1977 Continental Wet Sand and Buff.

[tomo]

Wet sanding Acrylic Lacquer and lacquer can give good results, but the Acrylic Enamel and multi stage paints can be harmed by wet sanding. The enamels dry with a hard glossy surface that is easily sanded off. It will look good for a while and then turn dull. Multi-stage paint is finished with a glossy clear coat. That can be very thin and easily sanded through, leaving you with a car that needs to be repainted.

There are many less aggressive cleaners and polishes that will bring back oxidized or dirty paint, and they should be used before wet sanding.

To determine your paint, put some lacquer thinner on a rag and aggressively wipe a spot that is hidden, like the underside of the hood or trunk lid. If the color comes off on your rag, you have one of the lacquers. If it does not come off on your rag, be aware that you can fatally damage the paint by wet sanding or using an aggressive rubbing compound.

[chazman]

Wet sanding Acrylic Lacquer and lacquer can give good results, but the Acrylic Enamel and multi stage paints can be harmed by wet sanding. The enamels dry with a hard glossy surface that is easily sanded off. It will look good for a while and then turn dull. Multi-stage paint is finished with a glossy clear coat. That can be very thin and easily sanded through, leaving you with a car that needs to be repainted.

There are many less aggressive cleaners and polishes that will bring back oxidized or dirty paint, and they should be used before wet sanding.

To determine your paint, put some lacquer thinner on a rag and aggressively wipe a spot that is hidden, like the underside of the hood or trunk lid. If the color comes off on your rag, you have one of the lacquers. If it does not come off on your rag, be aware that you can fatally damage the paint by wet sanding or using an aggressive rubbing compound.

For sure, you need to have your wits about you. The car was repainted about 30 - 35 years ago and has a clear coat. I had previously clayed and buffed it and although much improved wasn't as good as I had hoped. Wet sanding was the next step. Lots of paint defects in the paint which needed to be corrected.

[Dan Szwarc]

I don't think one needs to worry about ruining a 30-35 year old re-paint if it has faded and gone to pot.

Wax the crap out of it and it should stay shiny for quite a while. Cleaner wax should help it stay shiny in the future,

[chazman]

I don't think one needs to worry about ruining a 30-35 year old re-paint if it has faded and gone to pot.

Wax the crap out of it and it should stay shiny for quite a while. Cleaner wax should help it stay shiny in the future,

Yup, the hard part is getting your finish to the point where you're happy with it. Obviously you want to go gradually from least aggressive to more aggressive. Maintaining after that is the easy part.

[chazman]

BTW, had this been a single stage paint I would have given it several applications of Megs #7 to replace essential oils. I've done that on a few SS paint cars, and the results are amazing. After that, you're free to work the paint.

Grab yourself a Dr. Pepper and read this pretty long article. Very informative. He even uses a Lincoln!
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask ... aints.html

[chazman]

Another #7 rubdown

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask ... llips.html

I assume my Lincoln had single stage paint from the factory. If it still wore that paint, my Medium Red Moondust, monster would have gone through several bottles of #7.

[AussieMarkV]

Am pretty sure Lincoln used enamel paint which would be single stage. Was amazing how good a car can be when done skilfully like the guy in Chad's article, just incredible.

[chazman]

Am pretty sure Lincoln used enamel paint which would be single stage. Was amazing how good a car can be when done skilfully like the guy in Chad's article, just incredible.

Yeah, I loved seeing his before and afters.

[chazman]

I need to do some wheel well detailing. What color should those fender bolts be? Body colored or black?

The glossy part is where I experimented with some spray on undercoating. Not happy with the results.

[Dan Szwarc]

Those bolts should probably be cadmium plated, as opposed to black-oxide or body color, however, I cannot confirm the assembly process.

There is no authenticity manual for this year. i don't have a low mileage example at my disposal.

If you paint them black, no one will complain.

[John Mc]

Hey, could be wrong but I think they were painted body color. Though most often they are covered with undercoating so hard to say.

[chazman]

Those bolts should probably be cadmium plated, as opposed to black-oxide or body color, however, I cannot confirm the assembly process.

There is no authenticity manual for this year. i don't have a low mileage example at my disposal.

If you paint them black, no one will complain.

You are correct. I saw a pic of an original one.