Saving a Coupe

[2savage]

I'm a newbie here and just wanted to share with you my restoration project that is in full swing.   The car is 1973 coupe and is undergoing a full bare metal restoration.  It will be very close to concourse when completed which will be late May.  Total budget is 30,000 GBP.  I'm going with burgundy with silver birch roof and grey carpet.  The interior is red.

I'm a true petrol head having owned over 50 cars to date including a 1963 Jag MK II, Porsche 911 Turbo and I've built two Shelby Cobras too.  But I don't know that much about the P5B so I hope the forum can help me do what needs to be done.

Alan

Oh, I live in New York but the restoration is happening in Oxfordshire.

[Phil Nottingham]

Welcome - we look to reading and seeing more!

[2savage]

One question I do have is about ceramic polishes.  After a full respray I have the opportunity of planning the perfect protection of ceramic and wax.  But what to do?  I have no idea.


My favorite product lines are Griots and Meguires.  Least favorites are the likes of Simonize and anything generic.


I'm open to ideas and advice.  Assume that the paint job is excellent already but has no wax or coating after the spray job. 

[MK IA Norway Viking]

I have done the same thing as you describe; full respray and protection of the paint after that.

I have done two cars, with different methods. Car 1 is deep green and Car 2 is black. 

Black is the hardest colour to make "look great". Green is simpler to handle.

On car 1 (Green) I took the biggest investment. Many people think its down to chemistry while this is not really the case. It all boils down to surface treatment. Chemistry is only the icing of the cake. Compare it to ladies make-up. 

So, on Car 1, we allowed for 2 weeks curing of the new paint - ideally could be 4-8 weeks, but I did not have that amount of time available.

After this, the paint was rubbed down with sandpaper 2000 and 3000. A full five working days (!) was spent only for this. After that, a ceramic coating was applied. I chose one with highest degree of hydrophobic property (i.e. repelling of water) which have the longest interval for maintenance. Normally, maintenance occur every 24-36 months. 

The competence of the "engineer" doing the rubbing and application is critical, so don't go for the lowest bid. Most existing customers do not know what to look for when examining the quality of the "engineer" so references are not all that helpful. Instead, you have to follow your instincts.

Car 2 (black) could not justify the full nine-yards, and besides I want to do the coating-maintenance myself. I took a light-version of the rubbing and a high quality hard-wax coating, which is cheaper and easier to apply than a ceramic coating is. Hence the cost of treating Car 2 was 1/4 of Car 1 and still looks great and draw comments wherever I go.


Both cars came out handsome and both cars give me a very good optic.


I chose "engineer" based on websites and web-forums for Auto Detailers, to find the most nerdy of the Geeks. These are the people-types that can raise a paint job from 96% to 99% good.

Nobody will ever reach 100% except those with very deep pockets and no budget. Plus, when a car is used the optics drop to 98% anyway ...

In your case you need to decide based on which colour(s) you choose, and whether you will actually submit the car for a concours d'elegance show that gives you a Document you can use to support the car's value in case of a (future) sale.


In my honest opinion, a concours-certificate will raise the cars value considerably. If it has been given a concours d'elegance award you could say that the money spent on the full treatment is rewarded with a better concours-result and hence higher value of the car.

Fine Rovers are in demand these days and are rapidly appreciating in value.

In Norway, the market for a high quality Jaguar MK II is about Eur 30.000. An MK II that have several concours-distinctions and a documented history was sold in minutes for Eur 50.000. The owner got his money back for the extra care he put into his car over the years.

Good luck with your project, and do share pix online.

[lagain]

I am guessing that once the car is finished it will lead a very cosetted life, so no need to go overboard on protecting the paint.
On my original cellulose I use Autoglym Super Resin, which is non abrasive, as my paint is a bit thin 😜
It gives a good shine and leaves a nice fragrance in the garage.

[2savage]

Interesting that a Mk II Jag was used as an example.  I owned one that I entered in a Concourse and got a 99.4% score.  That said, I like to drive my cars and the guy who won (I was second) I passed his enclosed trailer as he was driving his car home.  It was raining hard and I was driving home.  So, who had the most fun?

The Rover will be used a lot.  So, point taken about not being too picky.  Thanks for the info.  I think the paint will have five weeks or so to cure.