BARN FIND - 1971 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible by Mike Phillips

[Mike Phillips]

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]

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]

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,

1. Holograms everywhere - I have pictures and videos
2. 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%
3. Oxidation
4. RIDS
5. Surface staining/mottling - you'll see it in the upcoming pictures and videos.
6. The glass had overspray paint - blue like the paint on the car
7. 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

 

[Mike Phillips]

More...

Here she is after moving her into the shop.

See the Frog outline?

 

[Mike Phillips]

More...

These are not the worst looking wheels and tires I've ever had to clean and detail, but just to document, here's the before.

Mike

 

[Mike Phillips]

More...

It's bath time!

First up, getting the dirty and oil-stained vinyl top cleaned.

Machine Scrubbing Vinyl Tops by Mike Phillips
I've owned my trusty, dusty FLEX cordless rotary polisher, a prototype since the summer 2017, a few months before this new tool was launched at the 2017 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Ever since the cordless rotary was invented, I've found ways to use these types of tools for things other than compounding paint. In this example, I will machine scrub the neglected vinyl top on this 1971 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible.

Besides a cordless rotary polisher, (cordless so you don't get an electrical shock when working around water), you'll also need the 5" Rotary Brush, (get the long bristle option), and some type of cleaner. Normally for tops in good shape I would use the RaggTopp Fabric & Vinyl Cleaner with the RaggTopp Brush. But for extreme cases of neglect and more important, to try to remove the fluid stains, I chose Soft Scrub. Soft Scrub is basically a liquid version of Comet. It will clean, remove stains, brighten and sanitize in one step.

WARNING: The technique I share in the video below is NOT recommended for viny tops in good condtion. The spining brush, moved over the surface with a rotary polisher and Soft Scrub is very aggressive as compared to hand scrubbing with a vinyl top cleaner. If you use this technique - do it at your own risk. This technique is NOT a recommendation by Mike Phillips, it's just sharing how I tackle tops that are past the point of no return.

Here's the results after a thorough machine scrubbing.

Mike