The paint on my black '89 XJ6 is terrible, especially on the roof, trunk lid and hood (bonnet and boot for purists). I've done a little bodywork on Fords before, but I was looking for some advice from people with Jag experience. I'm going to sand it down, fill the one small ding myself, and prime it. I'm debating on taking it to Maaco after that.
Any suggestions?

 

Regarding painting with Macco. Are you sure you want a cheapo finish on this car? If you indeed know how to properly sand out paint finishes as well as fix dents, then it should be not problem for you to properly apply the paint by yourself for the items repaired.

All auto finishes require time and multiple wet and dry sanding applications. If you use Maaco, forget the prep work and expect the newly applied paint to peel in about two seasons. Remember, you get what you pay for. If it doesn't matter for the finish, then just get out a paint brush and paint some zebra stripes on it.

 

I wasn't planning on taking the car as is to Maaco. I was planning on doing the sanding and primering myself. Getting it ready for a final finish. I've never done clear coat or done the final color, so I have doubts as to my ability. That's why I was asking for advice.

 

Gothchef,

I definitely commend you on prepping the vehicle by yourself. I'm sure that you are going to put a lot of effort into it so that it's perfect to your satisfaction. This is good. The problem will run into when you want to see all of your good efforts go south when you get an inexpensive finish applied to the car. It reminds me of an actual story. I know an Architect that does all high end work. He designed a new deck system for a client in a very well to do area. Of course, only the best materials would be applied for the installation. The price for the job was high as to be expected. The owner then asked him "can't I get the same materials at Home Depot"? His wife rolled her eyes but the Architect, without skipping a beat said this...."sure, but you'll get what you paid for".

Like I said previously, these are nice cars and definitely should have a proper finish. If it's a knock around car, then Macco may be the right choice....for a while.

 

This is the first time I've had a car that I planned on keeping for the long haul, so your suggestions make sense. Most of the cars in my life have been tools to get around, not trophies. I always bought a fixer-upper and drove it till I found a better car to fix up. That's how I got this one, but I fell in love with it once I started to drive it. Even with a shot suspension it rides smoother than my wife's '05 Pontiac. I'm hooked, and it's a new experience for me to think of keeping a car longer than a year or two.
If it started peeling, I'd be more upset that I paid someone than if I messed the job up myself anyway.

 

I hear ya about falling in love with a car. I have had several in the past that at some point, I had to get rid of for some reason or another.

These Jaguars are nice cars. I am familiar with the woes of British vehicles, as I've had a '73 TR-6 in the past which I referred to as my "Mistress". The main thing is making sure that the car is running excellent and paying attention to items that require periodic replacement. Rust will always be an issue with older vehicles. If you can keep it out of the rain, that would help. My car is for weekend pleasure only so I can take advantage of that luxury. I have small rusted areas that require patching and spot painting. These are low priority for now however, in order to retard the advancement of rust, I usually apply an application of rust inhibitor to areas that have pending issues. This will turn the rust black and make it ready for priming and preparation in the future. Slowly but surely I am fixing and upgrading all necessary items to make this car into the animal it should always be. When I get $6,000 + to throw away, I'll have the car properly stripped and repainted to the original color. Since $$ is tight everywhere in the world, I don't see that happening for a while. However, if this is truly the car you want to keep, I'm sure that you'll wait for when the right time comes and get that paint job you've always dreamed of. It's like a romance that becomes rewarding as time goes on.

British cars.....a love/hate relationship...they're almost human! ; )

 

You can buy a hi volumn low pressue gun and do the job yourself with bascoat clear coat. You need to use a good sealer like and epoxy primer to stop crazing from previous paint. And the first stage color goes on dry without gloss, so its very hard to run it, if you do or mess up it dries fast and you sand it back down. The shoot the clear and because it has no pigment it doesnt run as easily. And if you have to much orange peel or other imperfections you sand those out and either reshoot or buff it out. 2 stages are much easier to paing with than a single stage. But they contain isocynates which will mess you up big time so get a quality respirator. And then we havent even discussed your local laws regarding diy driveway paintjobs

 

Thanks for the advice. I have the benefit of my dad's barn in the country for the painting, so it won't be a driveway job.
I need to get off my bum and start sanding. I just finished switching the brakes to vacuum, and I've been procrastinating.