BARN FIND - 1971 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible by Mike Phillips

Mike Phillips · Jul 4, 2026

BARN FIND - 1971 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible by Mike Phillips

This old 2-door Buick was recently purchased out of a Pole Barn in Northern Florida.

The barn find was then delivered to Dr. Beasley's Car Detailing Training Center for an Extreme Makeover and a little tool testing.

Mike

Setec Astronomy · Wednesday at 1:50 PM

That thing looks fantastic Mike, dirty but fantastic! That can't be the original paint? Is this going to be a class project or just a Mike Phillips project?

Mike Phillips · Wednesday at 4:47 PM

Setec Astronomy said:
That thing looks fantastic Mike, dirty but fantastic! That can't be the original paint? Is this going to be a class project or just a Mike Phillips project?

To me - the paint system under the layers of dirt did in fact look like a basecoat/clearcoat paint system. After washing and claying, I was more convinced. Then I did my Test Spot and confirmed it is in fact a basecoat/clearcoat paint system. So she's been repainted sometime in the past. And after washing and getting the dirt off the car, I inspected and found,

Holograms everywhere - I have pictures and videos
Bad body work that is under the clear and under the basecoat so there's very little that can be done to remove it 100%
Oxidation
RIDS
Surface staining/mottling - you'll see it in the upcoming pictures and videos.
The glass had overspray paint - blue like the paint on the car
The chrome was so covered with a dirt film it no longer was clear, bright and shiny. (fixed this)

So the perfect car for an extreme makeover.

As for - what is this for? New tool review. Stay tuned.

And for the record, the Skylark is still here and she's glowing. LOL

Mike