Hi all,
I’m in the process of restoring my 68 cougar and wanted to get advice on how to go about the exterior.
The car’s paint is the original nordic blue paint with the original pinstriping. It has some scratches and rust bubbles (See pics).
There’s also damage to the rear passenger 1/4 and taillight extension that I’m going to patch up.
Would it be possible to apply touch up paint the areas that need it or would it be better to strip the paint and repaint the whole car?
In a previous post it was discussed that to repair damaged right quarter panel that parts needed to be removed to know the extent of damage. Pretty much same advice with rust bubbles, scratches and dings. What you see on the surface usually ends up with more surface area effected to do a proper repair. Likely by the time you get done addressing problems in pictures plus whatever other issues you find that you’ll be well beyond the “touch up” option. A lot of work to be done before you look at final finish options.
I understand what you’re saying. So it seems like my only true option is to strip the current paint and repaint the whole car? Of course this would be after all the repairs are done.
Depending on who paints the car and what you want for a final result(restoration, daily driver, 20 footer for local show) which also includes how much you want to spend sets some of the options like stripping vs priming to shoot over. My point was you are way beyond the “touch up” option. You might want to take car to someone who paints older cars (not every body shop does) to get some opinions/ballpark numbers to know where you are headed. There is a lot of labor to fix what you have in the pictures and the farther you dig into it might change options as well. Paint alone today is expensive.
I appreciate the advice, and yeah I’ll try to find a local shop near me.
In the context of a sympathetic, “rolling restoration”, it can be cool to leave as much of the original paint intact for as long as possible, stripping & priming areas you’re working on. It’s cool to see the original pin stripes, how they did them & the colors. Be sure to take lots of pics of those so you can recreate them exactly. So cool. On the other hand, If your goal is pretty, then you have some body & paint work ahead of you.
I’m a huge fan of original, but keep in mind what you can’t see is 100 times worse than what you can.
Yeah I really like the original pinstrip and paint too. I like the thickness of the pinstripe.
Ideally I would like to keep as much of the original paint as possible, and also be able to protect the metal body.
It’s all about IMHO your end game. Your plans for the use and enjoyment of it. This is after an honest evaluation of your fiances, condition of the complete car, how the car will be stored, how the car will be used, your abilities, what will need to be farmed out, and so many things. Once you have chosen a path stick to it and see it through. Changes, like in building a house, cost extra. Often what it is worth at the other end is not equal to the cost of getting it there so make sure if you married to get an understanding and game plan ahead of the time.
Getting out, the project or marriage, part way through will really hurt.
Good luck with your choice - once made be proud of it and dig in.
Appreciate the advice and wisdom, thanks!
