I also have the dates and times for Bandimere "Club Clash" and SCCA Solo Racing Series. Contact me for more information.
Our club general meetings are the third (3^rd) Saturday of every month, at CORVETTE CITY, beginning at 11:00 AM, unless otherwise posted.

In April, RMC members braved a spring blizzard to attend the NCRS Southwest Regional meet in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This has been an annual meet rotating among sponsoring chapters (New Mexico, Southwest, Bonneville, and Southern California). I’ve found it an excellent meet early in the year tucked typically someplace warm and nearby. I was not disappointed!

This year it was payback time. Our friends from New Mexico pitched in with help and cars for our judging field in Steamboat and we returned the favor. Six RMC Corvettes participated in a field of roughly twenty-four pretty equally divided among Flight, Founders, and Performance Verification entries. Two RMC members (Bill Bell and myself) drove our Corvettes to Albuquerque (538 miles by my odometer) leaving one day early and just beating the blizzard that struck Denver.

This time my Corvette commute to a regional ran smooth as silk. Lil Red Riding Hood, my ’71 small block roadster did nothing naughty (exception — sticky passenger door lock). As Bill Bell, RMC Activities Chairman, and I played Corvette "tag" on the trip down with Jim Lennartz, RMC Vice Chairman, riding shotgun and relief pilot, my mind wandered to Zora. Here were two classic Corvettes (’71 and ’64 FI coupe) cruising the American freeway system effortlessly 30-40 years after their design and build. What vision Mr. Duntov executed!

At the meet, five of six RMC entrants hit paydirt. Bill Bell breezed through his Founder’s Operations Check. John Alpers, Bill Baker, and I captured Top Flight ribbons. Bill Bell and I shared the meet’s Longest Distance Driven award.

Martin Egan cleared the decks for his assault on this year’s NCRS National Convention by passing the Performance Verification. Martin’s ’77 Corvette with 3900 original miles is now fully qualified to vie for the NCRS Mark Of Excellence and Bowtie awards simultaneously. Few Corvettes in history have the pedigree to try let alone succeed….

Howard Loomis in his ’82 was the only RMC casualty. Just a few check blocks into his PV, the "deadly" horn honk test extracted its toll. Initial taps on the horn ring resulted in an amazing explosion of the horn ring into its constituent components. During PV tests, owners are allowed one repair not to exceed fifteen minutes. But, a Catch-22 (NCRS Judging Reference Manual) prohibits part substitution once a car is on the Judging Field….

My heart goes out to Howard. I remember towing my ‘65 to the NCRS National Convention in Anaheim, California (blazing summer sun beat the desert and there was NO air conditioning in the tow vehicle). My PV was scheduled for the last day of judging. A vent window failed to close properly (an easy adjustment and my sole PV repair).

Then, when I was told to crank ‘er up — nothing! The classic dated diodes in my alternator had failed baking in the sun and the car sat across from Disneyland for the better part of a week with the battery short-circuited. I know the disappointment Howard felt. It’s a lot of effort to haul to a meet, fail a PV then live with the results driving back. But, fortunately, at NCRS there’s always a next time and I know we all wish Howard our best!

School

The atmosphere on the judging field in Albuquerque was warm, friendly, and educational. This was helped in large part by a judging school Roy Sinor commissioned. We attended a professional slide show aimed at improving scoring consistency and judge’s conduct. We were impressed with the professional nature of the school’s FDICC presentation, especially its examples and audience interaction.

FDICC is the factory concourse scoring system that has been used for years by the National Corvette Certification Board at Bloomington. It teaches there are five indices in assessing originality. "F" is finish and it pertains to an item’s texture, color or coating. "D" is date code and items that were dated should appear authentic and agree with published NCRS guidelines. "I" means installation — is the component affixed according to known factory original tolerance, manner and position? "C" refers to completeness, ask if everything’s there. The other "C" is configuration for the concept of component shape, style, and markings.

School taught judges not to write "reproduction" in a comment field and blindly assess a 50% point deduction. We were urged to use the five axes of FDICC, clearly explain each originality deviation and use the NCRS 10-90% judge’s deduct discretion accordingly. Students were lectured on the role of an NCRS judge — help the owner earn the NCRS award. These are good guidelines that ARE fair!

I personally think more thought needs to be applied to FDICC in the area of coatings. As taught a component that’s heavily coated, would lose 25% of its originality points (finish) and receive 100% of its condition points. My point is this could be unfair.

