1969 Maserati Ghibli - The Resurection
Discussion
Chad speed said:
About 3 weeks ago when I thought it was all going swimmingly.
This is straight from the gun and the finish I was hoping for. The doors, bonnet and boot are all this standard or better.
That bonnet looks gorgeous with its clear coat on. I take it this was somehow about to turn into a clusterf~~k?This is straight from the gun and the finish I was hoping for. The doors, bonnet and boot are all this standard or better.
lordlee said:
Chad speed said:
About 3 weeks ago when I thought it was all going swimmingly.
This is straight from the gun and the finish I was hoping for. The doors, bonnet and boot are all this standard or better.
That bonnet looks gorgeous with its clear coat on. I take it this was somehow about to turn into a clusterf~~k?This is straight from the gun and the finish I was hoping for. The doors, bonnet and boot are all this standard or better.
If I was painting that the roll-cab would be part green too though
Happy Christmas one and all, not quite the big reveal I had in mind at the start of December but life with a classic Maserati rarely runs smoothly. So just a taste of what I have been able to achieve on the home spraying front, the doors, bonnet and boot are to the same standard, shame about some area's of the shell. I will detail soon what the problems are but for now were going to end advent on positives.
Nose cone after wet sanding, wool mop and light polish.
Massive thanks to those who have posted tips and encouragement over the last 8 months and especially the ones going down the same rocky road with classic Maserati, there are quite a few.
Join me and raise a virtual glass of your favourite tipple
- to all home classic car restorers and their patient and supportive partners who know it'll all be worth in the end - honest!
Nose cone after wet sanding, wool mop and light polish.
Massive thanks to those who have posted tips and encouragement over the last 8 months and especially the ones going down the same rocky road with classic Maserati, there are quite a few.
Join me and raise a virtual glass of your favourite tipple
- to all home classic car restorers and their patient and supportive partners who know it'll all be worth in the end - honest!Chad speed said:
Happy Christmas one and all, not quite the big reveal I had in mind at the start of December but life with a classic Maserati rarely runs smoothly. So just a taste of what I have been able to achieve on the home spraying front, the doors, bonnet and boot are to the same standard, shame about some area's of the shell. I will detail soon what the problems are but for now were going to end advent on positives.
Top work Chad - a very Merry Christmas to you too! That nose cone looks absolutely spot on.
Chad speed said:
Join me and raise a virtual glass of your favourite tipple - to all home classic car restorers and their patient and supportive partners who know it'll all be worth in the end - honest!
Happy Christmas Roger and I'll raise a glass to your efforts and a thank you for posting all the updates. It's fantastic to see the nose badge in place, quite a step to be putting thing back on, we'll done indeed - to all home classic car restorers and their patient and supportive partners who know it'll all be worth in the end - honest!Paul
I can remember in the late 60s where I lived {Lancashire} the local aristocrat {Lord Lilford} has the first Ghibli I had ever seen. I think it was the actual car Autocar had tested, he said it was the fastest in the world but I as a schoolboy thought it was the Muira {in those days I still believed the quoted top speeds of Italian cars !}.
Later in the 70s I was working for Berger Paints and I remember going out with the VR { car respray} rep to Stilton motors where they were doing up a Ghibli which had been in a minor shunt. They were all very impressed that I knew what it was !
Bill
Later in the 70s I was working for Berger Paints and I remember going out with the VR { car respray} rep to Stilton motors where they were doing up a Ghibli which had been in a minor shunt. They were all very impressed that I knew what it was !
Bill
neutral 3 said:
Looking good, congrats on the progress so far. What colour did you chose ?
You just recovering from a spectacular lunch or only got a B&W monitor? - its green 
Seriously though I assume you mean what shade, I went for the original colour Verdi Bosco 106-G-15 (see page 16), dark in some light, remarkably light in others.
Happy New Year folks, hope you had a good break.
I managed to stay out of the garage for a few days and feel all the better for it so I’m now back with renewed enthusiasm. You may recall final painting was going well and I was sure I’d reach my goal of getting all the painting done by the end of 2012. The final clear coats went on the shell, doors, bonnet etc by the end of the first week in December but a week later I made a disappointing and unexpected discovery. So what happened? Well, I began wet sanding the rear nearside corner to remove any unevenness in the clear coat by blocking off to 2500 grit before polishing. All was going well up to this point but as I began to bring the shine up on the now super flat surface I could see some unusual lighter coloured areas and where I had removed a couple of runs, although the surface was perfectly flat, a hazy impression of the run remained. The unusual thing was the affected area’s only became apparent when the surface had been polished and then only at certain angles and under specific light conditions. To say I was hacked off was an understatement - so near yet so far.
