Black Gold 380R's 2003 Thunderbird Thread

[Black Gold 380R]

Hello Everyone,

I was polishing on this car all weekend. So, I took a break on Monday. However, I got back at it yesterday after work.

I went over the hood one more time as I used my sun light and seen a couple small flaws. Then I polished the headlights and front bumper.

I used 1500 grit, 2000 grit and 3000 grit on the lights. This is after 2000 grit.

This is after 3000 grit.

I used step 1 and 2 of my polishing compounds and then finished the headlights with the Plastix polish. Theses are after I completely polished the lights. (Note: front bumper is not polished yet).

 

[Black Gold 380R]

And here is the polished front bumper.

The sun was going down by the time I finished. I really like this shot. (Note: driver's side not polished yet).

Reflection with chrome dome displayed for Brad @03cobra#694 LOL....

 

[CobraBob]

Very nice job on the headlights and front bumper, Glenn.

 

[Black Gold 380R]

Very nice job on the headlights and front bumper, Glenn.

Thank you Bob! Always appreciate you commenting in my threads my friend!

 

[wizbangdoodle]

That's an incredible amount of work, but such a magnificent result. Congrats on a job well done. Hope Dad really appreciates it.

Politicians are not to be trusted.

 

[Black Gold 380R]

That's an incredible amount of work, but such a magnificent result. Congrats on a job well done. Hope Dad really appreciates it.

Politicians are not to be trusted.

Thank you for saying that and recognizing, through the pictures, how much work this is Shawn.... I have been sanding and polishing on this car for 6 weeks. I'm VERY glad I got it done as I was starting to get tired of it LMAO!!!!

Some times things are fun at first, but begin to wear you down the longer it takes to get it done. I think this is why a lot of cars never seen the end/completion of the project.

Appreciate your comment/feedback brother!!!

 

[Black Gold 380R]

Okay Everyone,

I took last week Friday off so I could get the car finished up. So, I busted my ass getting it done by Saturday afternoon so I could return the car to my Dad Sunday morning.

So. let's get started. I got the trunk, rear bumper and driver's QTR panel done on Friday.

This is the trunk before I got started. This is completely sanded and finished with 8000 grit.

And this is after I completely polished it. Did I mention how much of a pain in the @$$ black is? LMAO!!!

After polishing the hood I realized the 3M perfect it process was not going to cut it on black. Don't get me wrong, the 3M perfect it kit works GREAT, but black just needs a few more steps to get right.

So, I basically decided to use a more in-depth polishing process that consisted of a 5 step process.

1. I used step one 3m polish with a very hard pad.
2. I used step one 3m polish (again), but with a medium hard pad.
3. I used step two 3m polish with a medium pad.
4. I used step three 3m polish with a soft pad.
5. I finished it off with a detailers fine cream polish with a soft pad (Black Fire, BF-220).

Step 5 really brought it to life. It looked almost perfect when I shined my sun light on the paint after all 5 steps. I wasn't too worried about small flaws because once the car is washed those micro scratches will show up....

Here it is after all 5 steps. DAMN.....LOL....

Engage Chrome Dome for Brad @03cobra#694 LMAO!!!

I just love that upside down reflection.....

Note: that "cup" area under the taillight I did not cut and buff. I felt that was a high probable area to bust through the clear. So, I left it alone. So, you can see the orange peel in the reflection.

Always good to see that garage door opener reflection LOL....

 

[CobraBob]

So your dad is getting it this coming Easter Sunday?

 

[Black Gold 380R]

Then on Saturday I just needed to finish the driver side fender and door. I hadn't removed the tape on the door handle yet.

I didn't take any before shots. This is after the 5 step process. For those wondering, I did end up polishing the other areas of the car a few more times when I was working on them to get them right. I didn't start the official 5 step process until the trunk, but the whole car looks like this. Hey, it only took me half the car to learn how to polish black LOL...

My favorite reflection. This is the door.

And this is in the fender.

Looking down on the front fender.

 

[Black Gold 380R]

So your dad is getting it this coming Easter Sunday?

Hello Bob. No sir, I gave it to him yesterday. I haven't posted about the reveal yet...

 

[03cobra#694]

Hahahahaha.

 

[Black Gold 380R]

I got the polishing done Saturday morning. After the sun went down and there was shade on the side of my house I took it outside to give it a wash. Had to clean off the sanded clear coat and polish residue it had on it.

Okay, for reference, here is the hood on day 1. Damn, what a crappy reflection.

And here is the hood on what is probably day 45. Even though it feels like day 180 LMAO!!!!

Passenger fender. As you can see it does look just as good as the driver's side.

I really like this shot. Can pretty much count the bricks of my house in that reflection LOL.

Man, that trunk pops after the 5 step process....

I really wish I would have taken a before shot of this angle.

 

[Black Gold 380R]

Here are a few overall shots.

 

[Black Gold 380R]

Okay,

I gave the car back to my Dad yesterday. Now, I had to go to his house very early in the morning. The reason is I had to drive the 57 T-Bird back to my house. I wanted to leave my Dad's house early so there would not be a lot of traffic on the road. I do not trust Mo Fo's when I'm out driving my classic cars.

Since it was so early I did not take any pictures of my Dad with his hair all messed up and him in pajamas. LMAO!!! That would not have made for good pictures.

So, this is what happened:

My Dad was expecting me. So he was sitting outside when I pulled up. Before I could even get out of the car he had walked up to the hood and was standing there with his hands on his hips inspecting LOL.

As I get out he begins to make his way down the passenger side. I say good morning and so does he. I walk to the front of the car and he is making his way around the back and up the driver's side.

He has not said anything other than good morning up to this point. As he's walking up the driver's side he says "yeah, looks real nice." LMAO!!! I told you he's a man of few words. I had popped the hood before I got out.

So, I open the hood for him and he's looking at it, but does not say anything. I asked him if he noticed his surprise. He looks for a couple more seconds and says, "Oh, the stickers." He said he did plan on replacing them.

Then he told me he had something for me. He proceeds to hand me $150. He said "this is for your supplies." I told him that was not necessary and I did not want him to pay me. It's his birthday later this month and Father's Day is coming up. I told him to consider all the work I did his Birthday and Father's Day gifts. He was good with that.

Then he gave me hug and said "you did an amazing job son" and told me he loved me. YES!!!! that's when I knew I exceeded his expectations.

What a ton of work cutting and buffing this car was. But it was worth it in the end knowing my Dad was very happy with the results. He actually took his newer car out of the garage and put the T-Bird in the garage. LOL. He only has a 1 car garage.

Here's the stickers.

As you can see one was missing and the other was in horrible condition.

So, it was time for me to leave. I drive the 57 home and I call my Dad to let him know I made it safe and sound.

I ask him "So, on a scale from 1 to 10 what do you think of the paint?" He said "An 11!" LOL.....

What a cool thing I was able to do for my Dad and his reaction made it all well worth it.

Thank you guys for riding along and for commenting on the work/transformation. Really appreciate you my brother's!!!

 

[wizbangdoodle]

Outstanding!

Politicians are not to be trusted.