What if a part is so heavily coated judges cannot appraise the underlying surface? Date code determination, supplier marks, the presence of other components like lock washers and the reasonable assessment of condition like surface pitting becomes impossible. Why bother to do a meticulous frame-off restoration? Why not just shoot everything in sight with gallons of undercoat or paint/plate the heck out of source identifiable parts to obscure them?

This is a minor issue, easy to solve. Simply amend FDICC guidelines and give judges the discretion to deduct for those aspects of FDICC originality as well as condition that are obviously obscured by coating. Basically, I’m happy with the FDICC approach and believe it can only improve NCRS.

Coming Attractions

Mr. Sinor informed us of a few new "goodies" under study. One, code named Sportsman Award, is aimed at expanding NCRS meet attendance to ALL Corvettes regardless of age or factory authenticity. It’s intended to attract both the "show and shine" crowd as well as street modified cars.

The second "goodie" didn’t have a name. Its focus was on opening the judging field to Corvettes with a racing pedigree. The Gulf cars were cited as examples. I have something to add.

If this area recognizes only those Corvettes with bona fide historic race pedigrees, we’ll lose market share. There are many more cars out there that have been recently competition modified like those on the track at Steamboat. Why close the door to any Corvette that’s legitimately Chevy powered? Perhaps this area could/should have different divisions (new, historic)….

This newsletter announces our annual Chapter meet scheduled for June 20^th at Stevinson Chevrolet. Any NCRS member wishing to have their Corvette Flight Judged is urged to complete the registration form. Plus, I’ve given equal copy space to those who want to participate in the judging. Remember there are only two qualifications for being an NCRS judge — you are a member of NCRS in good standing and you agree to obey published NCRS judging guidelines. There’s no better way to get up close and personal with a wide cross section of Corvettes than to be a judge. Chapter meets are your invitation to have fun and learn. Come join us for a day of fun in the sun!

Last, Barry Morris, Vice Chairman NCRS UK Chapter, and RMC member flew from London, England to join our caravan to Albuquerque. WOW! When will we reciprocate? Answer: August 1-2, 1998.

Barry took the podium at the awards banquet in Albuquerque to present Flight 98, the first NCRS Flight Judging event outside North America. This is set for the first weekend in August and I have registration forms for any RMC members who are interested. Right now I count eight of us planning to cross the pond. Most will bring the ladies (hear that girls — England is calling!). Come on, folks, can’t we muster a double-digit showing? This IS history in the making….

1981 South Wadsworth

Corner of Wadsworth & Jewell

Lakewood, Colorado 80227

Large Selection of Import & Micro Beers,

Fine Wine, Liquor, & cigars

Open Monday-Saturday, 8:00 a m - Midnight

Major credit cards Accepted

To obtain this discount, present your NCRS name badge, membership card, or hat.

Fred Koenig

1732 26^th St. S.W.

Loveland, CO 80537

Home Phone (970) 669-8616

Fax (970) 669-4299

All shirts and jackets in XXL, please add $2.00. New members receive 1 hat (any color) and 1 name tag free.

 For Sale or Trade: T3 headlights $15.00 each, ‘58-60 rear Plexiglas $75. ’76 dealer album $200.00, Corvette news, GM Corvette color ads. Wanted: for ’61; 022 master brake cyl., headlamp buckets, 3 step oil pan, ignition shielding, jack, dealer promo postcards, for ’54, ’58, ’59, ’61, ’62 &’64. ’65 cards to swap. Corvette news Vol1 &2 will buy others.

Weldon Montgomery (303) 530-1372

For Sale: 4 original Goodyear Redlines F70-15 ($150.00/OBO). McCleod 64109014 dual disk clutch, pressure plate & flywheel (168 tooth) $750 new, sell $300 OBO. Small block intakes 3746829 (A228), 3844457 (F44) $15 each. Custom built work bench $45.00.

For Sale: 1968 Corvette L-88. Restoration started. Disassembled. All unique and rare parts included. Soft documentation. Sell as is $28,000.00. ‘64-’65 GM small block 2 ½ head pipes w/heat shields, very good condition $80.00. ’65 rocker moldings, good for driver $80.00.

For Sale or Trade: ’69 SB fan clutch & fan engine chrome shielding, original equipment. Best offer or trade for BB emission stuff.

