Entering a world of pain - restoring my 1984 GTV 2.0

[bonno]

This is all great advice - thank you. Roadworthy adds so much flexibility in terms of options, then panels, then paint if it's all worthwhile. Good thinking and some useful clarity thanks.

Matty
Before getting to far ahead with the paint finish, maybe look at getting it roadworthy first.  I don't think that any kind of elbow grease and compounds/buffing will bring back the lustre you are expecting, as it appear the clear coat has deteriorated beyond repair. 

[MattK]

Quite right, and I am not expecting anything much. My motive is a little simpler - I am living in a rented apartment and having moved this unregistered car into my offroad parking space, I want to avoid the landlord seeing it as a junk heap and telling me to get rid of it. So looking better cared for is a bit of insurance.

[poohbah]

I want to avoid the landlord seeing it as a junk heap

In that case Matt, how prepared are you to have a go at something cheap and cheerful that some might consider heresy?

There's a mail-order mob called Colour Dip n Peel (Qld I think) who sell DIY liquid vinyl wrap - I've seen them at car shows spraying it on a Ferrari as a demo. I think a matte finish costs circa $250-300 (plus freight) for enough to do your whole car. You can spend more to get a gloss finish. Basically you just need a decent spray gun/compressor, and somewhere sheltered to do it.

And if you cock it up, you should be able to peel it off and try again. As I understand it, it is quite a bit different to "plasti dips" which have a pretty bad rap.

Obviously its not a substitute for a proper resto or respray, but I can see the appeal of a cheap freshen up or short-term colour change. Lots of baseball cap wearers seem to do it, but I haven't seen anyone try it on something like an Alfetta, so it would be an interesting experiment.

www.facebook.com/COLOURDIPNPEEL/

Now please don't hurl too much abuse at me...

[MattK]

It's a cute idea, but what I want is to buy some time cheaply now, and put proper paint on it when the car is up to scratch otherwise ...
Cool idea though.

[V AR 164]

Since I have polished cars multiple times, I thought I'd chip in my two cents.

From what I can see, the paint isn't bad at all, just buff it, you will be surprised at how good it will come up. My 164Q had god awful paint on the roof when I bought it. The clear coat wasn't peeling, but had gone 'cloudy' and turned into a matte white finish.

Firstly, wash the car properly, make sure to get into all the door sills and little vents/flutes on the body. Run your hand over the paint, and if it is rough (I expect it would be), run a clay bar over it: http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Product/Bowden-s-Own-Fine-Clay-Bar-2-Pack/323488

Buy a decent dual action polisher, such as this: http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Product/Rockwell-ShopSeries-Car-Polisher-Multi-Function-180mm-600-Watt/344537

These are more expensive than the typical rotary style polishers, but are MUCH MUCH safer to use for the novice and drastically reduce the possibility of getting swirl marks or even worse, burning through the paint. The included foam pad isn't bad either, it's a very fine pad, and only takes off a small amount of paint at a time, again, meaning it is quite safe to use.

As for polishes/ compounds, for bad oxidized paint, I personally use Meguiar's Ultimate Compound: http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Product/Meguiar-s-Ultimate-Compound-450mL/214309

This will remove the oxidation as it is quite aggressive, but again, I have never damaged my paintwork with it.

To finish off a compounded car, I use Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Polish: http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Product/Meguiar-s-Ultimate-Liquid-Polish-473mL/295147

This removes the 'haze' generated by the compound, and leaves the paintwork with a deep rich shine.

Finally, to protect the paint, Bowdens is my favorite brand. Their Carnauba wax is awesome! The water beading is incredible from a wax, and lasts me up to 6 months: http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Product/Bowden-s-Own-Auto-Body-Wax-500mL/323485

After every wash, I like to also use the Bowdens Fully Slick spray wax, I have found it builds up on the existing Carnauba wax, and protects it by building another layer of protectant, thus increasing the life of the body wax: http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Product/Bowden-s-Own-Fully-Slick-Detailer-750mL/415553

You don't need every product listed, but just use this as a general idea of what products you may need, and cater them to your circumstance.

I have probably gone a bit overboard with this post, but I've been there and done that and my paintwork is pretty shiny, so hope it helps



Cheers, Andrew.

[MattK]

Wow. Stunningly helpful. Thank you so much! Amazing 164 too.

[Paul Gulliver]

Great write up Andrew. You car appears to be testament  to your growing expertise.

[MattK]

Beautiful work that!
On a more humble note I bought some clay and detailing liquid, and that buffer Andrew recommended. I skipped the cutting stage because I have quite a bit of primer showing through the roof paint, but I did a fairly thorough polish. The clay was weird but I got the hang of it pretty quickly, and the polishing brought a pretty decent shine up. I washed it again and I might wax it tomorrow if my wallet can stand more punishment. I'd give the result about 7 out of 10 - a solid improvement on the 2 out of 10 it started with. Also gave a few things a clean in the interior. Currently apart from a couple of surface rust spots, the only proper rust I can find is the panel behind the wheel, a 3 inch section at the base of the driver's window, and what I suspect might be a similar problem just starting in the behind-wheel panel on the other side.

[poohbah]

You'll be back on the road in no time Matt. Once she's driveable you'll be more relaxed about taking your time, and you'll be able to have some fun along the way. I'd be interested to see a pic of her now you've given her a polish.

[MattK]

Well said! Hope I can find the time to work on it.

[MattK]

Got some wax on - I'd give it a solid 7 (photographs a bit better than it looks). Dang thing wouldn't turn over when I tried it this afternoon, might need an overnight charge on the battery ...

[Duk]

Cheers, Andrew.

Dayum! 
That's 1 good looking 164! They can be made to look sooooooooooo good with the right wheels and ride height!
Such a shame we never got the Q4, I'd have 1 of those and make it look this good.

[poohbah]

Nice work Matt, well worth the effort.