My 1995 TVR Chimaera 400 Journey
Discussion
I forgot to start a thread on here charting my journey with "Ron" My 1995 TVR Chimaera 400.
So I think most of you are aware that Pugly has go to a new home where she is being driven and loved as much as she deserves....so I had to find a suitable replacement for her.
I always wanted a 205 GTI 1.9...done that so I sat there and thought what else is on the list....TVR Chimaera!!
So here he is filling the empty space thats been the garage for the last week or 2
The car is spot on....the paint is what I would class as "OK" but thats to be expected of a nearly 21 year old car...its not had any crash damage its probably had the nose painted at some point they all do but then again its only done 38,400 miles in its life. The plan with Ron (thats his name) is to just drive enjoy him but at the same time restore it back to factory new condition....
I made a start on the interior last night...it was pretty grubby with ingrained dirt but a medium solution/mix of AutoGlym Super Interior Cleaner soon sorted that out! Last night was no means the final clean it was more of an interim to see how it came up and what i was working with.
Door card before:
Door Card after:
Colour of water in bucket after doing all hard surfaces and seats:
So I think most of you are aware that Pugly has go to a new home where she is being driven and loved as much as she deserves....so I had to find a suitable replacement for her.
I always wanted a 205 GTI 1.9...done that so I sat there and thought what else is on the list....TVR Chimaera!!
So here he is filling the empty space thats been the garage for the last week or 2
The car is spot on....the paint is what I would class as "OK" but thats to be expected of a nearly 21 year old car...its not had any crash damage its probably had the nose painted at some point they all do but then again its only done 38,400 miles in its life. The plan with Ron (thats his name) is to just drive enjoy him but at the same time restore it back to factory new condition....
I made a start on the interior last night...it was pretty grubby with ingrained dirt but a medium solution/mix of AutoGlym Super Interior Cleaner soon sorted that out! Last night was no means the final clean it was more of an interim to see how it came up and what i was working with.
Door card before:
Door Card after:
Colour of water in bucket after doing all hard surfaces and seats:
So now that I am back in the UK for a few weeks thought I would make a start on the interior refurb on Ron..first part seats.
Only done the driver side so far buy super happy with the results so far.
So some before pics:
The Afters:
All this was done with the kit that Furniture Clinic sell...only thing that I did was use my 50L compressor to run the airbrush I could not face faffing about with the cans of propellant.
All I did was follow the instructions to the letter, super easy to do and the satin finish whilst not super matt is a very nice finish.
One thing I will advise is when using the leather prep make sure you are in a very very well ventilated space as its basically like thinners....I was shocked at the smell in the summer house when I took off my 3M respirator!!
Will do the passenger seat over the next couple of evenings....its no where as bad as the drivers seat but will look well for being done!
Only done the driver side so far buy super happy with the results so far.
So some before pics:
The Afters:
All this was done with the kit that Furniture Clinic sell...only thing that I did was use my 50L compressor to run the airbrush I could not face faffing about with the cans of propellant.
All I did was follow the instructions to the letter, super easy to do and the satin finish whilst not super matt is a very nice finish.
One thing I will advise is when using the leather prep make sure you are in a very very well ventilated space as its basically like thinners....I was shocked at the smell in the summer house when I took off my 3M respirator!!
Will do the passenger seat over the next couple of evenings....its no where as bad as the drivers seat but will look well for being done!
So on the request of member on Detailing World here is a more step by step "photo diary" of the passenger side seat.
Now obviously the passenger seat has nowhere near as much wear on it as the drivers side....but the results are still never the less outstanding!
So these photos were taken after rubbing down with the scotchbrite pad and leather prep (actually used standard thinners as I had run out of the leather prep supplied in the kit)
So then onto the application of the basecoat....this is done with some of the colour on a sponge...its not meant to cover fully its just meant to start filling in the cracks and creases with some base colour.
So then after 2 coats of colour airbrushed on....
And finally after 2 coats of super seal and then 2 further coats of satin finish....Tadaaaaaa!
Chuffed you bet your socks I am...its taken a tired and worn interior and given it a new lease of life, and while its not 100% perfect its a damn sight cheaper than a re-trim!
All in all took me 2 evenings to do this seat
Now obviously the passenger seat has nowhere near as much wear on it as the drivers side....but the results are still never the less outstanding!
So these photos were taken after rubbing down with the scotchbrite pad and leather prep (actually used standard thinners as I had run out of the leather prep supplied in the kit)
So then onto the application of the basecoat....this is done with some of the colour on a sponge...its not meant to cover fully its just meant to start filling in the cracks and creases with some base colour.
So then after 2 coats of colour airbrushed on....
And finally after 2 coats of super seal and then 2 further coats of satin finish....Tadaaaaaa!
Chuffed you bet your socks I am...its taken a tired and worn interior and given it a new lease of life, and while its not 100% perfect its a damn sight cheaper than a re-trim!
All in all took me 2 evenings to do this seat
So more progress on the interior refurb, whilst the carpets are in good order they were suffering from uneven discolouration thanks to the sun.
So when I bought the Leather Colourant and was discussing the carpets with Duncan he recommended their "FabriCoat Upholstery Kit" and they had already got a TVR Biscuit colour on file but couldn't guarantee that it would be a perfect match as they matched it on the verbal description from another TVR owner.
I went with it and it is a different colour to my carpets original colour I gave it a test on the carpet under where the seat....I actually liked it better.
