Black Lincoln Town Car: Where to begin?

[astralis]

I just bought a 2006 black Lincoln Town Car that is in good shape but has paint chips on the bumper and a few scratches throughout. I want to keep this looking new so I'm asking for advice.

Below are some images with a description of the problem.

Deep gash around the gas tank. There are also a few scratches around it. The two large white marks around the rim are just wax residue.


Whirls. Is it possible to get rid of these? You'll also see what looks to be a scratch in the tail light but that's just wax residue.



Another deep scratch, straight to the bone:


From a distance these aren't noticable, but in the right light it looks like it's dirt and mud. But it's really LOTS of paint chips on the plastic bumper. How to clean this up?


Here's a pic to show that the chips in the bumper are not obvious, even a short distance:


Here's another image to show that it looks new, so far:


Any advice on taking care of the exterior of this beautiful black rear-wheel drive is very welcome. Please mention the products you recommend if you suggest a method to detail it. I would love for this to always look new and without whirls.

By the way, I'm new to car care and detailing so please don't presume I'll know what you're talking about. Feel free to explain as much as you can.

Thanks in advance!

[Strokes77]

I would search for a pro around you. Pay for a good detail and a full correction. Then ask them what they recommend and have them show you how to maintain it. Sound advice, even if that is not what you wanted to hear. You will spend well over the cost of a good detail just in supplies to get started.

[Nth Degree]

The swirls can be taken care of. It will take some time and a polisher with pads and a selection of compound & polish. Strokes' advice is sound. If you are new to detailing this will be a huge undertaking. The gash next to the fuel door looks to have been touched up sloppily. Is that correct? If so there is not much I could recommend to a beginner to do. The other scratch needs to be filled. Dr. Colorchip is great, but that color should be easy to find a match for in any auto parts store. As for the bumper, if those are all pits then there is not much to do but repaint it. Try a clay bar and see if any of it is bug remains that will come off. Polishing might help a little, but bumpers take a lot of abuse that goes beyond the capability of any detailer.

[astralis]

I would search for a pro around you. Pay for a good detail and a full correction. Then ask them what they recommend and have them show you how to maintain it. Sound advice, even if that is not what you wanted to hear. You will spend well over the cost of a good detail just in supplies to get started.

Thank you. I appreciate this honesty. I figured this would have been more work than a Sunday carwash, but definitely needed to hear it.

[astralis]

The swirls can be taken care of. It will take some time and a polisher with pads and a selection of compound & polish. Strokes' advice is sound. If you are new to detailing this will be a huge undertaking.

Thanks. I like this honesty.

The gash next to the fuel door looks to have been touched up sloppily. Is that correct?

Yes. It's more horrible than the gash itself.

If so there is not much I could recommend to a beginner to do. The other scratch needs to be filled. Dr. Colorchip is great, but that color should be easy to find a match for in any auto parts store.

Because of yours and other's advice here, I think I'll let a pro handle this.

As for the bumper, if those are all pits then there is not much to do but repaint it. Try a clay bar and see if any of it is bug remains that will come off. Polishing might help a little, but bumpers take a lot of abuse that goes beyond the capability of any detailer.

They're all chips, not bugs. I'm guessing touch-up on all those chips will create more problems in the long run, right? A new bumper paint job would be best?

[C. Charles Hahn]

They're all chips, not bugs. I'm guessing touch-up on all those chips will create more problems in the long run, right? A new bumper paint job would be best?

Yeah, the only way to truly get road rash like that looking "proper" again is to just have the entire bumper cover refinished. Touch-up will mask the chips somewhat, but you'll still be able to tell it has been touched up.

[Kevinch]

The guy that does all my paint work is very meticulous - which is why I go only to him. It takes him longer to get a car done, but it is done right.

Anyway, he just about refuses to repaint bumbers anymore. Swears that the only way to do it right & have it last is to strip it, & once you do that you have enough labor in it to buy a new one. Results of painting a new cover as opposed to repainting a damaged cover are much superior. You may want to check that option out when pricing the work.

