Advice on Painting a 1990 XJS (Silver)
 

I've decided to re-paint my 1990 XJS the factory original Silver (Paint Code MDF) and I was interested to see if anyone has any experience doing so.

Basically, the old paint is faded or peeling but the car is wonderful to drive and enjoy.

Any advice on what works, what doesn't etc? Specifically, how exactly to strip down with a DA Sander, what grit paper to use, what paint worked, where to get the best price on paint, etc?

Not sure if anyone has shopped paint supplies (Primer, Hardner/Reducer, Base, Clear) but get ready for some sticker shock!!

I appreciate any advice from those that have painted themselves. Thank you.

There are a couple of ways you could tackle this one is to strip to bare metal in areas where rust could be hiding.The second is to strip the whole car to bare metal this could be done with stripper, sanding or Soda blasting.

Obviously stripping the whole car to bare metal is a big job and time consuming - BUT if prepared properly you will end up with a better job and be fairly sure there is no rust hiding under good paint.

If you do not want to go the extent of stripping the whole car I would definitely strip areas like the top of the rear wheel arches these are renowned rust areas - you do not want to spend all that time and money only to have rust spots appear in a few years.

With regards to paint I am going to paint mine in ISO free 2 pack base clear. This will give a good finish with excellent scratch and stone chip resistance. DO NOT skimp on your paint use a good quality and ONLY use the same brand and COMPATIBLE primer, base, clear, thinners and even wax remover.

I assume from your post you are planning on painting this yourself if so how are you setup with spray equipment and compressor?

Thanks for the reply; I have a DA Sander (Ingersoll Rand) on the way with rebreather masks, etc.

I'm looking for a good spray gun as I'm going to attempt to re-paint my E-Type after this as well. Using the XJS as a test case, because it needs it, and the fact that it seems easier to paint.

Compressor is a 220 volt gigantic shop compressor, so I'm good there. Thanks for the advice.

I have a De-Vilbiss Finishline gun not a bad gun for the price, it was about $200.00. My air is also piped into my garage using 20mm gal waterpipe then it goes through a toiletpaper filter then the usual regulator with water trap. I get NO liquid in the bowl on the regulator - VERY important or you will end up with fisheye in the paint