Paint restoration

[surfguitar58]

My TCS has surprisingly intact original paint (white) with original intact gold pin stripes (tape?) applied by the same shaky handed hungover Brit who did all the TCSs in the 70s. Question: does anyone have a proven gentle compounding/polishing protocol for bringing out the best of what’s there without grinding off the stripes or buffing through the paint? (Product, pads, speeds, any advice appreciated.)
Tom

[BDA]

It's been a LONG time since I had my white Europa but I used to use white compound to bring back shine. IIRC, I usually used it to get rid of marks left behind from fuel hoses. This was obviously before the practice of spraying a clear coat after the color coat. Be gentle since you don't know how much paint is left. As for the pin stripes (they were originally tape), you might just try to be extra gentle on them. Putting new tape over old is fairly easy so if your pin stripes are faded, you might consider getting a roll of pin stripes from eBay or Amazon and freshening them yourself.

[dakazman]

 Can you post some pictures of the paint ? My son in law has been factory trained by 3m And McGuire’s having been in the paint industry for decades. The pin stripes are tricky to not touch. I can pass it on for a remedy. Newer paints refrain from harsh compounds as is my base coat / clear coat spec sheet .

     Dakazman

[dakazman]

Here is a sample of where my paint is now at 2000 wet sanded  . The reflection is a guide as to the
Straightness and level ness. I’m going to 5000 in steps the a 3 part process with compounds and polishes. No wax till 6 months later .

[surfguitar58]

Can you post some pictures of the paint ? My son in law has been factory trained by 3m And McGuire’s having been in the paint industry for decades. The pin stripes are tricky to not touch. I can pass it on for a remedy. Newer paints refrain from harsh compounds as is my base coat / clear coat spec sheet .

     Dakazman

Will do Dakazman. Car is tucked in for the winter, but I think I have some pics. Stay tuned.

[surfguitar58]

Here is a sample of where my paint is now at 2000 wet sanded  . The reflection is a guide as to the
Straightness and level ness. I’m going to 5000 in steps the a 3 part process with compounds and polishes. No wax till 6 months later .

That is the finish we can all aspire to. Way more than I can ever hope to get out of my 45 yo factory finish. Nice execution on the flares btw, can’t wait to see the finished product.

[dakazman]

 Your paint is probably still good , it just needs a makeover. I will not say it’s a wipe on wipe off lol
A simple surface sanding with  1500 in a test  2 inch in the underside area followed by this
3 step process will give you renewed view of your paint .  See picture
Different foam pads have different cutting properties, a great but very boring  video on you tube .

Thank you for your comment on flares.

Dakazman

[surfguitar58]

Your paint is probably still good , it just needs a makeover. I will not say it’s a wipe on wipe off lol
A simple surface sanding with  1500 in a test  2 inch in the underside area followed by this
3 step process will give you renewed view of your paint .  See picture
Different foam pads have different cutting properties, a great but very boring  video on you tube .

Thank you for your comment on flares.

Dakazman

These are the worst paint problem areas. Fortunately most of the paint is blister-free. Also note these pics were taken by the PO before the car was washed after 10 years of storage. Lotus paint code is L04 or “Cirrus White”.

I realize the perfectionists among us will say a respray is in order here, but I have come to realize I have bought myself a preservation car. Everything on the car is original or reversible at this point. My goal is just to get what I have looking as good as it can get, warts and all.

Don’t get me wrong, I love and respect the innovative highly modified Loti I see in this forum. I’m even a bit envious. Perhaps if this Europa disease metastasizes I’ll find a nice S2 and do it MY WAY, and park them next to each other.

[jbcollier]

If you try to buff those blisters out, you'll most likely be left with a pockmarked finish.  Leave it as it is and just wash and wax it.

[dakazman]

I’m sorry to agree with JB , do not sand , even compounding may open the void in the blisters exposing the fiberglass. There is a wax wash that cleans down to the paint removing a lot of road
Debris , it’s a wipe on wipe process which will leave you with a clean surface to just apply wax .
Dakazman

[surfguitar58]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Yeah, looking at those pics again has me rethinking my cocky "surprisingly intact" paint assessment in my original post. I guess the good news is the consensus says I can skip the labor intensive compounding process. Woo hoo!
t

[dakazman]

You still have a remarkably original vechicle . It is my favorite color. My daughter wanted black , the paint code on my car is sand . So I’m not original in that respect. Love to see more pictures when you clean her up.
Dakazman

[BDA]

Yeah, surf's car looks just like the first one I had! I liked the color, too so when I was ready to send my car to the body shop for paint, I chose a nice white ('95 Corvette white, I had no idea that the original Lotus colors could be recreated or I might had them do that).

[Sherman Kaplan]

My TCS also has it's original paint. It was last driven in 1980 and the paint was heavily oxidized.  It also has the usual stress cracks and crazing.  However, since the car is so original I have also decided to keep the paint.  I am a fan of Griot's Garage products, but I know there are others that are just as good.  I first used their clay bar to clean the paint and then used their complete compound and then finished with their best of show wax.   For the complete compound and wax I used their random orbital polisher (I don't think you would get the same results by hand).  I went over the striping with no damage.   I could not believe the difference.   I don't know if this picture will show the results.

Regards,
Sherman

[surfguitar58]

My TCS also has it's original paint. It was last driven in 1980 and the paint was heavily oxidized.  It also has the usual stress cracks and crazing.  However, since the car is so original I have also decided to keep the paint.  I am a fan of Griot's Garage products, but I know there are others that are just as good.  I first used their clay bar to clean the paint and then used their complete compound and then finished with their best of show wax.   For the complete compound and wax I used their random orbital polisher (I don't think you would get the same results by hand).  I went over the striping with no damage.   I could not believe the difference.   I don't know if this picture will show the results.

Regards,
Sherman

Thanks Sherman, great looking results. I'm now thinking I may lightly machine compound the non-pimpled areas and do a light hand-rub of the problem spots before careful polish and wax. Your results are encouraging. Did you have any blistering like mine?
Tom