Wax product for cellulose

[crankedup]

Which is the best method of giving my vintage car (cellulose paint) a real good clean and polish so far as products are concerned. I can't spend hundreds of pounds tho! The paint is clean/good condition but has swirls and not much shine. Thank you.

[PJ S]

You'll need a machine polishing by the sounds of it, to remove the swirls.
Equally the same machine with a pre-cleaner should also remove the oxidation that's occurred.
Might also need a claying to remove contaminants.
All this will give you a glass-smooth finish for the wax/sealant to adhere to and make the car look stunning once more.

[crankedup]

Thanks PJS, is the pre-cleaner something I can purchase at an motor accessory type shop?

[plasticpig]

Do you know how old the paint it crankedup? Cellulose dosent necessarily have a clearcoat so using a clay bar might not be useful. Some of the modern cleaners can cause reactions with older paint. I would start with a very mild polish and then use a paint restorer on areas requiring more attention. Bilt Hamber Autoblam and P21S are both reasonbly priced waxes which can give good results.

[evolutionvalet]

When we detailed the Old routemaster bus, all we ended up doing was using a Pre wax cleaner followed by a good layering of Collinite. This had no clearcoat and was quite badly oxidised.

If you want any products give me a shout as we are only in Norwich.

Kev

[crankedup]

The car was restored during period 1978 - 1984 and the car has not been painted since. It is the old fashioned cellulose with no laquer or clear coat on it. So whilst the paint is good condition I feel it needs some freshness brought back. At the same time I understand that vintage cars never did have brilliant types of paint finish and I don't want to go OTT.

I will certainly bear in mind evolutionvalet when it comes to product purchase.

I should mention that the violet paint seems much more fragile than the cream colour. When I polished it with Autoglym I noticed the violet colour on my cloth.

Edited by crankedup on Wednesday 24th October 19:30

[PJ S]

Colour will be on anything you use, as a mild abrasive (granule or chemical) will remove a thin layer of paint which is oxidised and causing the aged look.
Think of a polish (and clay bar) as an exfoliant for the car's "skin". Remove the dead upper layer to leave the fresh layers below.
Collinite does get plenty of recommendations - but then so does Chemical Guys Jetseal 109 and Zaino's range of sealants.
Bilt Hamber is probably the one that sails under most people's radar since it's not often mentioned - a bit of an underdog/dark horse.
All will certainly keep the shine and protect the car with regular reapplication.