"twochevrons" (twochevrons)
03/14/2015 at 23:03 • Filed to: paint, vw, scirocco, question
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"twochevrons" (twochevrons)
03/14/2015 at 23:03 • Filed to: paint, vw, scirocco, question | 1
| 21 |
The time has come for me to drag the '85 Scirocco out of storage. It's a genuine barn find with only 38,000 miles on the clock, and although it has some fueling issues that need sorting, it drives like a brand-new car. The problem is, the paint on it is shockingly bad – the clear coat is peeling off in sheets on one side, and is badly pitted on the roof and bonnet.
I would love to one day have it looking as good as it drives, but I have no idea at all about paint and bodywork. The paint underneath looks okay – would it be possible to somehow remove the clear coat and reapply it, or will it need to be stripped back to the metal? There are a couple of dents here and there, but there's not a spot of rust on the car, and I'd quite like to keep it that way.
I realise that there is absolutely no way that a paint job would make financial sense, but does anybody have any idea what kind of cost to expect? It's just such a shame to have a car that's mechanically so good to be let down by some pretty terrible cosmetics.
Here's a photograph of the car in question – that's the 'good' side of it – the other side is much worse.
crowmolly
> twochevrons
03/14/2015 at 23:07 |
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Cost can vary depending on quality. Of both work and materials.
You can scuff and shoot with lower end stuff for cheap. You can strip it all to metal and do a full resto job but it will cost a lot more.
Paint cost also depends on your location.
Biased Plies
> twochevrons
03/14/2015 at 23:17 |
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Don't quote me on this as I'm not a professional but if you say the paint underneath the clear is OK, you could try removing/peeling back any remaining bad clear coat with a buffer to the point where only paint and/or good clear covered paint remains and spray new clearcoat over top.
Kevin Barrett
> twochevrons
03/14/2015 at 23:18 |
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I can't offer you any insight for paint, but I'd like to offer you some encouragement—do whatever it takes to keep that beauty in good shape! Whatever it takes, short of—you know—compromising your home, your livelihood, your family's happiness, others' agency and happiness, etc.
SJGeorge94
> twochevrons
03/15/2015 at 00:09 |
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Doesn't 3m have a paint restore kit for older style paints? I remember seeing a video while surfing on youtube.
Curbsenthusiasms
> twochevrons
03/15/2015 at 12:48 |
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In my high school years I purchased a peeling and rusting 1988 Jeep Cherokee from the local you pull it for $500. I stripped and sanded what I could, filled holes with body filler and sanded some more. I purchased a 2 stage turbine from the UK at the time but it looks like the Wagner machines are single/dual stage turbines as well. The turbine sprayer eliminated the need for a large enough compressor to spray the paint. I used a single stage black paint that came out pretty good.
Might be worth a try! Just don't do it in your dads garage!!!
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twochevrons
> Curbsenthusiasms
03/15/2015 at 21:27 |
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Heh, at least I'm lucky here in that there's no rust (those two spots of bog in the rear wheel arch are covering up attachment points for a missing trim piece. Thanks, previous owner!). I suppose that a single-stage black paint would be much more forgiving, but I do really like the colour that it is at the moment. Not sure if I'm brave enough to tackle that on my own, though!
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twochevrons
> Biased Plies
03/15/2015 at 21:45 |
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That would be ideal. Aside from slopping rustoleum over some rust spots on my old Rover SD1, I've never painted anything in my life. I've got not idea if it would work, either, but I guess it's worth a go!
lonestranger
> twochevrons
03/17/2015 at 20:30 |
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Is that Arizona Red Metallic? My first car was a hand-me-down 1980 Rabbit L in Arizona Red Metallic. Its clear coat was peeling off in large sheets as well.
Shiftright
> twochevrons
03/17/2015 at 21:21 |
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You owned a Rover SD1. 10,000 cool points awarded.
