[ccguy]

Thanks crcieslak & dsmithjr:

The plastic panels were pretty stained and scratched up...and I was looking at a replacement cost of $500 for plastic! Not having anything to lose, I took off the panels and thoroughly cleaned them then reattached them to the machine. Here was the process:

1. Remove decals (they were shot anyways)
2. Using a Porter Cable 7424 buffer and a Lake Mfg. "Orange" pad, I buffed out starting with 3M Rubbing Compound applying a fair amount of pressure but always moving the machine slowly.
3. Next, using a Lake Mfg. "Orange" pad, I buffed out everything with 3M Polishing Compound applying a fair amount of pressure but always moving the machine.
4. Next, using a Lake Mfg. "Blue" pad, and McGuires Cleaner Wax, I buffed/burnished the wax into the panels.
5. Finally, using a new soft microfiber cloth, I hand polished the hood and side panels taking off the wax residue. They looked as if they had just been molded. No scratches, no stains, no swirl marks. I was so surprised it forced me to raise the bar on all the metal work! (as an aside, my neighbors think I'm absolutely crazy, they work on their choppers/muscle cars/boats/F-150's/Lexus's and I spend time working on my 18 year old CC! My wife says I have a "lawn mower issue"...I tell her it's a Garden Tractor!)

I'm just not interested at all in today's' products...which all look like they came from the AYP assembly line. But these old CC's are just so stout, heavy and by today's standards so over built, it's like comparing an ox to a pony. I sought a 1440 as it was the last of the CCC/MTD products still with some IH DNA left in it. I lucked out with a 1994 model (last year of the metal transmission tunnel).

The engine and drive train stayed on the frame. Everything else came off.

ccguy
1994-1440