How to Clear Over Patina

MDPotter

Promoted Users
Hello Everybody,

I bought a '68 GMC C15 with 34k original miles this weekend and I'm thinking about short and long-term goals for the truck. Eventually, I would like to do a frame-off restomod but that will be awhile. The truck has a nice patina to it and I'd like to stop the surface rust before it gets any worse. So I am thinking about clearing over the patina but I really don't know much about how to do it.

My idea is to use production clear (2 coats) with some flattening agent to achieve a satin to semi-gloss sheen. It definitely won't be a permanent finish, I just want to seal the body as-is for a few years.

My questions are:
How much flattening agent should I add to production clear?
How should I prep the rusted areas? I saw a video on Youtube in which a guy used a scotchbrite pad (not sure what color) and CLR to remove the rust. Some of the spots are brown and almost look like primer, not rust. I plan to wetsand/grey scotchbrite the paint.

Any advice appreciated!

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Interested in answers but if it's all original & not rotted yet, i'd strip to bare metal 1 piece at a time, epoxy & rehang it as time allows. You'll have great panels to finish when ready.
 
If you want to keep the patina don't try and remove the rust, it will look strange. If you wetsand it it's going to look strange. If you want to keep the patina for a while, wash it with Dawn dishwashing detergent. Get the truck as clean as you can, Mask it up then use some 700 wax and grease remover and go over it at least 2x I might do it up to 4x with proper lint free paint preps. As for clear I would recommend you use the SPI Matte Clear.

https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/8ced3e_b19593420cb44cf3bd70f6f832fcd13a.pdf

It has a nice low gloss look to it. It'll be much more easier than adding flattener to one of the regular clears. Do a test panel and determine if it's low enough gloss. If not you can add flattener to it but I think the as sprayed sheen of the Matte Clear would suit your truck well.
 
I'd go with what Chris said for prep. By the way I use matte clear regularly for Wood & fiberglass doors at work & have sprayed some on a rusty old tool container outside a couple of years ago. It's still stuck to some pretty thick rust & peeling paint after just a denatured alcohol wipe, not even half proper prep. . Pretty sure matte clear IS production clear with flattner premixed.
 
Thanks for the feedback gentlemen!

I'm also considering buffing the blue areas to see how they come out. I picked up some CLR and green scotch brite pads to see what that does to the rust. The results in the video I watched were impressive; but I'm not sure my truck has as much paint left on the cab and hood as the car in the video, so we'll see what happens when I try a spot.
 
Sorry - reviving an old thread...

I am interested in using Matte Clear 2200-1 but don't see it listed on the SPI site. Is it still available?
 
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