# A question about restoring the paint on my '61 Flightliner



## Wanted33 (Mar 7, 2020)

As many know I picked a '61 Flightliner several weeks ago, and I'm finally going to be able to get it home this weekend. The paint is grimy from sitting over the years, and needs to be cleaned. My question is after I let the parts soak in some blue dawn, and wash them down is the paint thick enough to use a light compound to further clean the dull stuff off? The last thing I want is thin/light spots in the paint because of me doing something stupid. As always I appreciate the knowledge on this forum. Thanks.


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## GTs58 (Mar 7, 2020)

What I use on everything with good results. If the paint is terribly oxidized (dead) anything you use will remove some of the dead paint, even a plain ole car paste wax.


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## Rivnut (Mar 8, 2020)

If the paint looks decent but appears to be embedded with contaminates, go over it with a clay bar.  Use some Meguiars Quick Detailer for a  lubricant.


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## Wanted33 (Mar 8, 2020)

GTs58 said:


> What I use on everything with good results. If the paint is terribly oxidized (dead) anything you use will remove some of the dead paint, even a plain ole car paste wax.
> 
> View attachment 1152236




Thanks GT, I just happen to have some TW compound, and polisher in the basement That I used on my old truck.



Rivnut said:


> If the paint looks decent but appears to be embedded with contaminates, go over it with a clay bar.  Use some Meguiars Quick Detailer for a  lubricant.




Thanks Riv, I use the Meguair's Ultimate products on my cars. Good Stuff, and I've a clay bar also.

As of now the plan is dawn, some TW compound, the clay bar, and then a good polishing followed by a coat of wax. That should make it look good with the right amount of patina.


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## GTs58 (Mar 8, 2020)

JFYI, The TW rubbing and polishing compound in the tubs is not the same as what's in the black and green bottles. The contents in the TW tubs are abrasive and were used on the old lacquer and enamel paints. The product in the bottles are for use on all paints but mainly for the clear coat paints. If you're going to use the rubbing compound in the green bottle, or for that matter even the polishing compound, you'll be wasting your time using a clay bar. And that's being said from experience using the clay bar on my black cars trying to remove baked on water spots. The clay bar didn't do squat and the rubbing compound did the job. I also use those two products cleaning up and polishing clear polycarbonate.


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## Wanted33 (Mar 8, 2020)

GTs58 said:


> JFYI, The TW rubbing and polishing compound in the tubs is not the same as what's in the black and green bottles. The contents in the TW tubs are abrasive and were used on the old lacquer and enamel paints. The product in the bottles are for use on all paints but mainly for the clear coat paints. If you're going to use the rubbing compound in the green bottle, or for that matter even the polishing compound, you'll be wasting your time using a clay bar. And that's being said from experience using the clay bar on my black cars trying to remove baked on water spots. The clay bar didn't do squat and the rubbing compound did the job. I also use those two products cleaning up and polishing clear polycarbonate.




I understand GT. I have the TW compound in the green bottle. BTW, is that your C7 Z06 in your avatar?


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## GTs58 (Mar 8, 2020)

Wanted33 said:


> I understand GT. I have the TW compound in the green bottle. BTW, is that your C7 Z06 in your avatar?




That's my dream car. Just waiting for the prices to come down on those. I have a Black 58 and Black 2002 Z06 that I've had since new. Those were 50K new and the C7 is close to a 90K new.  :eek:


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## Wanted33 (Mar 9, 2020)

GTs58 said:


> That's my dream car. Just waiting for the prices to come down on those. I have a Black 58 and Black 2002 Z06 that I've had since new. Those were 50K new and the C7 is close to a 90K new.  :eek:




I get it my friend. The C8's will be hitting the lots this week, so the C7's should see some downward movement on pricing. We bought our C7 Grand Sport last December, and got right at 11K off the sticker from Mike Furman at Chriswell Chevy. I think the discounts are even better than that now. You should also see a glut of pre-owned C7's with low mileage from trade-ins soon.