[Accumulator]

astralis- Welcome to Autopia! I too like the Ford Panther platform cars

Yeah, have a pro do it. The bad touchups and the swirls/etc. should turn out OK. The trick will be finding a *GOOD* pro as there are a lot of hacks in the business and relatively few decent people. Depending on your location, perhaps somebody from here can do the work.

That front bumper cover really does need professionally refinished, and that means it has to come off the car to be done properly. DO NOT let anybody paint it "in place" as it'll mess up in an awful way. Get this done *first* as body/paint shops have a tendancy to cause (hopefully minor!) cosmetic damage to the rest of the car, and even the freshly painted areas often need a little polishing.

If the budget just won't allow for having it refinished the right way, look into a product called DRColorChips. If you spend a day or so on it (warning, it'd be a fair amount of work) you might achieve "five foot" results if you know what I mean. Well, make that "ten foot", but anyhow...

Get any mechanical work done first.

[astralis]

The guy that does all my paint work is very meticulous - which is why I go only to him. It takes him longer to get a car done, but it is done right.

Anyway, he just about refuses to repaint bumbers anymore. Swears that the only way to do it right & have it last is to strip it, & once you do that you have enough labor in it to buy a new one. Results of painting a new cover as opposed to repainting a damaged cover are much superior. You may want to check that option out when pricing the work.

I'm seeing this opinion more and more. I like to see this honesty rather than someone say they'll spend my money where it won't even look half-way right.

[astralis]

astralis- Welcome to Autopia! I too like the Ford Panther platform cars

My heart is melting! There are few of us around who love these large cars. When I picked up my pizza tonight from the pizza place, a guy in his early 20s saw me pull-up and said, in all sincerity, that I have a beautiful limousine.

I had to agree with him.

Ford and Cadillac no longer make these large sizes anymore. These are the last American cars, in my opinion. The only company who comes close these days is GM China where the Park Avenue is going to become the new DTS, but it's not as long or as wide as the 2011 DTS. As for the Town Car, I have no clue what Ford was thinking of abandoning the design without a replacement in sight -- even five years out! The livery industry still has no car.

Yeah, have a pro do it. The bad touchups and the swirls/etc. should turn out OK. The trick will be finding a *GOOD* pro as there are a lot of hacks in the business and relatively few decent people. Depending on your location, perhaps somebody from here can do the work.

I live in Houston. If anyone has any recommendations, please advise.

That front bumper cover really does need professionally refinished, and that means it has to come off the car to be done properly. DO NOT let anybody paint it "in place" as it'll mess up in an awful way. Get this done *first* as body/paint shops have a tendancy to cause (hopefully minor!) cosmetic damage to the rest of the car, and even the freshly painted areas often need a little polishing.

That's scary. I will follow your advice.

If the budget just won't allow for having it refinished the right way, look into a product called DRColorChips. If you spend a day or so on it (warning, it'd be a fair amount of work) you might achieve "five foot" results if you know what I mean. Well, make that "ten foot", but anyhow...Get any mechanical work done first.

I know exactly what you mean. I'm not a perfectionist so the five or ten foot results may be satisfactory to me. I'll give a try with the DRColorChips. Others have recommended it. It can't make the bumper look worse, especially if I get it professionally polished, until I can get a brand new bumper.

Hopefully Lincoln will wise-up and produce another large car the livery industry and drivers want. But I doubt they will as they're planning to use Ford Fusions as their base.

[bigltc]

Keep an eye out in your local scrap yards. You might come across a bumper cover in better condition.

[C. Charles Hahn]

Ford and Cadillac no longer make these large sizes anymore. These are the last American cars, in my opinion. The only company who comes close these days is GM China where the Park Avenue is going to become the new DTS, but it's not as long or as wide as the 2011 DTS.

Guess you haven't seen the new XTS:

As for the Town Car, I have no clue what Ford was thinking of abandoning the design without a replacement in sight -- even five years out! The livery industry still has no car.

Actually they do. Lincoln is marketing the MKT as a livery fleet queen now: