Polish or not?

For those who obsess about exactly how their 356 left the factory!
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Doug McDonnell
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Re: Polish or not?

#16 Post by Doug McDonnell »

All polishes have abrasives. Be very careful if you polish it. I wouldn't unless I knew for sure the paint was thick enough using a good meter.
1965 356C 2000 BMW 740i Sport 1967 Honda CL77 There is never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over.

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Dan Kalinski
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Re: Polish or not?

#17 Post by Dan Kalinski »

Polished mine. It turned out great. The car was repainted in the previous owner's driveway....Lots of orange peel. Had to wet sand then polish with Griot's 4 step products. Think you would be fine with either the new Griot"s products or the 3 step from 3M. For top dollar, polish it.
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Dan Kalinski
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Re: Polish or not?

#18 Post by Dan Kalinski »

Not 356 related but same sort of deal with a 71T. Late 80's insurance claim repaint. Wet sand and same Griot's polish 4 step process. Good results for this driver, much like the '59 356 I did.
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John Brooks
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Re: Polish or not?

#19 Post by John Brooks »

John
If you don’t want to do the polishing your self, you could take the car to Griot‘s in Tacoma and they will do it for you. Cost a few bucks, but I was really impressed with one of their demos at a bull session. Just be gentle on original paint.
John Brooks

62 Roadster
66 912
84 Cab
getting pushed around in porsches since 1965

John Wurner
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Re: Polish or not?

#20 Post by John Wurner »

Hi John
I was at one of their sessions as well, they are very good.
Thanks, John

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Chuck House
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Re: Polish or not?

#21 Post by Chuck House »

John,
If the car still retains its original factory paint, that adds significant value to the car. If so, I would not try and polish it yourself as the factory paint is already thin and who knows how many previous polishes have occurred. If you do decide to have it polished, I would research who you choose very carefully, preferably someone with experience preserving old, fragile paint. Also, many interested parties who would be willing to pay a premium for the original paint would likely want the car as is so they could decide to leave it or have a conservation polish performed. Good luck.
Chuck House
Southern California

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Doug McDonnell
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Re: Polish or not?

#22 Post by Doug McDonnell »

Reinforcing what Chuck said please read what John Willhoit said about original paint thickness vs his repaints before you start polishing: viewtopic.php?p=279020&hilit=paint+thickness#p279020
1965 356C 2000 BMW 740i Sport 1967 Honda CL77 There is never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over.

John Wurner
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Re: Polish or not?

#23 Post by John Wurner »

Good point, Doug, thanks for the reference.
On a newer Porsche with orig paint the meter shows a consistent 6.5 mils,
on the 65 it shows a consistent 4.5 mils.
With Willhoit's table I now at least have a reference.
Thanks, John

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Bill Lawless
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Re: Polish or not?

#24 Post by Bill Lawless »

There are many grits of polish, similar to sandpaper, The final polish is super fine and used to remove the swirls marks from the coarse grits used before it..
When I polish old paint finishes I ONLY used the final swirl removing polish, It still works great and will not cut into the paint at all or very very little.
 Thanks,
Bill
65' 356 SC Cab Irish Green :D
82' SC Targa
81 VW Westfalia with 2015 Forester Engine
BMW 64'-R50/2, 75'-BMW R90/6, 74' BMW R90/6, Yamaha BW350

John Wurner
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Re: Polish or not?

#25 Post by John Wurner »

Thank you all for your comments.
I have decided to tackle the job myself as Bill suggested above, with
final polish.
I tried some on the bumper and it works well.
Thanks again for your interest.
John

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John Clarke
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Re: Polish or not?

#26 Post by John Clarke »

NO machine polishing !
Some years ago, Our White FTO was looking faded and went to a spray shop for a mop. It looked wonderful when it was done. But after a couple of years many areas of surface rust have come through to where the paint was buffed almost down to bare metal. Never again !
Regards Jay
 

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Bill Lawless
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Re: Polish or not?

#27 Post by Bill Lawless »

Good Luck with it John, post some before and after pictures..
 Thanks,
Bill
65' 356 SC Cab Irish Green :D
82' SC Targa
81 VW Westfalia with 2015 Forester Engine
BMW 64'-R50/2, 75'-BMW R90/6, 74' BMW R90/6, Yamaha BW350

John Wurner
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Re: Polish or not?

#28 Post by John Wurner »

Rear 1.jpg
Well I decided to polish by hand and do it myself.
I used Meguiars fine cut cleaner and the results are acceptable.
See pics of before and after.
Thanks for all of the help, I will be posting the car for sale later.
John
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Left side 1.jpg

John Wurner
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Re: Polish or not?

#29 Post by John Wurner »

Rt rear 1.jpg
Here is a pic of before
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Mike Wilson
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Re: Polish or not?

#30 Post by Mike Wilson »

Nice work, John.

Mike
Mike Wilson
Lomita, CA
'63 B coupe

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