Kerosene is a solvent. It will clean stuff nicely, you just have to remember it's flammable. When you look on a bottle of wax and see "petroleum distillates" in the ingredients, it's generally either kerosene or naphtha.

 

Old fellow down the road from me had a red 1966 Galaxie and a pale green 1955 Fairlane. About once a year he would wash both in gasoline to cut the faded paint, then give them a coat of Simoniz Vista.

 

He ran a country store with a couple gas pumps and an old rotary kerosene tank and pump. He was known to soak the store's wooden floors with kerosene to keep dust down and then used sweeping compound to clean it. Always amazed me the place never caught fire.

[joelj]

I am guessing that the finish on the car is old lacquer. It seems like this can sometimes be super hard with cracks and crazing or soft to the point where it pulverizes into nothing. This said I think I would try to scuff it with a fine grit wet sand paper ( 1500-2000 grit) just enough to remove any dry oxidized material. Then you can buff with a compound like Meguiars diamond cut 2.0 followed by a swirl remover polish, followed by wax. Use a light hand and an orbital buffer. Start low on the car like around the fender openings and work your way up to the big flat surfaces like the hood, deck lid, and roof. It's really hard to tell how well it will turn out without actually having hand on the car and seeing what you are dealing with. Either way there is no miracle, just different levels of abrasives versus different levels of deteriation and time. Lastly, don't expect perfection as much as getting the finish to look the best it can be given its age and overall condition. 

[95Cardinal]

I always try to start with the least abrasive products on "new to me" old paint.

I would begin with a clay bar treatment on that Oldsmobile and see what happens. I have been amazed at what a clay bar can do, and it is MUCH less abrasive than any polish or rubbing compound.

[Giftman]

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-to-articles/25304-secret-removing-oxidation-restoring-show-car-finish-antique-single-stage-paints.html

 

I have done this a few times with excellent results - like Ed said, labor, labor and more labor. After each session I felt as if I had run a marathon and needed weeks to recover, but I prefer the original nice look as opposed to high dollar high gloss. Enjoy….(or maybe not 🤪)!!

[EmTee]

TR-3 worked wonders on the oxidized red enamel on my '56 Chevy...

 

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Magic-TR-3-Resin-Glaze/dp/B000BOKO4W?th=1

 

[John_S_in_Penna]

On 11/16/2022 at 6:22 AM, edinmass said:

Paul…….10k today isn’t a repaint on a car like yours, it’s the cost of buffing it out!

Thankfully, we don't all live in high-cost-of-living areas,

and In Pennsylvania and elsewhere, expert award-winning

restoration shops may charge $50 or $60 an hour.

For a car like that 98, $10,000 indeed will get a

collector an excellent stripping and repainting.

I'm glad for that, for everyone's sake--or high costs

would drive prospective hobbyists away!

[rocketraider]

2 hours ago, EmTee said:

TR-3 worked wonders on the oxidized red enamel on my '56 Chevy...

 

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Magic-TR-3-Resin-Glaze/dp/B000BOKO4W?th=1

 

Now that's a brand of polish I haven't seen in years. It worked but I remember it being tough to buff off.

[pkhammer]

Miracle Shine.............the more I consume, the better my cars looks!

Edited November 18, 2022 by pkhammer
mispelling (see edit history)

[zipdang]

I read somewhere recently (hopefully not here!) that alcohol was the real world's photoshop.

[Bryan G]

On 11/15/2022 at 4:57 PM, The 55er said:

NuFinish, the once a year car polish. It will sorta work but it's not really a miracle in a bottle. 

Yep, that was the one with the junkyard commercial, back in the 80s. I bought my first bottle after they ranked high in a Consumer Reports test. I liked it better than other products back then as it was easier to remove. Lots of other choices these days, but I still grab a bottle depending on my choices. Not a miracle, though!

[EmTee]

10 hours ago, rocketraider said:

It worked but I remember it being tough to buff off.

Yes, it could be, but I'd usually give it a quick 2nd application and it really shined.  It was really good at removing the dead paint (which probably means it was mildly abrasive).

[auburnseeker]

 

Before and after.  Running board splash apron on my 1933 Plymouth coupe.  Light wet sand with 1500 grit but 2000 is preferred if finish is smoother and hand buff with Mother's mag and aluminum polish.  Did the whole car. 

 

 

[Fargoguy]

Just now, auburnseeker said:

 

Before and after.  Running board splash apron on my 1933 Plymouth coupe.  Light wet sand with 1500 grit but 2000 is preferred if finish is smoother and hand buff with Mother's mag and aluminum polish.  Did the whole car. 