Mike Bird (303) 979-4740

For Sale: 396 CID. Std. bore 3855962, 4 bolt mains, K2465 code $650.00. 3872702 Heads I85 & J85, Bare $225.00.

For Sale: ‘63-4 Repo K.O. wheels w/ tires & all mounting hardware $900.00. ‘63 new repo tan leather seat covers $200.00/pair. ‘63 starter (242) w/correct solenoid $70.00. ‘63 alternator $30.00. ‘63 Non-frosted wheel covers, good condition $45.00/ pair. Gas door latch type w/ retaining ring $50.00. Misc. console pcs. Call. New G.M. F.I. drive cable ass’y ‘63-‘65 $75.00. ‘63 windshield wiper switch $45.00.

Vance Davis Days (800) 237-6792 Evenings (719) 520-3219

Wanted: ’84 or ’85 Corvette, in good working condition.

Available: Secure, Alarmed, K-9 Protected, Climatically Controlled, storage space for your Corvette. Patrolled daily by armed Deputy Sheriff.

For Sale: ’65 Corvette 396 cu.in. 425 HP. Green with saddle interior, radio delete. $65,000.00

THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHAPTER

MEMBERSHIP IN THE NCRS IS OPEN TO PERSONS INTERESTED IN THE RESTO-RATION, PRESERVATION AND HISTORY OF THE CORVETTE PRODUCED BY THE CHEVROLET MOTOR DIVISION OF GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION FROM 1953 THROUGH 1982. NCRS IS NOT AFFIL-IATED WITH CHEVROLET OR GENERAL MOTORS.

MEMBERSHIP IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHAPTER OF THE NCRS IS OPEN TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE NCRS NATIONAL ORGANIZATION. DUES ARE $30.00 FOR THE FIRST YEAR, AND ARE $20.00 PER YEAR FOR RENEWAL. FIRST YEAR DUES ENTITLE THE NEW MEMBER TO A CHAPTER BALL CAP AND MEMBERSHIP NAME TAG. DUES ARE TO BE SENT TO THE TREASURER.

ALL EDITORIAL MATERIAL CAN BE SENT TO THE EDITOR.

Income:

Dues $20.00

Expenses:

Newsletter $46.44
Software $83.83

Nothing in the world looks better on a car or truck than a hand-rubbed lacquer paint job. I repeat – nothing. But while I love the look lacquer paint gives, the time came when I could no longer afford the redos lacquer paint caused. I needed something better. Enter base coat/clear coat.

I could go on for hours with technical jargon about base coat/clear coat finishing systems, and why they are superior to anything we’ve used in the past. I won’t, however, because basically what it comes down to is one factor – durability. Base coat/clear coat finishes, which consist of a color base coat and an acrylic urethane clear coat, really last. Nothing I have worked with before even comes close.

I know, you’re thinking lacquer came on the ’59, so lacquer should go back on the ’59. If your ’59 is a show car and originality is a must, go for it. Like I said, I love the look lacquer gives.

But if your ’59 is a driver, consider this. Base coat/clear coat is so durable the manufacturer of the paint system we use, Diamont, allows us to offer a full 10-year warranty on any paint work we do as a certified Diamont refinishing facility. Try to get a guarantee like that with lacquer or enamel.

Aha! I smell a clutch burning. Somebody out there is thinking: How can a paint job last 10 years??

At this point I’m going to weaken and give you a word of technical jargon – Ultraviolet radiation. All right, that’s two words. But that UV radiation is the primary culprit in paint degeneration. In fact, in the body shop business we don’t think of a paint as lasting 10 years, we think of it as having "hold out" – the ability of the finish to "hold out’ UV radiation over long periods of time and prevent it from destroying the paint. Hold out is accomplished through the use of the correct primer surfacer, the right sealer, the color base coat and, finally a urethane clear coat. Stopping UV damage by going to a base coat/clear coat finishing system puts an end to that chalky white stuff forming on your old paint job. That white stuff, by the way, is actually paint decomposition from UV exposure.

Which reminds me: Remember all that color left on the buffing pad the last time you polished the ’59? That’s dead paint, kind of like automotive dandruff, only your car isn’t regenerating a new coat as the old one flakes away. So, the more you rub, the less paint is left behind and the easier it is for UV to destroy what remains. Get my drift?

