Polish or not?

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John Wurner
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Polish or not?

#1 Post by John Wurner »

I will be selling my 65 C Coupe soon.
Original paint, all numbers matching black plate Calif car.
The color is slate gray, and the paint is totally faded.
My question, should I have the car professionally polished or leave her alone.
I dont want to tackle the job myself.
John
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Bil Brown
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Re: Polish or not?

#2 Post by Bil Brown »

I would leave it to the new owner....no question!......will it be going on BaT?
Bill Brown

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John Brooks
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Re: Polish or not?

#3 Post by John Brooks »

John

That will polish out with a little work. That Roadster I sold you years ago was faded to orange and white when I took it out of storage. My son was 6 in 1985 and while I had it up in the air doing the brakes and going through it after 15 years off line. I gave him a can of turtle wax color back and some Rags and told him if he polished it, he could have it when old enough to drive. It took him a week after school but it all came back like new. All by hand, no wet sanding, just a good wash and allot of one finger rubbing. The paint came back like new.
The car look really light in the photo. I would try some white compound under the bumper and see how it comes out. NO MACHINES, polish by hand. If it was mine I would polish it back to original color.
John Brooks

62 Roadster
66 912
84 Cab
getting pushed around in porsches since 1965

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Victor Ingram
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Re: Polish or not?

#4 Post by Victor Ingram »

+1 Bill

John Wurner
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Re: Polish or not?

#5 Post by John Wurner »

I will probably list the car on the registry.
Thanks for the suggestions, will wait for others to chime in.
When I bought the car three years ago it still showed some shine,
went south pretty fast.

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Ken Tuvman
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Re: Polish or not?

#6 Post by Ken Tuvman »

A lot to say for patina
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Mike Wilson
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Re: Polish or not?

#7 Post by Mike Wilson »

I think if you want to get top dollar for your car, have it polished and detailed including the engine for the best presentation. How does the interior look? Is it in the same state as the paint? If it is, then forget the polishing.

Mike
Mike Wilson
Lomita, CA
'63 B coupe

John Wurner
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Re: Polish or not?

#8 Post by John Wurner »

Hi Mike
The seats were redone by Autos, the rest is in very good condition.
Engine recuilt by Markham Motors.

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Greg Bryan
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Re: Polish or not?

#9 Post by Greg Bryan »

It takes an experienced detailer to polish old thin paint. I usually clay bar my car once a year to get the stuck-on film and dead paint off. The Maguire's kit is cheap and works well.
There's been a lot of paint jobs ruined by a buffer in the wrong hands (including my hands :| )
Greg Bryan

John Wurner
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Re: Polish or not?

#10 Post by John Wurner »

Hi Greg
That is what scares me. Most professionals use buffers, and I dont want
to go to bare metal. I will check in to Maguires.

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Greg Bryan
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Re: Polish or not?

#11 Post by Greg Bryan »

Yeah - when I stripped my car to bare metal to paint, I used a 3M paint stripper wheel on a die grinder. I did the job at the yard of a media blaster that I've used for other jobs because he had unlimited air and the mess was confined to his yard. It's slow but does not remove metal. While I was doing it, a body guy came by and said he could strip all the paint to bare metal in 90 minutes with a body grinder. I thank him for his advice and proceeded with my tedious job using the die grinder and paint stripper - took two days. I know I'm going off topic, but this is exactly what I want to avoid, swapping speed for a delicate touch and extra time.
A really experienced body person can probably do a good job with an aggressive approach, and to them, time is money - a more time-consuming method will not remove so much paint or in my case when paint stripping, actual metal.
Greg Bryan

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Bill Lawless
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Re: Polish or not?

#12 Post by Bill Lawless »

I'm in the "Polish It" camp!!
Might as well show it in it's best form!!
-Bill
 Thanks,
Bill
65' 356 SC Cab Irish Green :D
82' SC Targa
81 VW Westfalia with 2015 Forester Engine
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Max Handley
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Re: Polish or not?

#13 Post by Max Handley »

I personally like it as is.
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Martin Benade
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Re: Polish or not?

#14 Post by Martin Benade »

If there’s enough paint to make it shine which might be an unknown, I think a much larger audience would like it glossy than those who prefer it as is.
It’s hard to fight the current patina pandemic though.
Cleveland Ohio
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Greg Bryan
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Re: Polish or not?

#15 Post by Greg Bryan »

De gustibus non est disputandum
In matters of taste, there can be no disputes.
Myself, I would polish it and make it look as clean and cared-for as possible. I do like a preserved car as there are so few of them.
I agree that you will have a wider audience for a car that is shinier over one that looks uncared for with dead, dingy paint.
Greg Bryan

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