Need some advice on paint.
 

Now that she's running very well (I should keep quiet if it's anything like the RR) I want to get the paint sorted....My dilemma is;
The paint on the car is in reasonable condition for 42 years of age, except some bad brush marks on the roof and cracking paint on the bonnet. Whilst I don't want a show type car I do want it reasonably presentable. I believe I need to do one of two things;
1 Do I have the roof and bonnet resprayed keeping the car looking and feeling like a real survivor.....or
2 Do I have the whole car resprayed in the original colour?
Either way is fine by me.....I'd just love your opinions.
Regards.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...d2a376396.jpeg

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If you like the car and plan in keeping it for a good deal longer, bare metal respray is the way to go. Epoxy primer and a 2 part paint system...color and clear. Use top pf the line products and look at it as an investment.

That's what I did with my 86 VDP been happy ever since. Nothing worse that a Jag showing its age. My 2 cents

Jim,
I've seem many panel resprays and patches, and None of them look good on an old car!

Matching old paint is nearly impossible because you can never match the fade factor. If it looks good out of the shop it will look Terrible and stand out like a sore thumb in a couple years as the old paint continues to 'chalk up' and the new retains its gloss.

You do need to do something about that hood, er, Bonnet though because moisture will enter those cracks and rust will start.

The problem with the roof is it's right there at eye level for everyone to see. I can't imagine how a patch job would look very good there either.

If it was my car I would go for a good quality total respray with good prep, probably the same color because the jams won't need special attention that way.
(';')

Alyn yes on both counts....I love the car and plan on keeping it, thanks for your opinion.

Elinor as usual you make good sense, I was leaning toward a full respray and it looks like that's the way I'll go....whilst I was never a real fan of white it's grown on me, especially with the red upholstery.

Jim, it's always a dilemma, pro's and con's either way. A variety of opinions will prevail!

Personally I like the not-too-perfect patina that only the original paint can provide, IMHO it's worth keeping the bulk of the car original if its presentation is acceptable to you. Restoring the bonnet and roof to achieve a really good match is the challenge. Therein lies the problem as good colour matching is a rare skill these days (I'm a bit fussy having worked in close proximity to the refinishing industry some while back). At least, thankfully, you wouldn't be trying to match metallic! A skilled painter needs to match the bonnet perfectly, and/or blend into the wings to avoid any "sharpness" of contrast. Roof less of a problem. The job is further complicated by changing paint technology. Not sure if the S2 had cellulose or enamel, certainly early S3's had cellulose. These days two-pack or water-borne are the go, so the success of any of repainting will depend on the preparation and ideally that means bare metal to eliminate incompatible old paint.

If you aren't too precious about originality and patina, and thinking logically, I'd go for full repaint if you are unsure about the chosen painter's matching skills.

Tony I appreciate your thoughts and whilst I like the idea of originality deep down I really feel the rest of the paint on the car is not really very good. The challenge for me is going to be having the car resprayed without it looking "brand spanking new" if you know what I mean.....maybe I'm dreaming!

That's the decider! And if you can achieve a slightly less than modern day "dazzle" finish that could be a great compromise. BTW, white with a red interior is classic for the period, and very eye catching! That's my totally biased opinion since I own 2 white cars including the Jag!

When I had mine resprayed (from the crease in the body upwards) it was just a cheap colour match and touch up to tidy it up a bit. At that stage I didn't want to pour cash into a car I wasn't sure was going to be a long term garage dweller.
Now I have invested in steering,suspension and mechanical restoration I guess a full respray will be the next big expense since the horror rust bubbles are coming out in few spots now.
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Th old adage holds true Clarke, cheap means little (i.e. barely any) preparation, which is fine for short term / flip. A premium paint job is 90% prep. and that's where the labour cost is.

