To paint or not to paint?

[DAMO1A]

My Sud is looking very presentable after a bit of polish.  From a distance it looks unblemished.  However up close the bonnet has stone chips and there are other minor marks around the body.



I am considering whether it is time for a re-spray to make it look like new.  My only doubt is that the 30 years worth of stone chips and bumps give the car a certain amount of character.

Should I persist with polished imperfection or investigate a new paint job?

[colcol]

It depends on what you want to do with it, if it is to put away in a garage in a carcoon as a show car, then go ahead and do a respray, if it is going to be driven on the weekends in Alfa Club runs, then leave it as it is, as you are relunctant to take it out, when the paintwork is perfect, and the Sud is a stand out car, not many around now, haven't seen one on the road for years.
If that old Italian Rust issue starts to appear, then you may consider a respray, Colin.

[Craig_m67]

Slippery slope .....  While you're in there
(Double your budget and then some)

[Garibaldi]

What a lovely car. You don't see many in this condition. I would leave it the way it is. As Col said if you want to drive it regularly I wouldn't repaint it.

[Evan Bottcher]

Uneconomical to paint, and far too embarrassing to drive in its current condition. You should sell it to me :-P

[Sportscar Nut]

Your car looks great as is Damo but as said, depends what your after.

Will be a slippery slippery slope but all good fun. Nothing economic about owning a nice Sud (or Alfa for that matter)??

Cheers
Paul

[Frank Musco]

Don't paint it...drive it!

It looks beautiful, I wish mine looked that good.

[MD]

A respray may reduce its maximum potential resale value because it raises the question.

What is the seller hiding?
Has it been in a smash repair?
Is rust being covered up?
Is the base paint sun affected?
etc.

With an original paint job, what you see is what you get which inspires confidence and trust in the vendor.

[DAMO1A]

Some sage advice.  Thank you. I think I will keep it original for now and reconsider further down the road.

[VeeSix]

If you do resprays yourself, why not, it's just going to make the paint job perfect and for little cost, if not the cost of a respray these days is not financially viable, you could purchase two more nice Suds for the price, looks way too good to pay for a respray, paint condition versus paying for a respray 

[Martinsifredi]

Hello Damo,

If you are using it often it may be a better idea to get some stone chip touch ups done and a cut and polish followed by a nice coating of sealer and Wax to help prevent further damage from the elements including high levels of RED fading UV light in summer.
If you are interested I can offer to do a series of stone chip touch ups and get the paint job up to a high standard. 

Kind regards,

Martin Sifredi

[DAMO1A]

Thanks Martin.  I'm in Sydney but if I come down to Spettacolo in Nov I might get you to have a look at it. Damo

[RobertRame]

The catch is that none of us really has any idea what paint is currently on your tractor.  If it has never been repainted, the advise above is good.  If not, well, good luck.