Paint restoration

[MartynT]

Hi All,

I have a 1972 Fulvia 1600HF S2 Coupe in red & I'm thinking about having a go out bringing the paintwork back up to scratch.  I'm relatively handy so I'm wondering if this is something I could try myself?  Also, are there any recommendations for products, tools, process etc that would work the best?

Regards,
Martyn.

[bobhenry999]

Martyn,

I had the same query when considering improving the finish on my Flavia Coupe. Fortunately in November 2022 my car was on the club stand at the International Classic Car Show at the NEC in Birmingham and I got speaking with a chap who is a professional detailer, and does many famous peoples cars such as Lamborghinis, RR, Ferrari, Bugatti etc, sometimes costing two or three thousand pounds over two or three days !

Anyway, he kindly took a look at my car and recommended the machine, pads, compounds etc that I should use. Obviously it would not be as extensive as his myriad of machines but he said that it would be suffice for an amateur like me and would improve the finish considerably.

He warned against using a rotary polisher as they can be quite unforgiving and could lead to me burning through the paint. His recommendations were:

A Rupes LHR15 Dual Action machine.
Rupes yellow pads.
Rupes fine yellow polishing compound.

Rupes are one of the leading companies in the car detailing world and many professionals use their products.

Since using the above the paint finish on my car is much improved, although it was already good obviously having won the club Concours in 2022 and the Master Class in 2023, but the process removed lots of swirls and other defects that come from regular washing and polishing etc.

I hope this might help, any questions let me know or I'll be at the National Rally in July if you want a chat.

Regards,

Bob