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Shiftright
> twochevrons
03/17/2015 at 21:27 |
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If you wet sand the paint to make it even and strip the car around the areas that need repainting and take it to a body shop, they will be able to just repaint the problem areas, or possibly just re clear. I've done that with a rust and dent-free Accord daily driver I had that ran perfectly but had shot clear coat all over. I even taped it up as much as I could. The prep is the most time consuming aspect of painting a car so you can save some bucks that way. Got a pretty good paintjob for about $750 for the whole car.
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twochevrons
> Shiftright
03/17/2015 at 21:33 |
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Heh, somebody knows what that is! That's worth a fair few cool points itself!
It was my first car – rusty, unreliable and ludicrously thirsty, but oh so much fun, and surprisingly good at hauling band equipment. I actually got it fairly well-sorted over the time that I had it, but the fuel bills were getting to be too much, and the transmission was beginning to slip, so I ended up parting with it. Man, I miss that car.
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twochevrons
> lonestranger
03/17/2015 at 21:56 |
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Could well be. I can't remember the paint code, but it does definitely have a metallic look to it, and it does seem that certain colours have it worse than others.
Aside from the peeling clear coat, I love the colour. It's a bit unusual, and I'd definitely have it resprayed in the same colour if that's what I end up doing.
Vic788
> twochevrons
03/18/2015 at 01:57 |
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Color sand it. get the best detailing kit out there with the right cutting liquids and just get an excellent buffer. Spend a whole day on it getting it done right. Good luck.
SantaRita
> twochevrons
03/18/2015 at 09:53 |
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that literally might buff out , or be able to be restored with some clay bar. Older paints, especially, white red and black are usually an enamel that is pretty workable and thicker than the thin stuff with clearcoat we use now.
chances are it never had a clearcoat in the first place, and you may still have some thin areas where it's jsut not going to ever look 'new' but will still look amazing ... original with just a hint of patina.
also, i have commented to you 4 times today. so now we are best friends. hahaha
here is some good reading.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expe…
inspiration:
Skamanda
> twochevrons
03/18/2015 at 09:57 |
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That is mind bogglingly clean for a Scirocco. Treat it well, it may be the last Scirocco in America that isn't totally rusted out...
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twochevrons
> Skamanda
03/18/2015 at 11:46 |
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Heh, it's a bit of a time capsule. So the story goes, it went in to a body shop in the early '90s, but the owner never paid up, so it sat in their back lot for twenty years and slowly got stripped for parts. The shop closed a few years ago, some guy bought it, sorted the title out and started fixing it up, but was short on garage space and ended up selling it to me.
When I got it, it still had parking ramp tickets and gas receipts from the late '80s sitting in the driver's door pocket!
It looks rough as anything – the interior is pretty well shot, and the paint is gross, but there's not a spot of rust on it, and with only 30,000 miles on the clock, it drives like a new car. I haven't done anything on it in years, and I have considered selling it, but I can never quite bring myself to. However, I'm changing jobs this summer, and I'll have to drive to work for the first time in years. Since the Volvo is ridiculously thirsty in city driving, I think that the Scirocco would make an excellent summer commuter. Even the AC still works!
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twochevrons
> SantaRita
03/18/2015 at 11:57 |
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Thanks! It definitely does have a clear coat, unfortunately – I don't have a good photo, but in a couple of spots, it is literally peeling off in sheets.
Interestingly, my Volvo has single-stage paint despite being much newer, and it looked awful when I got it. A (not-so) quick cut and polish, and it looks fantastic now!
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Skamanda
> twochevrons
03/18/2015 at 12:00 |
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I dunno if I'd use that as a DD with the shell as clean as it is. If I owned one, I'd turn it into a track toy. Seeing it get dinged by someone because they were driving like a tool on the way to work would make me a very sad panda, indeed...
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twochevrons
> Skamanda
03/18/2015 at 13:12 |
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You have a point. But, on the other hand, it's just begging to be driven. Wish that there were more track opportunities around here!
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Skamanda
> twochevrons
03/18/2015 at 13:43 |
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http://www.racingaroundamerica.com/speedways/minn…
Looks like you've got tracks all over the place, there! Either way, resto-mod that bad boy, even if you only kill cones with it at the nearest autocross!
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Shiftright
> twochevrons
03/18/2015 at 15:23 |
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I love that car!