One of my clients referred me to someone he met who owned a 1980 MG MGB with original British Racing Green paint.
I met with the owner in Vacaville and we went over the vehicle. The owner mentioned that he had owned a red MGB like it in the past, and that he and his wife went on their first date in it, so the MGB held a certain sentimental value for them.
I told the owner about the nearby British Car Show in Dixon and that I would love to see the MG attend.
Considering I have been to the show twice before, I knew I could make this MG’s existing paint the best of all the other contestants! The owner agreed for the vehicle to undergo a full paint correction to get the most gloss out of the paint.
I love working on vintage vehicles! I find it immensely satisfying to restore old paint and thus make the vehicle look like it did from, in this case, the year 1980.
The paint was heavily oxidized, but was in relatively good condition otherwise.
I started by cleaning the vinyl top and tonneau cover with a soft nylon loop brush and 303 Convertible Top Cleaner. Optimum Opti-Seal was used as a protective coating on the top and cover. Here is the hydrophobic effect:
The rest of the vehicle was washed using a two bucket wash method with a microfiber mitt and Optimum Wash & Shine. A Nanoskin Autoscrub pad on a Rupes dual action polisher was used to decontaminate the paint and prepare for paint correction.
A Wagner 915 Power Steamer and microfiber towel were used in the jambs of the door and along the trunk/hood edges.
I began paint correction using Griot’s Boss Microfiber Pads on a Rupes Bigfoot dual action polisher with Griot’s Fast Correcting Cream as a compound. This effectively removed the oxidation and was quickly producing very good results!
Right side of hood corrected:
I have noticed a manufacturer defect regarding Griot’s Boss Microfiber Pads, the velcro backing is not quite as wide in diameter as the backing plate on my Rupes. This causes the backing plate to chew into the foam cushion. Others have discovered the issue, but Griot’s thought it was due to the foam being low quality. I can’t recommend the pads until Griot’s fixes the velcro diameter.
It is indeed single stage paint:
A Rupes Nano iBrid was used around the tonneau cover studs and windshield wipers, followed by hand buffing using a microfiber towel.
I removed as much oxidation in these areas as I could within the project time-frame.
Before correction:
After correction:
I polished the paint using Griot’s Perfecting Cream with Griot’s Boss Perfecting Foam Pads on the Rupes DA and Nano iBrid. The plastic bumpers were restored using Solution Finish Trim Restorer.
After the paint was finished I coated the vehicle using Optimum Gloss Coat.
This MG was a joy to work on, it seemed to have lot of “character”. I thought about the sentimental value the vehicle held as I worked on it. It felt great to make this MG look like it did all those years ago during that special time for the couple. This time in British Racing Green!
– Rio Hansen
Here is the completed project!
