Restoring a cheap car

[blugnu]

Hello - I've just bought a very cheap Seat Leon mk1 in black (details in 'My Garage')

I think it looks fairly smart - the design is ageing well, and the paint, where it isn't chipped, is pretty shiny. I just wondered if any of you have any tips for a budget job that will make it look better.

The problems
It looks like it's been parked under a tree - there were numerous little blobs on the roof and bonnet that I scraped off with a 50p - carefully, obviously.

It has had roof bars left on for long enough for the paint to be lighter where the feet were - presumably it's worn away a layer of paint?

It has greasy hand prints all over it that don't come off with washing

It has lots of stone chips, one of which is quite large, as well as a scratch on one side

What I've done
I have most of an Autoglym valeting kit left from when I cared last time. So far:

I've cleaned the whole car with Bodywork Shampoo Conditioner - and scraped off the little sap blobs with a 50p. This made an instant improvement.

I've had a go at the lighter scratches with Paint Renovator - this has done a great job, especially around the door handles, but some scratches are too much for it.

I've done the door entries with Vinyl and Rubber Care.

I cleaned off most of the greasy marks using white spirit. There are a few that need another go though.

I've wiped over a lot of the under bonnet stuff with WD40 - no idea if that is a good idea long term, but it made it cleaner.

I need to do the glass and wheels too with the appropriate autoglym stuff.

Advice Needed

This is very much a budget valet, so what is the recommended way to deal with the chips? I was thinking of getting some black touch up paint from Halfrauds or similar and cutting it in with the Paint Renovator, or some black cutting wax.

Depending on how that goes I might sand the bits where the roofrack was and paint them, otherwise the paint will be proud of the rest as the faded paint is still there, if you see what I mean?

Thanks in advance for any advice - I've not started on the inside yet, but if anyone has any advice on how to freshen up the rubberised door handles that'd be great - there are bit missing and worn off mine and they look awful!

[blugnu]

Also, another thought.

Although the chips are in some places through to the metal, there is no rust as yet. Would you recommend treating the bare metal with vactan or simialr before painting anyway?

[JulesB]

It looks like it's been parked under a tree - there were numerous little blobs on the roof and bonnet that I scraped off with a 50p - carefully, obviously. - Put away the 50p! Bad idea buddy, you need to get yourself a clay bar and some 3m Perfect-it polish.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bilt-Hamber-Auto-Car-Cla...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3M-Perfect-it-lll-Fast-C...

It has had roof bars left on for long enough for the paint to be lighter where the feet were - presumably it's worn away a layer of paint?
Again the 3m-perfect it polish should help with this problem, do you have a machine polisher? will speed up the process.

It has greasy hand prints all over it that don't come off with washing
once again, go for the polish!

It has lots of stone chips, one of which is quite large, as well as a scratch on one side

Your best bet is some black touch up paint and a very fine paint brush, touch in the chips it wont make it perfect but it will improve it a great deal. Same goes for the scratch, does your nail catch in the scratch? If not then you can polish it out.

Hope this helps

[JulesB]

Oh, before you ask "whats the difference between the 3m and the autoglym polish?" The 3M stuff will do a better job in half the time, I swear by it

[blugnu]

JulesB said:

It looks like it's been parked under a tree - there were numerous little blobs on the roof and bonnet that I scraped off with a 50p - carefully, obviously. - Put away the 50p! Bad idea buddy, you need to get yourself a clay bar and some 3m Perfect-it polish.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bilt-Hamber-Auto-Car-Cla...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3M-Perfect-it-lll-Fast-C...

Thanks for your reply - I was thinking of getting a clay bar - I've never bothered with one before. As this is very much a budget job (the whole car was only £750 and that was with £200 worth of tax on it) I was wondering if I'm going to notice that much difference with one of the £3 clay bars from China that are on eBay?

JulesB said:

do you have a machine polisher? will speed up the process.

No, but the car is just outside my house and we have light evenings, so in the interests of being cheap, I can do it by hand - I'm not after a concourse finish - just cleaner than most Is the 3m stuff just a superior version of coloured Tutlewax?

JulesB said:

It has greasy hand prints all over it that don't come off with washing
once again, go for the polish!

I've already done it with white spirit - it seems to have done a decent job. I polished it afterwards with paint renovator too.

JulesB said:

It has lots of stone chips, one of which is quite large, as well as a scratch on one side

Your best bet is some black touch up paint and a very fine paint brush, touch in the chips it wont make it perfect but it will improve it a great deal. Same goes for the scratch, does your nail catch in the scratch? If not then you can polish it out.

