Color Sanding Old Paint

[Farm Boy]

I have been working on the mechanical condition of my ’56 and it is now running pretty good so I decided to do something about the way it looks.

It has a cheap repaint job (probably about 30 years ago) that was as smooth as oatmeal. I figured that I couldn’t make it much worse if I color sanded and buffed it out so I block sanded with 1500 grit then machine polished it out.

Here is a before picture:

http://www.567chevyclub.com/images/56_Chevy/56-chevy-005.jpg

And here is how it turned out:

http://www.567chevyclub.com/images/56_Chevy/color-sand-001.jpg

http://www.567chevyclub.com/images/56_Chevy/color-sand-004.jpg

http://www.567chevyclub.com/images/56_Chevy/color-sand-017.jpg

[12pack]

Good job it looks like a new car.

[Tom$lick]

:tu Wow, and you even buffed those steelies and white walls into rallys and white letters! That my friends is talent!:)

[mickeywestsr]

WOW.....Hoss that looks really slick.

[trifive]

Looks great, I like that color combunation

Those Ralleys and Tires really make the car stand out.

Otis

[ETriggs]

Looks fantastic!!!!

[Farm Boy]

Actually the rally wheels were “borrowed” from my ’67 Camaro. :o

The wide whites that came with the ’56 had no miles on them but were severely out of round from setting for so long. The out of round tires combined with the old shocks made the whole car shake like mad. The shaking was especially bad at 40 MPH. The modern rolling stock made a huge improvement in the way the car drives.

My original plan was to get a set of 205/75-15 wide white radials for the stock 15X5 inch wheels. I am now thinking about getting a set of 15X6 steel wheels then add the bumps to hold the stock hubcaps on. I could then run wider 235/75-15 WWW radials with the stock hubcaps. I have always felt the original rolling stock on these cars was just a bit to skinny.

Just incase anyone is interested the rally wheels in the pictures are 15X7 in the front with 4.25 inch backspace and 15X8 in the rear with 4.5 inch of backspace. The front tires are 235/60-15 and 255/60-15 in the rear. They fit the ’56 well and there is no rubbing at all. :)

[dseale4888]

Looks great!!! Save on the paint job for a while.
Dave

[a55togo]

looks good Farm Boy:tu
Ed

[Shua57]

Looks real good. Hopefully the crack in the windshield isn't out of anger. Maybe it was one of those flying rocks.
Josh

[Farm Boy]

I am not finished yet. There are a few spots (like the center of the roof) I need to color sand just a bit more. I am currently shining the stainless trim with #000 then #0000 steel wool. When I am done with the steel wool I will machine polish both the paint and the trim together.

I would encourage anyone that is unhappy with their paint to give color sanding and machine polishing a try. It’s not very expensive nor is it difficult to do and the results can be fantastic. Making an old car shine is every bit as satisfying as getting them running and driving well. If you have never color sanded and buffed out a paint job before you can practice on your daily driver or the wife’s car first. :D

Josh- The busted windshield came with the car. I have replaced windshields before but never in a tri-five. I probably should have replaced it before I shined it all up. http://geocities.com/sdampier@sbcglobal.net/56_Chevy/clonk.gif

[Ronny's 55]

Farmboy, the car looks good. It's good you have the nerve to just jump in a color sand and buff your car.