Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Paint question, maybe @hoops could help?
My 306 has very badly faded/oxidised/non existent paint on the roof and bonnet. Aussie sun does bad things to thin waterbased french paint. I'm not going to respray professionally (maybe).
I was thinking of getting a couple of aerosol cans made up and see what result i could get.
The colour is a flat "cherry red". After sanding back would I apply a coat of sealer primer before the new colour? And do I finish with a clear coat?

My plan was to sand, fill the small dings, more sanding, then primer then 3 or so coats of red and maybe a clear, then polish. About right?

I've never attempted more than a bike frame or skateboard...

No, it helps mid range torque. If you can drive both it's easy to feel it, but a broken one doesn't feel all that broken in isolation.

They do tend to make a diesely rattle when they start if it's kippered, something about the oil not pressurising properly. Working ones start silently.

My foolishness knows no bounds, right?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/292176445597

Anyone owned one? What is the true TCO on this likely to be?

It's the paint that fades due to the UV being able to reach it unfiltered, if it's lacquered then a lot of the damage is mitigated as the UV is absorbed before it gets to the paint.

That's what I've been told, anyway - might be total horseshit, but some red cars fade and others don't, so there's clearly some difference. Possibly the unfaded ones all have a picture of a pink beater in the attic, of course.

You'd be surprised what you can recover, and if it's totally hosed then you're not going to lose anything by wet-sanding it (aggressive version) or using a very aggressive cutting compound on a mop (less aggressive version). You might be able to take the surface off and find decent paint underneath?

Rattle can a flat large surface like that I'd going to look totally pony. Even if you can get the actual paint down in a reasonable fashion the lacquer is going to be shite, not because of you but because it is shite. You need 2k out of a gun and a decent amount, to be any use.

MPG is predictably shit, but we ran one for 20,000 miles over 3 years, used it for towing 2.5 tonnes, never changed the oil, never washed it, nothing fell off, paid £1000, sold it for £850. It was daftly reliable.

It's the most appalling car to drive though. Properly shit. The steering is verging on dangerously vague and slow. You get used to it, but nothing prepares you for the first time you try to go round a corner. Even though you'll now be expecting it to be shit because I've written all this you'll still be amazed just how shit it is. You'll almost crash it on the first bend. I'm certain of it.

Wouldn't bother with vinyl as I'd like to learn a bit about paint and body work.

Good answer, convinced now it's not worth it. I'll keep her ratty.

@Dammit the paint is ruined in sections, I'd polish down to the undercoat before finding good paint. Still, even after a wash it looked better so I may as well use the buffer I have and see what I can recover as an experiment.
I'll post pics so you can all laugh.

IC cars banned from 2040! I'll be 60, right about the time I'll be the thinking about spending my retirement doing up a Skoda Yeti

I'll be putting in an offer on Dammits volvo about then.

Shame I can't trust the electric car guy or I'd look into it more.

250 GTO in the best colours

https://instagram.com/p/BW-a97lh_yF/

Today I pick up the Yeti. In four weeks my Ferrari* will arrive.

*My tractor has a Ferrari engine.

Thanks - best avoided it seems. I'm intrigued to drive/crash one now.

I didn't want a kicking from @mikec

Trying to achieve a decent finish with rattle cans (especially on a big flat panel) is a waste of time. It will never be a quality finish, but if you're not after anything fancy then that might be ok with you. It will also scratch and chip easily unles you use a 2K laquer to protect the paint.

It is what it is, if you're just after a short term fix and not too fussed about it, then knock yourself out... But trying to achieve a good quality and hard wearing finsh with rattlecans is just not possible.

Tomorrow is pick up day on the MX5.

The brakes currently don't work so we'll see what happens tomorrow.

breaksrdeth

C&Pd mostly from the MX5 forum...

It's made about 125hp at the wheels, which equates to about 150 at the fly according to the calculations. The exhintake cam (higher duration exhaust cam) has been ditched due to tuning issues which resulted in increased performance. Although compared to last time it was on the dyno it's only found 4hp at the top end, it's gained about 20-30Nm of torque throughout the rev range which is pretty massive considering the % gain, and the tuner said it's a lot nicer in the midrange now.

Current issues, the brakes are doing nothing, so they're going to try switching out the old Carbotechs for some new standard pads and we'll see if they sort the issue.

The standard exhaust is currently knocking on the driveshaft so that's been jubilee clipped out of the way(!), there's a problem with the throttle cable, this was also there last time and I know how to fix it so that's OK, and the tuner also says it's popping and banging like an absolute motherfucker on overrun which he can't find a reason for, but he said if I can live with it, then fine.

So I'm going down tomorrow to pick it up, and as long as the brake issue can be fixed with any assistance from me if required, I'll be driving it home.

i know it's far north for most of you but anyone off to this on sunday...
http://www.fitteduk.com

?

Apologies if it's already been posted but do you have a build thread on said forum? Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

I want to buy a Volvo v90. Is that madness?

I also want to buy a V90, but I don't want a diesel.

This is the problem. But I still want one.

Should I buy a V60 hybrid instead then?