The largest scratch, on the wing, is quite deep so will definitely need painting, as will the largest stone chip, which is perhaps as wide as my little finger - it was one hell of a bit of gravel that did it! There was another scratch on the same side across the doors - I think it's been driven too close to a hedge or something - and that has almost come out with paint renovator, so I think I'm going to try that a few more times first.

Hope this helps

Edited by blugnu on Monday 28th May 13:07

[kev b]

Buy a clay bar, use it, simple. The Bilt Hamber stuff is very good and only needs water as a lubricant, highly recomended. If you're serious about the job there are loads of guides on "Detailing World" though some contributors can get a bit anal/geeky.

[JulesB]

Dont bother buying the stuff from china, will take 2 months to turn up and by the time it arrives you will be thinking what the bloody hell is this and who sent it haha

I suggest spending a bit extra and getting proper stuff.

Not its not like turtle wax, it is a much more aggressive polish that makes light work out of most polishing jobs, well worth the money and you get plent of it so should last you a while. You dont need to use much

[Jd27]

Do the above and if you're feeling a little more brave, try some wet sanding for any areas that need serious attention, but make sure you read up about it first (as mentioned above on detailing world) and watch some demo video's on youtube before attempting it.

[JulesB]

Jd27 said:

Do the above and if you're feeling a little more brave, try some wet sanding for any areas that need serious attention, but make sure you read up about it first (as mentioned above on detailing world) and watch some demo video's on youtube before attempting it.

Wet sanding and then polishing back up by hand is a no, especially on black (id say) You will give up before the job is done

[kev b]

The O/P saw nothing wrong in removing tree sap with a coin this morning, now you are advising him to wet sand the paint!!! Let's take it one step at a time, someone will be along soon telling him to repaint it on his drive, using rattle cans.

[blugnu]

kev b said:

The O/P saw nothing wrong in removing tree sap with a coin this morning, now you are advising him to wet sand the paint!!! Let's take it one step at a time, someone will be along soon telling him to repaint it on his drive, using rattle cans.

I haven't got a drive, so it'd have to be thinned Rustoleum and a roller

[kev b]

That should do it, make sure you mask it up properly, if you get a move on it'll be finished by nightfall. It will look like a different car in the morning! Don't forget, we need pictures.

[JulesB]

kev b said:

The O/P saw nothing wrong in removing tree sap with a coin this morning, now you are advising him to wet sand the paint!!! Let's take it one step at a time, someone will be along soon telling him to repaint it on his drive, using rattle cans.

He asked how best to repair/tidy/improve his car, just offering some advice. (wet sanding is not that complicated!)

[Mr2Mike]

JulesB said:

Wet sanding and then polishing back up by hand is a no, especially on black (id say) You will give up before the job is done

I've done it many times, a bit of elbow grease is needed but it's not difficult. However, if it's got clearcoat and especially if it's metallic then wet sanding with no experience is not a good recipe for improving the paint.

[blugnu]

Thanks for all the replies.

I called in at the Asda on the way home from work yesterday to see what they had that was cheap, and picked up some T-Cut Scratch remover in black - largely because it was only £4 (or it might have been £3.50) - I've not had chance to try it yet though - and I know you're all going to tell me I need to clean it properly (i.e. without using coins) first. On a side note, it seems clear that Asda don't make much money selling health food or sun cream to their customers.

This is what the greasy marks look like, by the way. This was taken before the first go with white spirit - they're a bit better now but still seem to show through after a few hours.

[JulesB]

Mr2Mike said:

I've done it many times, a bit of elbow grease is needed but it's not difficult. However, if it's got clearcoat and especially if it's metallic then wet sanding with no experience is not a good recipe for improving the paint.

Spend 2 minutes flatting spend half an hour polishing by hand especially on a black probably even then wont get all the flatting marks out. Not sure why being metallic matters


Let us know how you get on

[Mr2Mike]

JulesB said:

Spend 2 minutes flatting spend half an hour polishing by hand especially on a black probably even then wont get all the flatting marks out. Not sure why being metallic matters

Because if you break through the clearcoat then you are in the st.

I flatted the bonnet on my (black) MR2 and cut back by hand. Took best part of half a day but it came up gleaming.

[JulesB]

I know what you mean but it doesn't matter if it's metallic or not

[AndyClockwise]

Jules,

Would you follow the Fast cut with Extra Fine or Ultra Fine? And would you use a foam applicator if doing this by hand?

[JulesB]

Applicator will help get an even spread for the polish, I normally would use one when polishing by mop and by hand. I would use Extra Fine then UltraFina for the best finish