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WD40 paint refresh

aleigh

Well-known member
1,040
49
48
Location
Phoenix, AZ & Seattle, WA
Has anyone ever clear coated over old faded paint. Sounds like it would last a lot longer than Pledge and WD-40.
Thanks
Seems like for the trouble of doing that properly one could just paint it again. And if you do gloss it, that's more of a mess to clean up when you do want to paint it again. What's nice about CARC is you can CARC over CARC, you don't have to take it off, which means basically the prep is cleaning and not sanding. If you gloss it you're going to have to sand or otherwise strip it after the fact, and that makes a lot more work.

My truck is pretty faded too and I'll probably paint it within the next year or two. I'm waffling on just doing all O.D. because it's a lot easier, or going with the 3-color. The 3-color really grew on me. I thought it would make me seem like too much of a prepper or whatever but I dunno, it got under my skin. Lot more work though.
 

aleigh

Well-known member
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Phoenix, AZ & Seattle, WA
If you were asking me, I spray it w/ a HVLP gun. It's the easiest paint system to use I have ever worked with, very forgiving. If you get a drip you just dab it up with a shop towel and the finish comes out fine. I've never rolled it but I have painted it with a brush a bit. You would probably get a serviceable result if you rolled & brushed a vehicle but I think it would be a lot more time consuming than just spraying it.

"CARC" is a family of paints. If you have an original military m/v, it was painted with CARC. The paint has some special properties - mostly that it is very resistant to solvents. The dyes are also multi-spectral, which basically means, the truck does not look "different" if you look at it in infrared, etc.
 
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Action

Well-known member
3,582
1,550
113
Location
East Tennessee
Chemical
Agent
Resistive
Coating

And, it isn't paint.
The stuff I am looking at resists....
MEK 100 double rub
lubricating and cutting oil
hydraulic fluid
water immersion
10% hydrochloric acid
10% acetic acid
10% sodium hydroxide
gasoline
 

aleigh

Well-known member
1,040
49
48
Location
Phoenix, AZ & Seattle, WA
A "coating" is something that is applied to a substrate, and a "paint" is a wet application with a specific (engineered) dye or color.

The CARC family includes "paint" products, and is a paint, by nearly any definition. It also includes powder coating products. If you want to be pedantic, within the CARC family, you will find versions which are an aliphatic polyurethane paint.
 

DSVet

New member
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6
3
Location
Midwest
All this works great until you actually need to paint it; then you are screwed trying to remove all these solvents to prevent paint issues...
Having worked 5 years in an automotive assembly plant paint shop, the last thing you want to put on a painted surface, is silicone. WD-40 is a silicone containing product. You will have problems when you have to repaint. I also worked in a body shop (collision center) for 1 1/2 years. We could not even have aerosol air freshener in the bathroom. Any silicone product would cause major problems with any new paint.

I do not know if Pledge would have silicon in it, but would be weary and not use that either.
 

NovacaineFix

Member
662
1
18
Location
San Diego, California
Having worked 5 years in an automotive assembly plant paint shop, the last thing you want to put on a painted surface, is silicone. WD-40 is a silicone containing product. You will have problems when you have to repaint. I also worked in a body shop (collision center) for 1 1/2 years. We could not even have aerosol air freshener in the bathroom. Any silicone product would cause major problems with any new paint.

I do not know if Pledge would have silicon in it, but would be weary and not use that either.
WD40 has no silicone in it, not the normal blue and yellow can. There is a silicone version, but the one that everyone knows by sight is a petroleum and mineral oil base.
Now of course a paint and body person will tell you not to use any petroleum based solvents on paint, but most of the polishes and cleaners you see are, petroleum based. Probably the best rule of thumb is to try a small patch in an inconspicuous area and see the results before doing the entire vehicle.

Now I used diesel on mine, but it was repainted using a brush on paint, it looks like CARC, but I'm almost 100% sure it is not. Yes, some of the faded paint did come up on the cloth I was using, but not as much as I would have thought.

Not arguing with you, and you are right, brake fluid DOT 3-4 and such definitely no, not safe for paint, DOT 5, not so much and that is silicone based.
 

aleigh

Well-known member
1,040
49
48
Location
Phoenix, AZ & Seattle, WA
Is the issue with silicone products that it's harmful to the paint - as it sits - or - it makes re-painting difficult. I kind of heard the latter sentiment. I know when I painted our jeeps we went to a lot of trouble to strip surface contaminants w/ the PPG system chemicals. On the trailer I was a little lazy about it in a couple little spots and that's precisely where I didn't get good adhesion - where some petroleum products had spilled. Prep is everything...
 

JoeydHMMWV

New member
12
0
0
Location
Jackson, MI
My preferred parade finish is to spray it with water and drive another vehicle around my dirt driveway and generate dust to give it that desert fresh patina
 

Scar59

Active member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
2,811
41
38
Location
Mt. Eden, KY
I've had success with the spray on tire cleaner/foam. Use a large sponge to wipe the access off. Doesn't collect dust after it dries. Great for engine/compartments.
 

USAFSS-ColdWarrior

Chaplain
Super Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
18,469
5,476
113
Location
San Angelo, Tom Green County, Texas USA
Speaking of organic stuff to make it shine.....

I was pouring WVO (Waste Veggie Oil) into the fuel tank of the Deuce and slipped causing a significant spill. While I was going to fetch some hot water and Dawn Dish Soap to clean up the fuel tank, Soldier B, who hadn't been with me for the mis-pour, saw the problem and started wiping up the mess with some rags. We both "admired" the beautiful shiny gloss that the oiled paint showed. However, knowing that ALL dust and road dirt would foul that sheen, we together had fun giving the fuel tank a soapy and sudsy bath. Liquid Dawn works wonders on messes like that.
I didn't think at the time to try WD40 for the clean-up.

Conclusions:

1. WVO makes paint (temporarily) shiny.
2. Liquid DAWN cleans up FAUX-SHINE and brings back the TRUTH....
3. These trucks WERE NEVER meant to be shiny show queens - they are intended to NOT stand out.
 

Motorcar

Member
271
3
18
Location
San Antonio, TX
My Deuce was last CARC done in 1989, once a year after spring I pressure wash it. From the 1 gallon jug of WD40 I fill a spritzer bottle and just spray it with a light mist. 10 minutes later....new truck. By the afternoon, no residue and dust doesn't stick to it. This has worked for me going on 7 years now.
 
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