Having had a few weeks to assess the situation and diagnose what and how it all went wrong I now know its not a complete disaster but the area’s affected will need respraying. The problem is air entrainment in one or more of the clear coats, only visible when light reflects off the microscopic air bubbles trapped inside. When I first discovered it I had no idea what it was or how extensive. The only way to see how much of the car is affected is to wet sand and polish the whole car which is a bit of a grind, especially so if I then find its back to square 1 in that area. So far I can say the bonnet, doors, boot and all horizontal parts of the shell are ok but the front off side and rear nearside wings plus rear panel are not.
It’s become clear the root cause of the problem was lack of space in the garage and not being able to get the gun consistently at the right distance from the panel, it seems this was compounded by my reluctance to use thinners after previous problems using it. I was spraying the clear coat a bit too thick, ok on horizontal panels where the minute bubbles can float to the top and disappear, not so on vertical ones. So in a nutshell all the panels where I had enough space are excellent and I am happy with them and the current task is blocking off and polishing.
Flat and shiny but all is not what it seems, if I'd gone for solid instead of metallic I'd be home and dry by now.
Look at the lower corner at the front of the fuel filler recess. The drips gone but entrained air still there.
Front wing looks ok in this shot before sanding/polishing.
The whole of the wing is down to 2500 grit but the entrained air is now clearly visible.
Same affect on the rear panel.
We’re more or less up to date now so progress posts will be real time and a bit slower but I’ll keep you posted.
Here’s to plain sailing in 2013.
I managed to stay out of the garage for a few days and feel all the better for it so I’m now back with renewed enthusiasm. You may recall final painting was going well and I was sure I’d reach my goal of getting all the painting done by the end of 2012. The final clear coats went on the shell, doors, bonnet etc by the end of the first week in December but a week later I made a disappointing and unexpected discovery. So what happened? Well, I began wet sanding the rear nearside corner to remove any unevenness in the clear coat by blocking off to 2500 grit before polishing. All was going well up to this point but as I began to bring the shine up on the now super flat surface I could see some unusual lighter coloured areas and where I had removed a couple of runs, although the surface was perfectly flat, a hazy impression of the run remained. The unusual thing was the affected area’s only became apparent when the surface had been polished and then only at certain angles and under specific light conditions. To say I was hacked off was an understatement - so near yet so far.
Having had a few weeks to assess the situation and diagnose what and how it all went wrong I now know its not a complete disaster but the area’s affected will need respraying. The problem is air entrainment in one or more of the clear coats, only visible when light reflects off the microscopic air bubbles trapped inside. When I first discovered it I had no idea what it was or how extensive. The only way to see how much of the car is affected is to wet sand and polish the whole car which is a bit of a grind, especially so if I then find its back to square 1 in that area. So far I can say the bonnet, doors, boot and all horizontal parts of the shell are ok but the front off side and rear nearside wings plus rear panel are not.
It’s become clear the root cause of the problem was lack of space in the garage and not being able to get the gun consistently at the right distance from the panel, it seems this was compounded by my reluctance to use thinners after previous problems using it. I was spraying the clear coat a bit too thick, ok on horizontal panels where the minute bubbles can float to the top and disappear, not so on vertical ones. So in a nutshell all the panels where I had enough space are excellent and I am happy with them and the current task is blocking off and polishing.
Flat and shiny but all is not what it seems, if I'd gone for solid instead of metallic I'd be home and dry by now.
Look at the lower corner at the front of the fuel filler recess. The drips gone but entrained air still there.
Front wing looks ok in this shot before sanding/polishing.
The whole of the wing is down to 2500 grit but the entrained air is now clearly visible.
Same affect on the rear panel.
We’re more or less up to date now so progress posts will be real time and a bit slower but I’ll keep you posted.
Here’s to plain sailing in 2013.
Edited by Chad speed on Wednesday 2nd January 19:48
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