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When I wipe off the wilshire green paint on my 1940 180 with a micro fiber towel some of the paint comes off on the towel So am reluctant to buff out swirls in fear off removing too much paint. Is the small amount of paint removal with towel standard for old unprotected lacquer paint?

Yes. I've had plenty of cars and motocycles painted with the ACYLIC laquer and the polishing cloth will always have some color to it. That's why it is important to apply laquer in many multiple coats. At least 6 coats, 8-12 coats better.

I have a laquer job here that i personaly painted back in 1971 or 1972. It still looks excellent except for some of it began to chip off about 2 years ago. Motorcycle tanks subject to high heat and other abuse. It will alwaays leave some paint residue on the polishing cloth or even sometimes on a cloth if i just wipe the dust off and not polished in while.

U mentioned swirl marks. Over the last 10 to 20 years i have often heard people complain of the swirl marks. That is actualy part of the beaaauty of the paint that once upon a time was considered most elegant. This loathing of swirl marks is just somekind of rather recent (last 20 years or so) trend.

I like them. My guesss is that modern resto-shops have scoffed at the swirl marks for the sole reason that they really don't want to shoot lacquer BECAUSE LACQUER REQUIRES near PERFECT metal finishing as in bump and dent removal.

The next time someone comments about the swirl marks in your paint then ASK THEM what kind of paint is on THEIR restoration. That will make them shut up REAL FAST.

Here's a pic of my 48 CHief. Painted in 1972'ish with DuPont acrylic LACQURE. It has swirl marks that are only noticeable in direct sunlite and only at certain angles.

I always get compliments on it.

Again, lacquer has become a dirty word ONLY BECAUSE of the fastidious metal preparation required. Laquer WILL show any minor flaws such as metal dents or uneveness. So the swirl marks has become little more than trendy witch hunt to discourage laquer use.

Cadillac (and all GM passenger cars) prior to about 1980 used lacquer. I remember the swirl marks well of new Buicks and chev etc setting on NEW dealer lots.

Ford and Chrysler used enamel.

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ok. i edited it out.

Back to the original question. If the car has never been repainted it's nitrocellulose lacquer; if a fairly recent (25 years ago or less) repair it may be acrylic lacquer. Either one can be treated the same.

The loss of some "dead" pigment from the upper layer of the paint is typical enough for lacquer that has been untreated for some time. If the paint has not thinned too much from repetitive compounding over the years, the gloss can be restored by either using rubbing compound, or a cleaner/polish and I'd recommend the latter as a first step. There are many products on the market for that, my preference on the 81 year-old original lacquer on my 34 Packard is Meguiar's cleaner/polish (purple or plum-colored bottle); easy on, easy off, no swirls if applied properly. If that cleans it up nicely you might think of a good coat of paste wax after the Meguiars.

Owen,thanks, this was the direction I was planning on going. In the past you have given me excellent advise on mechanical issues as well, thanks. This car was repainted by Ken Vaughn as he owened it for most of its life. More importantly after two years of mechanical repairs, it is now back on the road and runs well.
Bill

If you are using a high speed polisher I found that a foam pad works best to remove that swirl marks from a lacquer paint job. The key is to keep that pad damp/wet with the compound or wax that you are using.

Thanks
James

Here is a fantastic write up regarding Single Stage Paint restoration and care; written by Mike Phillips.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/25304-secret-removing-oxidation-restoring-show-car-finish-antique-single-stage-paints.html

There are a number of micro-finish polish/compounds out today that will get those lacquer paint jobs shining like a star. 3M makes them so go to a paint supply store and ask for their help.

As for reducing oxidation the best product I found is good old fashioned Simoniz applied by hand after a polish/cleaner and gently finish rubbed with cotton (although I'm sure the micro-fiber will suffice). The rubbing stages works up to the cotton. It takes a lot of time, but you can do a panel or two a week. Other people prefer the Meguiars paste products. In the old days that's what chauffeurs did when they were idle five hours a day.

I don't do that work anymore because, quite frankly, nobody understands it. My experience in this area comes in handy here in Detroit.

Once you go through the process in the future you can stick to the polish/paste combination. Removal of wax build up can be done with wax remover/cleaner which has no abrasives.