Calling All Car "Buffs"! Advice on Polishing the Finish on a Rather Old Truck

[Gagnante]

Mister is the original owner of a 1987 Toyota Pickup.  It's old enough that it doesn't have a model name, it's just a "pickup" (which has made it interesting trying to get insurance quotes because everyone insists it must have a model name...). It has been generally well cared for, but it has definitely been around.

A little ways back, he took it to run it through the car wash, and the techs there tried to sell him on having the finish buffed.  They did a little demo (results below) and he was very impressed with the result, but not with the price tag.  He is interested in seeing if we can achieve something similar on our own, so I am hoping we can get some advice on products to use, recommendations for tutorials or other info, tips and tricks, etc.

[GilesMM]

I would leave it to the professionals myself, but if you prefer DYI all you need is an orbital buffer, some chemicals and a lot of time. There are plenty of YT videos, e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8v5ssdQ0WQ

[lthenderson]

Never have done that to any of my vehicles but if I wanted to, I would start with YouTube first. I'll guarantee there are dozens of videos on how to buff your car to a high gloss shine at home and what tools and products are necessary.

[GuitarStv]

I second the YouTube thing.  Every five or so years I decide that the car could look fancier up so I spend a weekend buffing and waxing.  All the instructions are online, and while it's time consuming it's not very hard work.

[johnnyqnola]

Check out Junkyard Digs on Youtube. You'll have to spend some time searching, but I have seen them achieve some impressive results on cars that were abandoned in fields and barns with common tools/products. For example, Junkyard Digs used Comet scrub powder to revive the original, heavily-oxidized paint on a 1967 Bonneville--followed by the typical compounds and waxes, of course. You can achieve a LOT with a little bit of product and a lot of elbow grease, especially when rust is minimal.

There's probably more relevant content out there specific to your objectives, but above can give you a start/some ideas. A 1987 Toyota Pickup did not come new with the highest quality paint job, so as long as your expectations of end result are less than say a brand new 1967 Pontiac or 1997 Lexus, you'll probably be happy in the end :)

[Paper Chaser]

Is that a two stage paint (color + clear coat), or single stage (Just shiny color no clear coat)? Most car companies switched from single stage to two stage between 1985-1995.
Two stage paints are usually more forgiving for amateur buff/polish jobs because they have a thick clear coat that can withstand some sacrificial polishing.

[Gagnante]

Thank you for all the replies.  We'll definitely check out YouTube and see what we can figure out. 

@johnnyqnola that's a good point.  And I assure you that our expectations are not terribly high.  We'd just like to make it a bit nicer if we can almost replicate the shiny finish that is on the lower left section of the hood in my photo.  You can see that the rest of the hood is pretty oxidized, and the rest of the truck is similar to that faded look.

@Paper Chaser he doesn't know if it's two stage or single stage.  As noted above, the finish is pretty much oxidized, and we didn't even think it would be possible to make it look much better.  Do you have any idea how we could tell if it's two stage or single stage?

[Boll weevil]

Another route is something like Vice Grip Garage’s Shine Juice.

(Vice Grip Garage is a YouTube channel where Derek Bieri does various things with cars… most famous for getting cars running again, but also does follow on projects to those. He also did three seasons of a show called Roadworthy Rescues for the Motor Trend channel)

While it is available off the shelf, there’s an episode of Roadworthy Rescues where he describes how to make it (Season 1 episode 2?) and he likely also gave the recipe on some episodes of VGG, though the off the shelf product is likely to be a little bit different

Haven’t used it myself, but my understanding is that it’s wipe on and allow to dry… a lot easier and faster than going through multiple polishing compounds.

[Paper Chaser]

Thank you for all the replies.  We'll definitely check out YouTube and see what we can figure out. 

@Paper Chaser he doesn't know if it's two stage or single stage.  As noted above, the finish is pretty much oxidized, and we didn't even think it would be possible to make it look much better.  Do you have any idea how we could tell if it's two stage or single stage?

If you hand polish a small area, and the applicator pad turns the same color as the paint, then it's single stage paint. Paint with clear coat would not transfer any color to the applicator.

Regardless of whether the paint is single stage or two stage, going slowly will prevent any damage. Inexperienced people that get in a hurry are more likely to end up making a mistake and burning paint than others. If you've never done anything like this, then I'd just stick with hand polishing. It will be slow and labor intensive, but you have far more control and you'll probably get tennis elbow before you can do much damage to the paint. It also saves money and you don't have to buy a tool that you almost never use.

Meguiar's Professional line of products have a handy scale on the container that lets you know how aggressive the compound is. I'd stick with something with a fairly light cut and take your time:

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/mirror-glaze/meguiar-s-mirror-glaze-16-ounce-fine-cut-cleaner/megd/m0216

[Gagnante]

@Boll weevil that is very helpful, thank you!

@Paper Chaser we actually "inherited" a buffer from the previous owners of our house who left it behind with a bunch of other junk. Definitely appreciate the tips on checking the single stage/two stage aspect, and on the potential risks to Mr. Truck if we get carried away. I will show all of this to Mister and see what he thinks. It could be a fun project for the two of us, but not at the risk of damaging the truck (or our marriage!), for sure.

[sonofsven]

Another route is something like Vice Grip Garage’s Shine Juice.

(Vice Grip Garage is a YouTube channel where Derek Bieri does various things with cars… most famous for getting cars running again, but also does follow on projects to those. He also did three seasons of a show called Roadworthy Rescues for the Motor Trend channel)

While it is available off the shelf, there’s an episode of Roadworthy Rescues where he describes how to make it (Season 1 episode 2?) and he likely also gave the recipe on some episodes of VGG, though the off the shelf product is likely to be a little bit different

Haven’t used it myself, but my understanding is that it’s wipe on and allow to dry… a lot easier and faster than going through multiple polishing compounds.

Here's an episode of Vice Grip Garage where he restores the paint on an old GTO
https://youtu.be/cuPbf5wNrQk?si=PstTrf-5YUSL7g8k

[Boll weevil]

Another route is something like Vice Grip Garage’s Shine Juice.

(Vice Grip Garage is a YouTube channel where Derek Bieri does various things with cars… most famous for getting cars running again, but also does follow on projects to those. He also did three seasons of a show called Roadworthy Rescues for the Motor Trend channel)

While it is available off the shelf, there’s an episode of Roadworthy Rescues where he describes how to make it (Season 1 episode 2?) and he likely also gave the recipe on some episodes of VGG, though the off the shelf product is likely to be a little bit different

Haven’t used it myself, but my understanding is that it’s wipe on and allow to dry… a lot easier and faster than going through multiple polishing compounds.

Here's an episode of Vice Grip Garage where he restores the paint on an old GTO
https://youtu.be/cuPbf5wNrQk?si=PstTrf-5YUSL7g8k

That episode is more of a traditional paint restoration.

On the Roadworthy Rescues episode I was thinking about, his shine juice recipe was 3 parts boiled linseed oil (has to be boiled) to 1 part mineral spirits, with a dash of penetrating oil thrown in. He says the more mineral spirits you use, the less shiny it is. 1st one on youtube is a low res repost that's been poorly recut to get around the copyright restrictions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btIpBGaSW3E Shine juice part starts at 37:10.

I also found an VGG episode where he he uses 2 parts boiled linseed oil to 1 part mineral spirits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD7AvQZoYcU Shine juice part starts at 26:46.

[Gagnante]

Thank you again @Boll weevil that is much appreciated!