Factory paint, wet sanded & buffed?

[southernfriedcj]

I know there are folks here who have actually worked(or still work) for GM. Out of curiosity, back in the day(and even now) do new cars get wet sanded and buffed at the factory?

I have seen many pictures over the years of cars being painted at the factory but I've never seen a picture of a car being sanded and buffed at the factory.

Thanks!

[Keith Seymore]

Base coat/clear coat - no

High solid enamel - not as part of the production process. There may be some sanding or buffing during a repair attempt of a specific area.

Lacquer - on some high end products there may have been buffing as part of the process but generally no, not since the 1930s or 1940s.

I'd say it is just too slow and labor intensive for the high volume mentality of the 1950s and 1960s.

K

[Mr70]

Didn't Dealerships hire teens to "Prep" the car (paint) once they had a vehicle sold in the 1970's?

[70 copo]

OP

Give me a date range of interest please.

[Lee Stewart]

Chrysler charged extra for buffed Silver Metallic on it's cars during the middle to late 1960s. That was the only "standard" color that was buffed and had a cost to it.

[Lee Stewart]

Chevy charged extra for Sebring Silver on the 1963 Corvette - I assume it was because it was buffed (though I may be wrong)

[southernfriedcj]

I appreciate all the replies. That explains why I have never run across any assembly line wet sand/buff pictures.

Originally Posted by 70 copo

OP

Give me a date range of interest please.

Basically I have always been curious.

What caused the thread was I have purchased a '69 Firebird and when I get around to the restomod I want to paint it Verdoro Green. I would like it to look like a 1969 paint job.
I see a lot of restored cars that just don't seem to look like they did back in the day and I was wondering if it may be the paint finish(and radial tires) that throw off the look.

[Canuck]

Most dealers just applied Polyglycoat

[Enoch]

Corvettes were polished. Because the Reflow oven could not get hot enough to actually melt the paint as the steal cars had. And if they made it hot enough the fiberglass would melt.

[Lynn]

Originally Posted by Mr70

Didn't Dealerships hire teens to "Prep" the car (paint) once they had a vehicle sold in the 1970's?

Absolutely.

Lacauer has almost no shine until it is buffed.

I am almost certain I have seen a picture of a large mashine that actually did a cursury wet sand over the roof. Could not use a machine on hoods or anything that had a ridge. Old time detailers always talked about avoiding the ridges or any "leading edge" as lacquer is easy to buff right through if not done correctly.

Most of the car was not wet sanded, just buffed. That is why so many had orange peel.

Every car that came in was subject to a NVI (new vehicle inspection) where EVERY fluid level was checked before it hit the road. I did an inspection on one in 76 at a Buick dealer, and there was no grease in the rear axle!!! In addition to the NVI, there was dealer prep, which incluced buffing the car. As with most things, some got done very well, others.... no so much.

I don't know what year GM started using base / clear. I know my 73 BMW came from the factory base / clear, but that was a few years before GM started using it.