The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop 1952 Carryall: Clearcoat or not?

My 1952 Carryall has a wonderful patina, and i'm wondering what people think about clear-coat to preserve the finish, as well as to retard corrosion.

Any thoughts or experiences folks want to share?

Best Regards

Patina took 66 years to get to be patina so don't "F" with it. Clear coating patina is gross and totally destroys the patina affect.
You asked for opinions... so please do not clear it!

What you can do is compound it and wax it every year... that'll preserve it, shine it and will serve to keep it's patina lustre.... just don't clear it! Clear coat wasn't designed to stick to bare metal or unprepared substrate so it will peel and make the entire vehicle look horrible. Don't mess with perfection of 66 years of aging.

Good advice, Darcy

My "good ole boy" response would be rub it with WD-40 once or twice a year.
About as often as you would wax a good paint job.

I am going to try furniture polish on mine if the weather ever warms up.

I used a red scotchbrite pad and sprayed 3 coats of satin lacquer on the interior pieces of my 47. Keeps my clothes and hands clean while driving it. As for the exterior, I'm with the other guys here, leave it be. I use Gibbs Brand penetrating oil once a year to preserve it. Spray it down and wait a week then give the truck a bath and off I go.
Another suggestion is to wax it with a good carnuba wax with the surface heated to around 100 degrees. It's supposed to melt the wax into the rust and offer a good layer of protection.

Steve

GIBBS ALL PURPOSE LUBRICANT is another good choice.

tclederman,

That's too funny. That's was what I was going to suggest, WD-40. I learned about this when I was in the Army down in Louisiana. It made oxidized painted surfaces look shiny but a few weeks later they went all flat again. Soldiers came to know that they should smell cars before buying them off post.

Well, I have to thank you all for your valued opinions- I'm going to try the WD-40 approach or the Gibbs All Purpose Lubricant approach.

Best Regards,

riverdancer9, back in my high school days I had an old 54 4dr Chevy as my work car and clunker. I wiped it down with diesel fuel one summer day and it lasted quite a while and made the old blue color stand out.......only problem was we lived on a long dirt road and it was about a week before the red dust wouldn't stick to it.

It'd be nice to have a before and after picture.