My older brother used to own a paint/panel shop many years ago so I knew what I was getting for my money, at that point the car could have been flipped at any time but it looks the part.
I certainly know what I'm up for, not looking forward to the prep work but my brother has recently bought a property in Tweed Heads so hoping he will be hands on when the time comes.

Bare metal respray...
 

My opinion is what I am doing at this moment to my '71 S1... they are starting the work on it today. I took it all apart and new front window glass will be going in when done... rear and front windows coming out for the repaint in BRG... same color.

This is second S1 that I have had painted at this shop.. new door seals are the biggest problem as the replacements do not fit well and the job of stuffing them into the Jaguar wells is tough.

Interior is out of the car except the drivers seat and some carpet pieces.. plastic is covering the dash and gauges from overspray and dirt. Blue tape marks logo holes (just the 6) to be filled and old mirror holes since it now has S3 XJS side mirrors. The rear valance panel has already been replaced since the PO had welded up the old exhaust exits.

Another view:

Yeah, white cars never my choice. Good in really hot climes, though.
I got a real deal on a company car about to be traded in. Hood/bonnet flipped off scarred the roof a bit. amazingly,still reasonably OK. Cold Ac and price were incentives. Fixed the hood/bonnet and top and got a "cheap" resray. I did a lot of prep. But, little if any parts removed. merely taped off. Thunder Bird Red. With it's base grey and black interior, it looked really good. My fellow workers called me, "Fire Chief".

The sides of that car shine quite well. In my opinion, paint matching has come a log way. Using a quality paint to redo the boot, top and bonnett should result in a really nice looking car.

Elinor does have a point. Quicky patch jobs with low quality paint can look fair at first, then fade badly, and quickly. Reds the worst. Whites, not so much. Way back when a friend with a collision shop touted me on that. He was having pricing issues in the the day of the "competitive" bid.

My Fire engine red 61 Ford enthralled a lady and I sold it to her for a good price. Even in that day of cheap gas, too much as a commute vehicle. Hello, 56 VW beetle....

Carl

Way to go Clarke. A brother, handy and with experience! DIY prep is a great start.

When I removed all the old factory paint, I used paint remover and razor blades then sanded all the remaining small stubborn spots. Looking back if I were to do the job again I would have the car soda blasted. Saw it being done on YouTube,.. quite a efficient way to go,.. fast as well

My car had cracks in the old Jag paint and as LnrB stated ,..you have to get all the old underlying rust removed prior to repainting or it will show through the new paint eventually.

Second vote for the two part epoxy primer. Use it directly on the metal and before the filler ( and seam sealer) where you go through the primer with the sanding epoxy prime again.

This is the first time I have noticed the colour difference in a photo, it is noticeable if you look carefully at the car in person. But people only notice once I point it out to them.


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See what you mean, I will definitely get a full respray.......those wheels are growing on me.....they look good!

Like I say, I know the colour is different but nobody else has noticed until I point it out.(actually looks worse than it realy is in that photo)

Next time will be a full respray, maybe a couple of years away at this stage.

Metallics are almost impossible to color match especially silver. The reason is, as the car is being painted quite a few things come into play for that particular "spraying session" They will all be of different values as opposed to when the car was originally painted. Air pressure at the gun, amount of fluid being sprayed, how far you are from the car, how hot is it outside, what is humidity, What are the "mix ratios", are you keeping the metallic in suspension in the gun continuously, how fast are you spraying, etc all these things have a huge effect on how the metallic flakes in the paint, "lay down" when the paint starts to dry (right away!).
The only way to get a uniform color reflection is to spray all of the car front to back in one pass, on final application/coat. The metallic flakes in the paint all lay down in pretty much the same way.
When I last painted my Jag I painted all the creases, opening edges, first just to make sure there were no light spots I may miss while making smooth spraying passes.
To try and match all the above mentioned conditions is very difficult at best. And a keen eye will spot the metallic flakes if they are laying on a different plane,reflecting light differently.
A complete respray is necessary if you want uniformity in the reflection from the car.