Factory paint, wet sanded & buffed?

[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.