If the paint job is only 35 years old, you're dealing with acrylic lacquer- - - - -not the more period-correct nitrocellulose lacquer that was used in the 1930's, 40's, and early 50's. There is s HUGE difference in the two products, both in the way they're applied, and how they're polished. Nitro lacquer consists of only two components- - - -pigment and solvent, combined with dissolved celluloid (wood). The original use for celluloid was in making movie film, of all things! A container of the liquefied wood product was accidentally left open to the atmosphere and it hardened into a tough, shiny substance that was eventually colored with pigment and thinned to a sprayable consistency that evolved into automotive paint. The extremely thin liquid was applied in multiple layers which each softened and bonded with the previous layer of paint, then it was buffed to a shine and protected with wax. Later on, "Alkyd Enamel" was invented, which was a thicker product than lacquer and it included a "binder" that had to oxidize and cure for about a month after it was applied before it could be polished. It was also known as "synthetic enamel". One of the painters Dad employed in the late 1940's called it "sympathetic enamel" LOL!
In the late 1950's Acrylic Lacquer was developed, and painters hated the stuff because it was extremely difficult to "spot paint" a repaired body panel. Acrylic forms a separate layer with each coat that's applied- - - -it does not redissolve and blend into the previous coat. No matter how carefully a spot repair was made, it usually showed a break line between the original paint and the repair.
If the lacquer you're working with is badly faded, you might consider scuff-sanding the finish VERY gently with ultra-fine wet sandpaper and clearcoating the whole vehicle to bring back the shine. That would be extremely labor-intensive, and almost as expensive as a complete repaint job.
Jerry