 

 

WOW- absolutely gorgeous!

 

[auburnseeker]

Roff of my 48 Brockway half way done.  That had to be cut with 1000 Grit. 

 

Hood of my 31 Auburn before and after.   

All done with Mother's mag and aluminum.  I wet sand most everything as it gets rid of alot of paint imperfections and deep scratches that you will never get out with just polishing.  I also hand polish everything.  If anything still has fine swirling left,  usually most noticeable on dark finishes,   I use an Adams polish swirl remover and again by hand in most cases.   All depends on how hard the finish is.  New clear coats are really hard usually and sometimes I'll use a random orbit hand polisher adam's sells to cut down on the elbow grease but the spatter is annoying so I often just do it all by hand. 

 

Did the 51 Dodge the same way.  Loaded with scratches.  like someone used a dirty broom to sweep it off. 

 

Nice part is it gets rid of orange peel and really makes a car pop when you are all done.

 

 

[auburnseeker]

After it's all done I use something like a show car glaze to keep it up.  Meguiars sells one.  Usually after a hard cut and buff,  you have to be careful with follow ups s the finish will have thin spots. 

[rocketraider]

Paul, how does the Ninety Eight compare to what auburnseeker started with?

[Paul Dobbin]

On 11/18/2022 at 11:01 AM, rocketraider said:

Paul, how does the Ninety Eight compare to what auburnseeker started with?

   It's pretty dull, it's in a storage building, that I can get access to.  Will try to get a picture.

 

   If I knew what the original paint was, it might be an easier question.  Anybody know?

Edited November 20, 2022 by Paul Dobbin (see edit history)

[SC38dls]

Paul, no matter what product you use it boils down to elbow grease every time. 
dave s 

[Ed Luddy]

Elbow grease is the best way yet! My 1971 Cadillac has the original paint still that is getting thin on the sharp edges so I'm using a light grit compound/cleaner Meguires then going over it with a so called "ceramic wax" So far it looks better, have to wait until spring to finish it. It's stored in an unheated garage. I'm doing it all by hand as my machine buffer will burn thru I'm sure. I really do  not want to paint it, but a few spots are going to need to have blow ins due to age, chipping, and a bit of rust. The primer is showing on the fender edges, but I don't mind

[EmTee]

16 hours ago, Ed Luddy said:

The primer is showing on the fender edges, but I don't mind

Just like my '64 GP.  It was 'flat white' when I bought it, but paint appears to be 95% original.  I used Meguiar's Show Car Glaze (#7) to bring back the shine.

 

I'm also trying to keep as much of the original finish as long as possible...

 

[SC38dls]

My original paint (all except the front fenders from the lights down due to my accident) is 83 years young. Used Meguiar’s no2 then no 7 then their ultimate wax. All three took hours and hours. The hood alone had at least 8 hours on it. 
dave s 

[Walt G]

I read the word buff here a lot, there is a huge difference in machine and hand buffing. You really need a lot of practice to use a machine not to burn any edges . It is not a plug in and doit with incredible results. You can ruin a good original finish or even a new paint job if you do not know how to use an electric buffing wheel. Hand "rubbin" is a lot slower but you can control the speed a lot easier. I learned this 40+ years ago when I restored two pre war cars my teacher who sho0wed me how to spray on paint , sand and then rub out was a master who learned in the immediate postwar era. I still only use hand power.

[SC38dls]

Walt, I'll agree with you about the above with one cavate. My age now controls my speed on doing anything especially hand rubbing out a car. I have no control on that any longer. It is definitely for younger guys than us old grey hairs or chrome domes.

dave s 

[EmTee]

4 hours ago, Walt G said:

You can ruin a good original finish or even a new paint job if you do not know how to use an electric buffing wheel. Hand "rubbin" is a lot slower but you can control the speed a lot easier.

I have a DA polisher which I have used on my GP with the #7, but honestly I think I get better results by hand.  As Walt said, it's much easier to control what's happening.  I use my wool buffing wheel sparingly.  Usually I just use it lightly to remove wax or polish before giving the panels a final buff by hand.

[rocketraider]

On 11/20/2022 at 3:05 PM, Paul Dobbin said:

   It's pretty dull, it's in a storage building, that I can get access to.  Will try to get a picture.

 

   If I knew what the original paint was, it might be an easier question.  Anybody know?

If it's original paint it should be acrylic lacquer. GM called its acrylic lacquer finish "Magic-Mirror".

 

I think Rinshed-Mason was Oldsmobile's primary OEM paint supplier those years. Sometimes the CSMs include the suppliers' color formula numbers.