A number of automotive paint manufacturers produce base coat/clear coat products. As I said, we use Diamont, but there are other widely used and equally good brand including DuPont and Glasurit, just to name a couple. The basic difference is cost; so shop around.

I asked our paint supplier to run a Usage Cost Estimate for a typical base coat/clear coat paint job, including everything from bondo to clear. We chose an early Corvette red in DuPont Chroma Base to use as our color. The total cost came to $628.10.

A lot of money? Yes and no. Compare the base coat/clear coat cost estimate to the lacquer cost estimate on the form on page 12. Lacquer came to $403.41. What’s a couple hundred dollars when you’re talking 10-plus years in the life expectancy of the paint? Remember, this is 10 years with the car exposed to UV on a daily basis. Your beauty, kept in the garage, may never need repainting again.

Before you head for the paint store, you need to know a few things. Like, what finish is on the car now? Soak a white shop towel in lacquer thinner. Rub the old paint in a place you know will be repainted or choose a hidden area if you are still uncertain about your plans.

The towel will become stained with color if the paint is nitro or acrylic lacquer. Swelling or wrinkling can occur if the finish is fresh, air-dried synthetic enamel. However, old or oven-dried enamel is immune to thinners. Remember, if the paint comes off, it’s lacquer. If the paint wrinkles, it’s fresh enamel. If nothing happens, it’s old or oven dried enamel.

Next determine if the finish is hard cured. Vigorously sand an area with 240-grit abrasive. If the old finish becomes rubbery or sticky, it probably will lift when sprayed over. This paint will have to be removed before a new finish can be applied. Hard-cured paint will simply sand away. This finish can be painted over.

To check for clear coat, use a sharp knife and scrape gently across the surface. Single-coat finishes will produce a colored residue, whereas a clear coat will produce a milky looking residue.

Now that you know which finishing system is presently on the car, the only other consideration is how many coats. Your friendly automotive paint supplier has a handy little magnetic gauge that will tell him exactly how many mils of paint are presently on the car (ed. note – that should be interesting on a Corvette). For base coat/clear coat operation, the maximum total finish thickness is 12 mils (12 thousandths of an inch). A finish thickness greater than 12 mils could result in paint failure due to blistering and/or checking and cracking.

The new base coat/clear coat finish will account for 4 to 6 mils of this total thickness when applied at the proper thickness of four sanded coats of primer and sealer (2 mils), two coats of base color (1 mil) and three coats of clear coat (2 mils). That means your old finish can be as much as 6 to 8 mils thick. If the magnetic thickness gauge reads 6 mils, smile. If it reads 8…? It’s your car. Me, I’d strip it.

At this point, the supplier will ask what brand and color you want. Let’s say here in the Paintville, USA shop, DuPont Chroma Base is a bargain and you want to go with the car’s original color. You’ll need the paint code found on a metal tag attached to the core support, firewall, door jam, deck lid, glove box lid or someplace else.

If the paint code is missing, your supplier can determine the color by using an instrument called Smart Scan made by the X-Rite Co. This instrument, when placed on a clean, shiny color surface, can read that color electronically and determine the correct formula for matching it. Any color. Almost. Should you wish to duplicate that weird purple on granny’s’70 dodge, bring the car. Using the Smart Scan, your supplier should be able to match it.

Your supplier helped you make a finishing system choice (DuPont Chroma Base) and you now own a box filled with paint cans with numbers on them. Don’t be surprised if your head starts to spin with thought like, "What the heck are these? What am I doing?"

Relax. Find the can marked 2931K. That’s the red base coat. Look at the Usage Cost Estimate. Under "Coating" find 2931K, the paint. Under it is Cat, NONE, meaning no catalyst is used. The next item is 7175S, reducer. The next is Add. 12305S, which is an additive. Mix these together to form the base color. Note each item is listed in ounces. Measure out each item into a mixing cup that measures in ounces to get the right mixture. I can’t go into all the different mixing ratios for each brand, but your paint supplier can. Ask him. That’s his job.

The same goes for the column next to it, "Clear". The cans marked with these numbers will be mixed together when the time comes to spray.

So, what is all this stuff listed under Paint and Body Supplies? It’s everything you need to knock out the dents (ed. note – another non-Corvette concept)., prime and sand the car to make it ready for paint.

