Ray - I would advise that you should leave the paint as is. Don't worry about the next guy. A vintage letter car would not look right with Corvette gloss. Also, you may run into paint compatability problems by using a modern clear over vintage alkyd enamel. Nothing like a patch of delaminated clear coat to ruin your day. Ron ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ray Melton" <rfmelton@xxxxxxx> To: <chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Monday, April 22, 2013 2:26 AM Subject: [Chrysler300] Conflicted viewpoint: body paint gloss level for 1957 300C > Hello Group - > > > > I am pretty deep into restoring my late father's 1957 Chrysler 300C > convertible, and am encountering an emotional conflict regarding gloss > level > to attain on the Gauguin Red exterior paint. All the exterior trim is > still > off and now is the time to decide what to do with the underlying body > color > paint. The body is almost perfectly straight and the old alkyd enamel was > apparently applied very thick; it has easily withstood color-sanding to > remove any original orange-peel and attain a smoothness and gloss level > never achieved by the factory on even its best day. It buffed out > brilliantly and looks great; however, I know that a few layers of a > modern > color-sanded clear overcoat could bring it up to an extra-deep 2013 > high-gloss level even better than it is now. I am totally happy with the > way it looks right now, but I wonder how important it might be in the > future > to pursue that extra "WOW!" factor with a modern super-smooth high-gloss > clear coat. > > > > I have observed that most of the early 300's (and other cars from the > '50's > and '60's) that have brought the best prices at high-end auctions are > those > with modern high-gloss finishes, and although my general impression is > that > they have been "over-restored", it is clear that the market loves them > that > way. Although I am not at all interested in obtaining a maximum sales > price some time in the distant future (probably at least ten years from > now, > by which time I will be over 80 years old and probably not likely able to > enjoy "Big Red" as much as before, and won't need the money by then > anyway), > I would want to maximize the value to the next caretaker of this really > nice > piece of automotive history. > > > > The cost of the new clear overcoat and color sanding/buffing would likely > be > less than $3,000, and would probably add that much to the eventual sales > price a decade from now; however, since I know that's not how it could > ever > have come out of the factory, I am somewhat torn between "best possible > old-school original finish" or "best modern 2013 finish". > > > > Your perspectives on this issue would be appreciated. > > > > Ray Melton > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > ------------------------------------ > > To send a message to this group, send an email to: > Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to bob@xxxxxxxxxxxxx or > go to http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Chrysler300/join and select the > "Leave Group" button > > For list server instructions, go to > http://www.chrysler300club.com/yahoolist/inst.htm > > For archives go to > http://www.forwardlook.net/300-archive/search.htm#querylangYahoo! Groups > Links > > > ------------------------------------ To send a message to this group, send an email to: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to bob@xxxxxxxxxxxxx or go to http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Chrysler300/join and select the "Leave Group" button For list server instructions, go to http://www.chrysler300club.com/yahoolist/inst.htm For archives go to http://www.forwardlook.net/300-archive/search.htm#querylangYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chrysler300/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chrysler300/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: Chrysler300-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Chrysler300-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Chrysler300-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/