The dye is water-based and you can add some IPA to it to make it penetrate into stubborn surfaces...I did try this but I found it thinned the colour down too much so gave it a bash neat and its perfect...I also use my airbrush hooked to the compressor again to apply the product just a whole heap easier to do!
So a couple of before pics.....
Now the after pics...100% better and the colour is now even...still got about 500ml left...When you apply the colour does obviously sit on the surface but i found that using the included tampico brush to work the colour in makes it all go a lot further, and true to the info on the website the carpets are not all solid and stiff.....
So when I bought the Leather Colourant and was discussing the carpets with Duncan he recommended their "FabriCoat Upholstery Kit" and they had already got a TVR Biscuit colour on file but couldn't guarantee that it would be a perfect match as they matched it on the verbal description from another TVR owner.
I went with it and it is a different colour to my carpets original colour I gave it a test on the carpet under where the seat....I actually liked it better.
The dye is water-based and you can add some IPA to it to make it penetrate into stubborn surfaces...I did try this but I found it thinned the colour down too much so gave it a bash neat and its perfect...I also use my airbrush hooked to the compressor again to apply the product just a whole heap easier to do!
So a couple of before pics.....
Now the after pics...100% better and the colour is now even...still got about 500ml left...When you apply the colour does obviously sit on the surface but i found that using the included tampico brush to work the colour in makes it all go a lot further, and true to the info on the website the carpets are not all solid and stiff.....
So today was the day of finishing the interior off...
This consisted of a really deep clean of the various magnolia and biscuit trim, thankfully Ron has the "Half/Half" interior option which means that the faces of the seats are leather but the rest of the trim is vinyl, meaning you can really go to town and scrub the bejesus out of the vinyl to get it really clean.
So a mixture of a magic sponge, brushes and AutoGlym Trade Super Interior Cleaner.
Here are some WIP pics....also worth noting that I did give the interior a clean when i got the car back in July!
Pics of the freshly cleaned trim....
Then the really exciting bit (well for me anyhow) putting the seats back in!
Passenger side first ...
Then the drivers side....
Then it was time to dress it all off...I used AutoGlym Silicone Pumpasol...its a fantastic silicone based dressing that works so well on older trim but doesn't leave that oil slick look.
Over all the interior actually looks brand new now....so chuffed with the way the seats came out...the carpet recolour has really evened the sun bleached parts out and the whole interior is lovely and fresh/new looking.
Here are some final finished pics.....
This consisted of a really deep clean of the various magnolia and biscuit trim, thankfully Ron has the "Half/Half" interior option which means that the faces of the seats are leather but the rest of the trim is vinyl, meaning you can really go to town and scrub the bejesus out of the vinyl to get it really clean
.So a mixture of a magic sponge, brushes and AutoGlym Trade Super Interior Cleaner.
Here are some WIP pics....also worth noting that I did give the interior a clean when i got the car back in July!
Pics of the freshly cleaned trim....
Then the really exciting bit (well for me anyhow) putting the seats back in!
Passenger side first ...
Then the drivers side....
Then it was time to dress it all off...I used AutoGlym Silicone Pumpasol...its a fantastic silicone based dressing that works so well on older trim but doesn't leave that oil slick look.
Over all the interior actually looks brand new now....so chuffed with the way the seats came out...the carpet recolour has really evened the sun bleached parts out and the whole interior is lovely and fresh/new looking.
Here are some final finished pics.....
So weather has been crap today (Sunday) and been non-stop rain so couldn't give the Mazda a clean so though it would head into the warmth of the man-cave while my little lad had his afternoon nap.
(don't worry I had the monitor with me so I could keep an eye on him and hear him)
Next job on the list is to correct the paint..I had done it back in July but it was only to make it more presentable....there were some swirls and defects present now.
So far have done the bonnet, O/S front wing and door.
2 stage with Koch Chemi H8 on a purple Scholl pad followed up with M2 on a orange Scholl pad...all run on my Rupes...for tight spots I had to break out the same pads but the spot versions on my rotary. IPA wipe downs in-between stages.
Happy with the results so far...
Bonnet:
O/S Front Wing:
O/S Door:
(don't worry I had the monitor with me so I could keep an eye on him and hear him)
Next job on the list is to correct the paint..I had done it back in July but it was only to make it more presentable....there were some swirls and defects present now.
So far have done the bonnet, O/S front wing and door.
2 stage with Koch Chemi H8 on a purple Scholl pad followed up with M2 on a orange Scholl pad...all run on my Rupes...for tight spots I had to break out the same pads but the spot versions on my rotary. IPA wipe downs in-between stages.
Happy with the results so far...
Bonnet:
O/S Front Wing:
O/S Door:
TR4man said:
Great work, but I have one question - Ron?
How can such a beautiful car be called Ron?
He is called Ron after "Ron Burgundy" as he is loud, brash and not PC in the slightest How can such a beautiful car be called Ron?
Jonmx said:
Great work, that looks brilliant! Amazing how well some cars clean up with a bit of elbow grease and some know how.
You could have just strapped your lad into a baby seat in the car whilst you worked on the exterior though....
My little lad loves Ron (and all things car related too actually) His Recaro race baby seat fits perfectly too!You could have just strapped your lad into a baby seat in the car whilst you worked on the exterior though....
Edited by nick_mcuk on Wednesday 15th March 20:17
LanceRS said:
A true work of art, well done. I can't help noticing that you let little one in with his shoes on!
Thanks...yeah that was way back in July 2016 when I got it if you notice the seat is all worn etc.TBH he is very good anyhow even now, would always check his shoes before letting him in....but he loves just pretending to drive the car
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