As I said, our car is dent-free. We’ll begin by washing the car with soap and water. No detergent. Use a good, automotive wax-free cleanser. (Turtle Wax and Armor All are both good brands.) then wipe the car down with RM900 degreaser to remove any wax, tar or road film left behind. To degrease, take two clean shop towels, folded, and soak one towel in degreaser. Wipe the surface with the soaked towel, immediately wiping away the wet residue with the other towel. One towel in each hand works well here. Go over the entire car.

Next, the car must be sanded. I’m assuming you already have the car torn down. That is, the chrome and handles have been removed. Sand the car with 240 grit. A DA (dual-action sander) works well here and hard-to-reach areas can be quickly hand-sanded afterwards.

Thoroughly clean the car again with RM900 and this time use a blower to remove any traces of sanding residue hidden in the cracks and crevices. Tape off all areas you don’t want painted, such as windows, using ¾-inch masking tape and masking paper. Masking paper comes in rolls of various widths and lengths. A 100-foot roll of 18-inch-width paper should be plenty.

Degrease the car with RM909. Yes, this is a different degreaser. RM909 is water based. Water-based degreasers will remove sanding residue solvent based (RM900) degreasers won’t. Now tack the car off.

Shake up the Uro Primer (Check the Paint and Body Supplies list on page 12), thin and catalyze according to directions, and apply four even, wet coats to the car, allowing each coat to flash (dry) for at least 15 minutes before applying the next one.

As this is a catalyzed primer, and we have no bare metal showing, no etching coat is needed. If you experience high humidity and have bare metal, you may need to apply an etching coat before priming. Your supplier can help there. Once the primer is cured (a good rule of thumb is to let it cure overnight), spray on a light guide coat. (Use dark color for light colored primer – a spray can works well.) Block sand with a 220-grit dry abrasive until the guide coat is gone. Be careful to not block sand through the primer base, however, as this coating is an essential part of the base coat/clear coat system. Re-sand lightly with 320-grit dry abrasive to completely smooth the surface. Remove all tape and paper, blow the car off thoroughly; then rewrap.

Degrease the car again using RM909. Tack it clean. Find the can marked Sealer, catalyze according to directions on the can. (Your paint supplier can tint the sealer to be a close match to whatever color you chose as your base coat. This reduces the amount of paint you must apply for good coverage.) Then strain the catalyzed sealer through a paper filter into the HVLP.

The HV…what?

The High volume, low pressure gravity-feed paint sprayer. In my world we must contend with VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) and meet certain governmental pollution emissions requirements. The HVLP spray gun allows us to be in compliance with the law.

Despite the fact that the HVLP was regulated into existence, it is a great gun. But it is an expensive gun. HVLPs range in price from $150 to around $500. A Sata, which is the gun of choice in our shop, runs about $400. But if you plan to paint this one time and never again, don’t buy a new gun. Borrow one if you can or use what you have. After I finish shooting this car, I’ll talk more about the HVLP.

Spray two coats of sealer, making sure to spray wet, even coats as this will be the base for the coats to follow. If the sealer isn’t smooth, the following coats won’t be either.

Carefully re-tack the car. Be sure not to touch the sealed surfaces with your skin as the oils will mar the finish.

Shake up the base coat (shake it well, very well), add additives and reducers according to the Coating list on the usage Cost Estimate and strain through a paper filer into the HVLP.

Place a small square of black tape somewhere on a masked area next to a surface to be painted. Don the respirator, painter’s coveralls and latex gloves and start spraying, Apply two good, wet coats, allowing 15 minutes between coats. Check the black square. If it is covered completely, two coats is enough. An important tip. Base coats are flat – no shine – much like sanded lacquer. The gloss comes from the clear coat.

Let me offer a few more tips, beginning with the operation of the HVLP. Maintain a 90-degree angel to panels when spraying and never "arc" the spray pattern. (Think of facing a wall and trying to paint that wall by only moving your arm. You would quickly find that plenty of paint gets on the wall directly in front of you but very little reaches the wall once you arm has extended to a point almost parallel to the wall.) Watch for the wet edge and just overlap it when spraying to prevent streaks.

HVLP produces larger paint droplets than suction-feed guns which result in the solvent staying in the paint longer. Thus the longer flash times. Never spray a tack coat. It is difficult to reflow the drier spray of an HVLP to get a smooth finish.