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## Wanted33 (Mar 16, 2020)

Got the old boy cleaned. On the frame I use the TW light compound where I could, where it wouldn't cut the mustard it was WD40, and 0000 steel wool. I used the old standby Brillo pad on the fenders. The tank, and rack I soaked them overnight in dawn and water. Used a sponge first, and then the TW compound. It has just the right amount of patina, and I'm quite happy with the results. Thanks again to all for your help, and suggestions.


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## GTs58 (Mar 16, 2020)

Nice job, that looks really nice! 

Someone here said this paint is just oxidized, so I'm going to rub it out and see if I can bring the Red back. LMAO  My new project, to bad it's not a Z06.


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## Wanted33 (Mar 17, 2020)

GTs58 said:


> Nice job, that looks really nice!
> 
> Someone here said this paint is just oxidized, so I'm going to rub it out and see if I can bring the Red back. LMAO  My new project, to bad it's not a Z06.
> 
> ...




GT, that chain guard, and frame looks a bit like mine before I started the cleaning. I'm not to sure that's oxidation, it looks more like the paint is discolored from age. The dark spots in the paint are like the paint on the tank, and rear rack of my Higgins. If that's what it actually is the best you can do is get as much dirt off the paint as possible, but the dark spots will still be there. And I'll bet the gold areas are faded because of sun light shining on it for a long time. Reds back in the day, and even some today don't stand up to sun light over time. But as it is said, "Patina is character." Good luck on the clean-up my friend. I look forward to seeing that old boy when you're finished.

BTW, as I'm sure you know if you're going to use compound on the paint, start in a inconspicuous area. I tried it on a small area on the underside of my tank first. That paint is quite thin, and even the light compound began to cut it to the metal.


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## vincev (Mar 19, 2020)

GTs58 said:


> Nice job, that looks really nice!
> 
> Someone here said this paint is just oxidized, so I'm going to rub it out and see if I can bring the Red back. LMAO  My new project, to bad it's not a Z06.
> 
> ...



oxidized ? lol Dont go to their body shop.lol


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## spoker (Mar 20, 2020)

iv had good luck with brillo and turtle wax chrome cleaner togther,brillo is best sos scatches chrome for me


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## Rivnut (Mar 20, 2020)

Here is a fancy explanation about red pigment and UV light.  In essence it says that UV light causes red to fade (look at those old stop signs. The only way you know they're stop signs is because they're octagonal.)  If the paint on your bike is a metallic paint and the metallic has a gold base, then over time UV rays will eat the red and leave the gold.  Your red paint is gone, there's no bringing it back. If you don't want your paint to fade, paint your bike blue or green. 

_Blue light is more toward the short wavelength end of the visible light spectrum. It is a shorter wavelength and has more energy.  Longer wavelength visible light (like red) is more toward the the infrared end of the visible spectrum and therefore has less energy.  Because of their greater energy, the shorter wavelengths of light cause more “bleaching” of the pigments in the paint and more fading. So, why would light with a very short wavelength effect RED more than blue? The main reason has to do with what light is reflected by each color and what light is absorbed. Red pigment reflects the long wavelength red light. Red pigment also absorbs more the destructive high energy short wavelength light like the blues and greens and therefore tends to fade..  _


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## Wanted33 (Apr 2, 2020)

And here's the old boy. All dressed up, and ready for the town. Thank you to all of you good folks for the help. I also got some much needed help from Mike @bikemonkey with the kickback hub, replacing the front axle, lacing the front rim, and truing up both. It rides great, and the kickback hub is pretty dang cool.


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## bikemonkey (Apr 6, 2020)

Very Nice! Good job Jim and Happy Trails!


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## Sven (Apr 6, 2020)

Niiiice!!!. Looks great


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## DonChristie (Apr 6, 2020)

Looks great! Mike @bikemonkey is the man! I assume your in NC? If so, you should come ride with us! Once this plague is gone, of course!


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## Wanted33 (Apr 7, 2020)

DonChristie said:


> Looks great! Mike @bikemonkey is the man! I assume your in NC? If so, you should come ride with us! Once this plague is gone, of course!




Will do Don. We live in Concord, so not too far from your club. We will be watching for the next ride. I took this one on it's maiden voyage last Thursday. I'm happy to say the shake down cruise went well.


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