habib

I just sold my 98 vette for a 62 vette. I am not crazy am I ? I use to use zaino prducts on my 98 can I use the same products on the 62 ?
Its Ermine white , red interior, black soft top. Whats the best chrome polish to use and what to use to clean the engine compartment ? thank you. I am very excited about this car, dennis

ZaneO

You can still use Zaino if you'd like. Don't forget your proper prep work

Mother's makes a chrome polish, among others.

On an older engine, I'd stick to clean by hand with towels, degreaser, etc.

JoshVette

Do you know if it's been repainted?? Does it have a clearcoat?
Claybar it and use a paint cleaner and polish. I like Meguires and you can buy it at Autozone or Pepboys or whateer. Use Zaino or whatever wax you like the best once all's said and done.
The prep work is most vital part of it all.

For chrome and engine, go to Lowes, get some "Dirtex", it's awesome on chrome and engine bays.

As stated above, I'd personally clean the engine bay by hand with a wet rag and degreaser if needed and then spray the Dirtex on a new cloth and go back over the surface. Leave a good dull shine and is not oily or greasy to the touch at all.

agentf1

Yep, same principals apply, Zaino away. The Ermine White should look awesome with Zaino on it.

capevettes

I use Zaino on my 61. Z6-Z2-Z8. Dupont #7 is a great chrome polish. Then protect it with Z2 or Z5. You made the right move going for the C1 over the C5. Your car is appreciating and the C5 is on the downward curve. Plus, you have no computers to worry about and no trips to the dealerships. Have fun with it. No Vette has the character of the old solid axles.

Stickman81

If it has not been clearcoated, look at the Meguires line.
I've read a little about how it helps to "feed" the paint.
The Meguirs line is supposed to have some sort of "trade secret" oils.

#26 is supposed to be a great wax for single stage cars.

Congratulations on a beautiful car.

habib

Thank you all. I am looking foreward to detailing the engine compartment etc.. Shoild I use a hose to wash down the engine compartment ? Some detailers on line suggest this and then blow dry ?

JVM225

I've been using hoses to clean up engine compartments for years with no problems. Just use common sense when aiming.
I usually spray the engine down with a degreaser ( I find that Purple Power, or any similar inexpensive product works just as well as anything else) I scrub down as much as I can with a brush, then rinse thoroughly with a hose. Start the car up, take it for a little spin, pop the hood and rag dry the rest.

58Vette65

Now that all of standard Z2 and Z5 comments are out of the way - here is what I would do. First you need to know the type of paint you are working with, if it's old lacquer then you want to be more careful with what you use. If it modern paints that the Z2 and Z5 are good choice along with a couple of dozen other equal products on the market. If it is old lacquer then Stickman is on the right track. One of most knowledge people I have talk to about old paint is Mike Philips at Maguire’s and I believe and I have no real proof that you can extend the life of lacquer paint by using products like #26 or #7 and products with the trade secret oils. If you like and trust Zaino then you might want to research Z3, I have never used it but I think it is for older style paint. Both my 65 and my 58 have modern clear coat paints so I can use what ever.

Washing an old Corvette engine sure isn’t that hard. Do what JVM said except I would put a plastic bag over the distributor and the generator. I have pulled plug wires, cover the distributor and coil with a plastic bag, pulled the air cleaner element and put in bag and reinstalled it in housing to keep water our the carb and hit with steam cleaner several hundred times without any problems. There just isn’t much you can hurt on the engine with water.


PS You might want to protect you voltage regulator with a bag also, the seals on then tend dry out and sometimes leak. Since they will get wet in the rain I also put a piece of black electric tape around the seam to keep rain out.

habib

How can I tellif there is clear coat or older paint. I just bought the car and will pick it up this week. If I use Zaino I have to wash the car with dawn to remove the old wax and then zaino it. What can happen if I use zaino and not sure about the paint?
Engine Compartmet washed. Do I spray the Degreaser on the Engine or just around the engine ? Thanks, Dennis

ZaneO

A cleaner wax or paint polish will tell you quickly what type of paint you have. Apply either to a small, clean area. If you have paint transfer on your applicator, it's single stage. Otherwise, it's clearcoated.

Whether it's clearcoated or not, your current Zaino products will work fine.

habib

Thanks. Thats awesome info. Dennis

58Vette65

Wait Zane you not totally correct here, take from us old farts. If is a current single stage paints like my 35 that was painted in 98 but there is a lot different than lacquer that was painted in 50’s and 60’s. My 35 painted in 98 will show paint transfer and yes sealants are fine (I don’t use them) but the old lacquer paints shrink and checks and you can argue all day what will prevent that but my thoughts are the “trade secret oils: just may prolong the checking and shrinking. Lacquers are total different and unless you have work with survivors in the old car business than I would expect you to not be familiarly with them. If this car does have lacquer than special care needs to be taken to preserve the paint!! You have given me a lot of good advice in the past and a lot of I’m still using but I think you are wrong here. There is a ton of info in the C1/c2 section also... Please don't get in a hurry - remember you are just a care taker of a piece of history!

ps A lot of restores are urethane paints that are made to look like lacquer paint so it really hard to tell what you are working with. I would consult a paint shop that you can trust or a street rod / restore shop would be your best source of info. Also the owner could be a good source of info.

Please don’t get in a hurry ---- remember you just purchase the right to be a care taker of a piece of history!

58Vette65

I believe Z2pro or Z5Pro will not hurt the paint but I do believe on lacquer paint there are better choices. Owning an old Vette you will be involved in lot debates that there isn’t a correct answer or wrong answer. Take the synthetic oil and the dinosaur oil debate on a 40 year car that gets less than 3000 miles a year and was designed to run on dinosaur oil. There is not a right or wrong answer – I use Quaker State 10w-30w but I would say probably half of the forum would say that I’m using the wrong oil. Oh well it works for me!!!!

Just use common sense with the degreaser - remember you don't have all those fancy stuff like computers. Hopefully this is not you daily driver and time is not a problem!

ZaneO

Man, your grammar is killing me. I'm still having a tough time trying to fully understand this post.