I'm afraid I have to second that. IF done professionally, a complete strip-prep-paint of an XJ would reach those amounts easily.
Lot of labor, lot of love needed....

When doing a complete restoration, repair the dents, holes and other metal works BEFORE the entire body is stripped from all its paint. Once the body is bare, no smaller dents can be detected until it's to late....


My car on the day I bought it. January 7th 2017

prepping for primer...

Base coat complete, first layer of clear coat being applied.

 

I see, you did a bare metal job, I don't need that heavy of a job, just a good sanding and respray. It's the clearcoat of the 1980's that gets all messed up.

 

Jose, with the paints of today there is no other way than a bare metal job to do a full repaint of these old cars.

The paints used in the 60's - 80's were a totally different thing.
The old paints were thinner based, most of the new ones are water based.
Though I didn't use a water based paint in my restoration, the old paint still reacted with the new one, making a total removal of the old gunk necessary.

There are work-arounds for this, but they don't guarantee the best results.

 

The factory paint on my car was toast. It was all cracked - looked like dried out mud on a lake bed. ! When I removed the factory stuff down to the metal it was then easy to see the surface rust that was starting to form - same pattern as was seen in the old paint.
Paint remover and many razor blades were used to scrape off the old paint. Light coats of primer were then applied and immediately sanded to reveal the damaged spots on the body, parking lot dings etc. Many hours were spent doing this procedure. The holes left - after removing the hideous protection strips - were filled and smoothed. Several light coats of primer were applied and then sanded,..until I was happy (or so tired I called it "done" ) Then I shot the color coats and then the clear coats, followed by buffing with polishing compound,... this is the scariest part as it is easy to buff until you buff through the clear and damage the color coat underneath.
So yeah,.. a bare metal respray is expensive ,...but it's a lot of work.

 

1. I think it was on J-L, years ago that a lister described his refinish of the fascia wood. Removed the crazed clear coat. Applied an oil finish to the bare veneer. As in fine furniture. Looked great in pictures. As to it's performance when exposed to a lot of UV, unknown.


I think we also discussed a gun stock type technique. I recall that decades ago, my boss a t the time bought an unfinished side table. Good wood, unlike the veneered particle board of today. He used the gun technique. A great rich finish.


Decades later, I acquired a smoking table. Old, good wood, lousy finish. I sanded off the old stuff and tried an oil finish. Lousy result!!!


More decades pass. Acquired a well worn pair of night tables. Off white paint in distress. Brass hardware also dingy. A fresh coat of white/. Polished the brass. clear coated for durability. More than merely presentable to this day. Dear departed impressed, she thought I was nuts to buy them!!!


2. My trip computer has detiorated even more. No gibberish or even time. Mere 8888 ! Will I fix it. Not impossible, but, way down the line of pending tasks!!


Fresh air and warm sun sure feels great....


Car

 

Carl, just replace the useless trip computer, David has one cheap.

Alyn, way too involved for me, I'll take it to MAACO haha!

Dutch-Cat, your car looks wonderful!

 

Jose: Taking your car to MAACO will be one of the biggest mistakes you will make. Do it and a year from today you will wish you had done it right the first time.
If your paint is not cracked like ALYN described and I have personally experienced, and it is only the clearcoat has deteriorated, (you have to really inspect it carefully) you may be able to do what I am doing with my recently acquired XJ40. On my series 3, I had good surface paint to start with.See pics.

 

ok Sanchez, here's the deal:

I dismantle the car completely, I put it back together completely. I mask everywhere it does not need respraying.

You do the sanding and respray. Everybody happy.

 

I don't like hijacking a post but...........
@ Jose: It does not work like that. It would be very difficult to get the the paint to match.
The paints today are totally different from the paint from the 80's.
Here is what you do.
Cut and buff an area of your car that has no paint damage then go to the automotive paint store and have them mix a half pint of the base coat color to match the area that you cut and buff.
Have them do a spray out.
You will see what I am talking about.
You may have to respray the complete car.
Then again, I think that your car is Grosvenor Brown so you may get away with it.
Case in point:
Color matching is no easy task.
The paint code on my XJ40 is MDF and it took the paint shop 4 trys to match the silver on the car. Using the paint code MDF it came up darker than the area that I cut and buffed which was the inside of the rear door where the elements did not damage. Fortunately for me, I know the guys at the paint store well, so they kept at it until it was just right. I did not have to do this because I am repainting the complete car but the paint had to match the paint on the inside of the car. After each mix they did a spray out to see what it looked like.
On top of that, if you scrimped on the clear coat like buying the cheap brand it will have a yellowing effect over time on the paint making it darker.
3 quarts of good quality base coat = (6 quarts. mix is 2:1) is over $250.00 and a good quality clear coat is about $140+ for a gallon.
In a nutshell it is not as easy or cheap as you think.
Its been over a week (4-6 hours a day) prepping the car and it is still not ready for primer much less paint, and I am doing this on the cheap.

