[71GP76TA]

Thinking about getting my SD painted. The car is still wearing about 60% of its original paint. It has been touched up and fogged in all around the car. The paint on part of the drivers door doesn't match very well. It is a lifelong CA car that has been garaged or stored in a carport. I'm not interested in taking apart a perfectly good running/driving car and doing a nut and bolt restoration. The jamb areas are very nice and still have original paint and weatherstripping....which is also very nice. The car has been very well preserved...but the paint kinda sucks... The car looks great going down the road...but...

Just looking for opinions on whether or not paint the jambs when/if I do a repaint. I'm leaning more towards not... to maintain more of the cars originality.

[keith k]

a vote for not.

[weranc55]

If it has that much original paint I would leave it and fluff it and fix the bad spots. The car might be worth more as it's sits than if you repainted it. Guess go nuts over original paint cars.

[4birds]

I vote don't paint the jambs. Clean 'em and leave 'em. Paint the car so it is all one color, and drive it and enjoy it!

[njsteve]

Keep as much of the original paint as possible.

[71GP76TA]

At this stage with the paint... Its paint the whole car or leave it. Its silver...well you guys know how silver paint can be...

With the current paint... I don't have to park a mile away from the front door.

[Judge273]

I had that scenario too. My thoughts is original paint protects the original sheetmetal.

40% not original and 60% in poor condition. No brainier for me to get a new coat on good metal.

So, if it's Dayone sheetmetal in survivor condition a scrap and paint is another protective layer. Document the sheetmetal and keep jambs original paint. Surprising how much of that is jambs.

Truck lid bottom, and all inside there, all around doors, inner quarters, under hood and fenders. That alone has to be 15% original paint?

[The Boss]

Sounds good to me although I don't mind a few bumps & bruises.

[PB]

I kept all my original Paint in my jambs on my current project, with a total repaint of the exterior. Difficult to replicate factory runs in the door jambs...my car is a nice California car too. Leave 'em!

[geeteeohguy]

Another vote 'no'. In the same boat with my '65 GTO....CA car all its life with original paint in the jambs. Needs weatherstrip now, and the paint is worn to the red primer in the B-Pillar area. Still, it's original and looks 'pretty good'.....the rest of the paint was redone in 1985 and is due for a makeover in the next few years. Like you, my car has never been apart, and no reason to take it apart.

[bird72]

On semi survivor type cars that have never been apart and are solid and tight still, and "not bad" underneath, and only have a faded, dinged original paint, with creases and jambs still pretty good on paint, it seems to me that NOT taking them apart is a good thing. and NOT jambing them fits with that. Yours being silver is different than white hard to match any existing fade. Harder to leave say the roof or trunk and not paint.

[71GP76TA]

Under the hood has 122,000 miles worth of dirt and grime.... Its not a horrible oily mess...just the normal grime. I probably won't do anything under there unless I end up pulling the engine for a rebuild... then I'll do it right.

[Bentwheelbob]

Is there enough paint thickness to do a light wet sand and buff it out. It won't get rid of the really bad spots, but it can sure help make the best of a less than stellar current situation. The Black Car had been painted in 1985, and while it still has some personality marks, the wet sanding and buffing improved it to the point that a repaint is not really necessary.

[71GP76TA]

That black looks sharp!

Silver is thin to begin with. I took a high speed buffer to the side of drivers front fender... It started eating the paint so I stopped before I burnt through. There are some shiny spots. The hood probably has the most shine... but I think its was repainted a long time ago. The roof is splotchy and the top of the passenger 1/4 feels rough. The wax wouldn't come off when I hand waxed it. The center of the drivers door has been spotted and has too much green hue and stands out in the right light. The guy I got the car from owned a body shop and was selling it for the original owner. He spotted and fogged in several places with some base and some clear. He actually did a pretty good job matching the color and blending the dull with the shiny....but its crap.... The car looks pretty good from 20' away.... Its a driver.....

I did do some work on the interior. The original headliner was sagging and the lower seat cushions on the front seats were splitting.. I bought some seat and headliner material from SMS and had those areas professionally repaired. The rest of the interior is excellent ..cherry.. like new condition. The original console lid is perfect.... I'm always yelling at my girlfriend not to lean on it..

[Formulabruce]

If you already had a buffer to it and its thin, wet/ block sand the car with 400, then 800 and put sponges in the jams ( to avoid paint lines) and have a couple coats base color , and a clear put on it, If you want it to pop, wet sand again and put another clear on it. Some places mix the clear with some base even, but youll need more coats and more buffing. It will be a lot easier to keep clean and will look superb. One of mine is Ascot and its not a paint that "pops" but can be easily maintained and repaired once all the same color. Bottom line, IF you drive it, and want it nicer, then do it. Thinking about its value in the future so it can sit under a cover all its life isnt going to be fun..
Just this could cost $5K to get done right at a good shop, but it will be nice and shiny..At Dusk under the lights, that car will be Rockin
Good luck, no matter what you decide. Factory Ascot Below

[72projectbird]

I'm on the other side with this one. While I agree that original cars do seem to command good money, for me an original car that I plan on spending big cash on has to look really good. I'm talking showroom condition. For me the idea of fresh new slick paint severely outweighs having decent original paint.

If I was painting it I would do the jambs. I cant stand tape lines, so unless the painter really knows what he's doing there's probably going to be lines somewhere. You also can get that nasty overspray in the jambs that'll need to be wet sanded off and buffed out, but you stated that the paint is getting pretty thin so that might be an issue.

I guess it all comes down to what will make you happy. I will say that they're only original once, you cant ever go back once its painted.

[PB]

Originally Posted by 71GP76TA

Under the hood has 122,000 miles worth of dirt and grime.... Its not a horrible oily mess...just the normal grime. I probably won't do anything under there unless I end up pulling the engine for a rebuild... then I'll do it right.

Or, you can do a rebuild, and paint the engine to match the age of the rest of the underwood......

[Pepi]

I say no to painting the jambs. My car was repainted in early 80's and jambs were never touched. Can't tell at all.

[b-man]

Jambs with nice original paint and cherry factory weatherstripping?

Definitely leave them alone.

[bird72]

Originally Posted by PB

Or, you can do a rebuild, and paint the engine to match the age of the rest of the underwood......

I am curious what / how you achieved that effect. THX