Scrubbing the stained paint with a mild abrasive such as Comet powdered cleanser should clean it up! Compounding/wax is a bigger project. Way back when I got my blue '66 (1982), the roof had a lot of surface rust. I stripped that down and painted with black spray-can primer. I was out of state in college at the time and had a rented storage space. It actually looked pretty good for the next 2 years before I did the full repaint. You could go a step further and finish the roof with a nice gloss black, like an original 2-tone car. Great to hear it's running well..... that's what really counts.
A few more small cosmetic updates on the 67. I threw in some nice clean sunvisors, repainted the horizontal grill trim and installed a repop vertical chrome bar to the grill. Paint color isn't factory, it is definitely not a show quality job, but looks better than before.
Never be ashamed of an honest car, representing a great legacy. This car is awesome. You do you, love it, and be proud of it. Keep the scene alive. Do what makes you happy!
I have been going back and forth between doing a comet wash or attempting a paint correction. I went with sort of a middle ground and order some stuff called Lukat Fix It. It seems like it is some sort of polish intended to clean up oxidation. I'll give it a try in a small area and see how it goes. I don't expect miracles, but if I can remove some stains and have even a small amount of shine after that and wax, I'll be happy. I know no matter what I do, the roof has to get painted if I throw another vinyl top on. It is just hard drawing the line between making the car look good and creating more work that needs to be undone during a resto. The car does run well and that is what impresses me most about it. For something that has been off the road since the 80s, it drives like a new car.
Tried some of that Lukat paint cleaner on the left side of the trunk. There is plenty of rust and blistered paint. It was probably beyond saving 30 years ago. But I am pretty impressed with how it cleaned up.
A few more pictures because this stuff is blowing my mind. I'll likely finish going over the whole car with the Lukat and terry cloth and then finish it off with a DA and some lighter polish before I seal it and wax it. Sadly the roof will still look rough. I just don't think I have enough time to fix that and still get to the mechanical projects I want done before the trip.
That a noticeable difference. Looks great. What’s the process to apply and remove this product. How long do you think it would take to do the entire car?
I'm probably doing it the worst possible way but the guy who sells this product has tons of videos where he simply applies the product to a terry cloth and works it back and forth on a small 6" area until it clears up and removes the oxidation. Once you see things start to clear up you simply remove the product with a microfiber. I would imagine it would be much better to use a DA, but let's be real, my paint is way past the point of worrying about scratches or swirl marks. As long as it doesn't look so chalky and I can remove some of the rust stains I am happy. This stuff does remove paint, so do a test area and try to resist the urge to overwork a spot hoping to get it clearer because you will get down to the primer if the paint is already thin. I have maybe 4 or 5 hours into the trunk, passenger quarter and the hood. I have used almost an entire bottle of the Lukat Fix it and a dozen terry cloth towels so far. I should be able to get the doors, driver quarter and fenders done with the other bottle since the paint is in a lot better shape there. The roof will be a lost cause. I might be able to do the sail panels, but the rest of the paint is long gone. I am highly tempted to sand it down and rattle can it black or gold. But not sure if it is worth it when the car is kept in a climate controlled garage out of the rain and will likely come apart for resto within the next year or two. Anyways. This Lukat Fix it stuff is pretty cool. Definitely exceeded my expectations. I am sure you could get similar results with many other paint correction products and methods.
I'll keep this update brief and just post a bunch of pictures, getting ready for Cleetus and Cars on Saturday
I like it. It's real, got "love" and effort all in it. Own it. Be proud and show it off. Those who understand will appreciate it, those who cannot will not, even if you explain it in ALL CAPS!!!!!"
Finally got it in the sunlight after a few weeks of thrashing. Definitely worth the effort. I'm only upset I didn't do this sooner. I probably never would have sold the car. It doesn't change the fact that it needs to be restored, but at least I can feel a little more confident pulling into car shows and car meets. The TA water pump seems to be doing its job, temp rises to 190-195, but seems to stop there. I let it idle for 10 minutes without any change. Before it would just keep climbing up towards 210 before I'd have to start turning the heat on or raising rpms a bit to get water flowing. Did a quick street test on the slicks. They don't rub at all and will be a massive improvement over skinny stock tires. I'm really excited to see what it does tomorrow. The slicks do highlight my need to rebuild the differential. The auburn carrier as had it. Both tires spin, but one spins much harder than the other.
Had an absolute blast at Cleetus and Cars. Made 3 passes. The first one was with no changes except for throwing the slicks on, I ran a 14.2. The second pass I decided to remove the star wars air cleaner, and raise timing from 32 to 34. I made two back to back 14.0 passes. At first I was a little bummed that I didn't ran faster than my last pb, but I realized going from 26 to 28.5" tall tires is likely what is slowing me down. Only now I can leave hard without spinning the tires. The car is geared so tall that I went through the traps at the top of second gear. I have a few tweaks to make for the Nationals. Hoping for a 13 second pass still. I'm planning on a carb rebuild and the ST300 conveter getting me there.
Most of the time you are doing best when you go through the traps at the top of a gear at peak RPM rather than shifting to the next gear and barely getting back into your peak torque. What is your 60 foot time? That's usually where you see the biggest improvements when you make a change.
It was probably past peak horsepower when I hit the beams but I agree. I figured I was better off staying in second than shifting to third right before the finish. I played around with some racing calculators and realized I'd be around 5000rpm at the top of second with the taller slicks on. This slip was from 2019 with stock sized tires These passes were from yesterday with the drag slicks The pass on the left was one of the coolest runs I've ever done. Lined up next to a G-body malibu that had a cam and slicks. Figured I'd get my doors blown off. I beat him off the line (test and tune, wasn't really trying to chop down the tree) and we were door to door the entire pass. I kept looking over thinking expecting him to go around me but he stayed right there. I hear the 14.0 time over the radio and I was beyond pumped. This was a huge event, thousands of people there and it was cool to finish first (by .0043 seconds) with a pretty much bone stock Buick, short of a set of drag slicks. The guy gave me a thumbs up as we were driving back through the staging lanes, it was just a fun experience. I had tons of people ask me about the car and show interest in it. Even had a group of kids (I'm 30 now, I can say that!) ask me how a timing light works so I showed them how to use a dial back timing light as I was putting my total back down to 32 for the ride home. I wasn't even the only Buick 455 powered car there. Another guy brought his 71 Electra 225 to enter in the burnout competition. The car was rotting away in a field for decades. He pulled it out, cleaned it up a bit and entered it at this event. I bet people were shocked seeing a huge car like that whip around a burnout pad.
Well the converter swap is off my to-do list. Turns out I have been dragging around a 13" SP converter all these years and not a 12". Not sure how I missed that, but one less thing to do before the Nats. So my list is down to a diff oil change, trans fluid change, fixing a few trans leaks, drive shaft U-joints, rebuilding the carb, dialing in the ignition advance and addressing a few more minor cosmetic issues.
A video of the 3 runs I made at Cleetus and Cars. Had a blast and I can't wait for the GS Nationals. Just need to get that 13 second timeslip now!