 

The paint on your car is NOT a clear coat / color coat system. It is a one shot sprayed thermoplastic (or something weird like that). Jaguar back then was not spraying 2 part system. Sand the car as best you can, fix any damage then prime 2 coats of epoxy primer over the old paint. Acts as a barrier to old paint. Then take it to MAACO and bring the paint that you want them to use Acrylic enamel with the same paint number. A good 2 part color / clear paint job as a part of a bare metal respray is the pricey one. Maybe the painter at MAACO moonlights a bit ? If so get him to shoot the primer and later the color / clear. Least expensive way to go.

 

sorry duplicate post... fat fingers..

 

 

Sanchez, you misunderstood, I want to repaint the entire car, the parts that need to be masked are the insides ofdoors, trunk, hood, etc. because they don't need to be repainted, they are like new.

the paint was fine until I brought the car to Florida, then it started to "check".

 

Above is the Major reason I'm so stupidly careful (read Paranoid) with my 1986 BLACK paint (I don't even want to think what it cost the PO, even in 1986)!

I see many newish "black" cars that are either a very dark blue which isn't too bad, or a much less attractive dark grey; None are BLACK!

The clear coat isn't shedding yet, but I keep an eagle eye out for the first signs; places where I see modern cars start to peel, around windows and door tops, any sharp curve.

"Dutch Cat" and Sanchez, your cars are Gorgeous! But I'm a sucker for Black cars.
(';')

 

Thanks for the compliment, it has been a lot of love and labor to get it back in this state and yet: the first rust bubble appeared on the right wing edge already. Cut it out already, new metal in, a bit of paint and she is all pretty again....

This car has gotten to me from the first time i saw it.
More British than this is not possible.....heck...the VIN ends with "007"

 

LnrB..
IMHO black cars (and most any dark color car) parked in the sun for extended periods of time, tend to have " lifting " problems with the clear coat after a few years. Metal gets real hot and expands / contracts at a different rate than the clear coat,.. causing the "clear" to lose its grip to the underlying paint, especially in corners and wide flat surfaces (roof, hood, trunk lid ). Parking the car in a shady area will prolong the life of the paint / clear coat. Touch a black car that has been in the sun and then touch a white car that has been in the sun and notice the difference in temperature.
I am in Seattle where it does not get very hot in the hottest of summer days and most cars that have lived in this area are not suffering from "clear coat" failure. On the other hand a lot of cars from southern sunny states seem to show the most "clear coat" damage, probably from extended exposure to intense heat. Just what I believe....The original factory paint on my 86 was checked in these areas, - the car had lived its first 9 years in Long Beach CA most likely parked in some parking lot during the day. The factory paint is known to be prone to fail and was probably a contributing factor. But the car had heavy tint on the windows and a protective dash pad,.. so the interior is still like new, no sun damage.

 

Jose :


Thanks as to the TC tip. I think I have a spare. But, as my car is a lump, the input is different, so the out put is gibberish. there is a way to fix the electronics. Am I go9ng to embark on that project +++. Not likely, I may play with the connectors a bit


As for now, I'm just happy it is running nicely and the SMOG debacle is past me.


Carl

 

Yup, Alyn, I hear ya! This is the reason I Don't take her out on Really hot days in mid summer (cats are creatures of the night anyway) unless it's for a Jag club drive. And even then I find shade. In fact, I find shade anytime.
(';')

 

Carl,

The mods required to allow the TC to function with the V8 engine are all in the INTERFACE unit.
I sent you a wiring diagram showing what items are interconnected (yellow lines in diagram) There is quite a bit of info as to what has to be changed to make it work with a lump. Going to do mine shortly - because I like things to work properly.
Yellow - ECM to interface = raw injector value
Orange - Interface to TC = processed value to TC

 

My 2 cents:
Not the sun, blame the EPA and the car owner.
My Equinox is painted Black and it has been in the Florida sun for the past 7 years. No clear coat damage.
Take the following into consideration regarding waterborne paints.
The Clear coat becoming so dry and weathered due to lack of proper care and maintenance.
The Clear coat literally flaking and peeling due to faulty preparation as part of the painting process done at the factory.
The Clear coat flaking or peeling due to unstable, poorly engineered primers, paints, clear coats, etc. If any one of these layers is engineered with poor ingredients, it can cause a loss of integrity to the entire layered system of modern day paint finishes.