An HVLPs V-shaped spray pattern is smaller than conventional gravity-feed spray guns. Therefore, the gun must be held closer to the panel, about eight inches away, and spraying is accomplished at a slower pace. Each coat of base color must be allowed to flash for a minimum of 15 minutes and each coat of clear must be allowed to flash for up to 30 minutes. And, remember this, if you plan to spray additional coats of clear (to allow yourself plenty of coats to sand smooth), each additional coat must be allowed to flash 15 minutes longer than the coat before it. Yes, hours can be spent spraying base coat/clear coat. But the longer you allow each successive coat to dry before the next coat is applied, the less chance you have of experiencing solvent pop.

Solvent pops are those nasty little micro pits found in base coat/clear coat paint jobs. They are exactly what the name implies. When a successive coat is added too soon, before the solvent from the underlying coat has had a chance to dissipate, the solvent will "pop" through the next coat creating solvent pops. They do not go away. Ever.

We paint in a heated, high-volume air exchanged booth. Each finishing job is baked and cured in about an hour. Obviously, you won’t have that luxury. That’s OK. Catalyzed urethane finishes will dry without the heat; it just takes longer.

Never spray in temperatures below 65 degrees or in extreme high humidity conditions.

Spray in a well-lit, well-ventilated area with some means of exhausting the fumes. Be aware that most fans are not explosion proof and that paint fumes are extremely volatile. Wear a respirator at all times. A dust mask won’t do the job. A dust mask is exactly what the name says, a dust mask, not a paint mask.

Our painters wear OSHA-approved canister-type respirators which work well as long as the filtering canisters are changed after a day’s use. Of course, they also are working in an environment where the air in the spray booth is exchanged for fresh air at the rate of six times a minute. Anyone working in lesser conditions, such as a garage, might want to invest in a hood-type fresh air system.

A good, OHSA-approved respirator costs about $50. A base-priced fresh air system costs about 10 times that much. But ask yourself an important question: What’s the price tag you’ll put on your health?

Something else to consider when painting is safety glasses. Wear them, even when mixing paint. One bad slosh and you could end up one-eyed. Our painter claims that moving from the air-conditioned mixing room to the heated spray booth causes his glasses to fog up. I have no solution for that. Not yet, anyway.

Perhaps one of the most important tips I can give you is, don’t kid yourself. Do-it-yourselfing is a lot of work. I repeat. A lot of work.

We have a car in the shop at this writing that a do-it-yourselfer did himself. The finish looked good. Darn good. Problem is, he got tired. Months of hard work took its toll. He had trouble in one area which caused a redo. The redo was rushed, resulting in the primer being painted over before it had a chance to properly cure. The result was solvent infiltration of the underlayments.

The paint came off in sheets the size of this page. Now he’s paying me to fix it. We stripped the car and are now in the process of refinishing it.

I’m not trying to scare you. I simply want you to do it right. Base coat/clear coat has the potential to outlast your mother-in-law. You’ll be proud of it from now on, if for no other reason than you did it yourself. So go for it, and good luck.

But before you go… Remember I mentioned VOCs? Volatile Organic Compounds. Now is a good time to consider: Am I a Body Shop? Our government is getting sticky on this subject. Here in Texas, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission considers you to be a body shop, and therefore must meet all state requirements for body shops regardless of your location (garage?), if you use 2 gallons of paint and solvent per week. Do you?

Earlier I said there’s a method for getting a lacquer appearance from a base coat/clear coat finish. This is accomplished by sanding the car with 1000-grit, then 1500-grit and finally, 2000-grit wet abrasive. Begin by sanding the entire care with 1000-griit, wet abrasive. (Soak the paper to soften it before use and sand with a soft rubber block, never by hand, remembering to keep the surface to be sanded wet at all times during sanding operations.)

Once the finish is dulled with the 1000-grit, the difference between the 1000-grit and 1500-grit papers won’t be detectable. For that reason, you should work in small, defined areas, sanding in a circular motion taking care not to pass over the same area more than two or three times. Repeat this process with the 2000-grit and you will begin to notice the slightest hint of a deep luster in the paint. This is the depth you are looking for.

To bring out the rest of the shine, I like to use compound on the variable-speed electric buffer with a clean wool pad. The variable-speed buffer offers better control which means less chance of rubbing through the paint. Our shop uses 3M5974 compound for this process.

So which is it, rubbed lacquer or base coat/clear coat? Only the passage of time will tell.