Bought an older car in need of some serious work, little help?

S

smurph98gt

New member
Well, I bought this 1989 Mustang LX 5.0 for $1500 bucks, so I can't complain too much. It runs awesome, and overall isn't in that bad of condition, but there are several things that need to be addressed as far as the exterior goes.



Minor damage on the hatch:

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Obviously the corner needs to be replaced, but the orange stuff sucks.

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The trim around the quarter windows is real rough and nasty looking:

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The trim along the passenger window is bad, its really hard and cracks off pretty easily.

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The biggest problem IMO though is the roof. Its oxidized, and rough, and you can see little spots of rust coming through..

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I gave her a nice wash, she looks pretty good, but like I said.. definetly needs some work.

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So, anyone wanna give me some advice here on how to address all of these issues?



Thanks everyone!



-Ronald
 
paint job is the only thing that can help that car. You can make it look better by cleaning it but it will never look good.
 
I can understand that about the roof, obviously a clay-bar isn't gonna fix that mess, but what about the rest of the car? Would it be worthwhile to do a quailty detail on everything and just have the roof of the car re-painted?
 
IMO if you're going to paint it do the whole thing. PS-the roof looks worse than "oxidation" to me...my 2 cents.

Replace the trim with new trim when you paint it too.
 
wifehatescar said:
IMO if you're going to paint it do the whole thing. PS-the roof looks worse than "oxidation" to me...my 2 cents.

Replace the trim with new trim when you paint it too.
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Well, I'd rather not have to have it painted, I bought the car mostly because it was a good deal, and I could turn it around for a quick profit, but after driving it for awhile, I've decided I like it, and I want to keep it for a little while. I don't however want to put a large amount of money into it, as it would defeat my purposes..



Sucks though.



I heard that I can bondo, sand, and repaint the rear quarter iwndow molding, and the busted window molding is a replacement piece.
 
Finances are always a concern. That said, if you choose not to paint this car just don't expect it to be anything better than a 50 footer. It's just expecting too much. No offense intended. ;)
 
GearHead_1 said:
Finances are always a concern. That said, if you choose not to paint this car just don't expect it to be anything better than a 50 footer. It's just expecting too much. No offense intended. ;)
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lol.. none taken.. and honestly, maybe thats all I'm looking for. It's obviously not going to be show quality or anything, but I'd like to make look good what I can.



That being said, the rest of the paint besides the roof is in pretty good condition.. any recommendations on how to bring that stuff back to life? All I've ever used is the 12 dollar Zymol from Wal-Mart... :)
 
Maybe you can go to MAACO and get one of their paint specials. I owned an Alfa spider once that was painted by the PO at Maaco, and it was actually a decent job. It was definately a 5-footer, if not better. I had the reciept for the paint job, total cost was less than $500.



Dom
 
Molding and trim pieces should not be that expensive. Headlight covers and corners can be picked up on Ebay or one of the mustang forums. Otherwise, you are stuck with the paint job unless you repaint.
 
Well, If I have to stick with it, so be it..



Now, how can I go about making the REST of the paint, besides the roof look good? As you can see from some of the pictures, overall, it isn't that bad. I don't have any tools, I'd love to pick up a PC, but don't have the cash right now.



Thanks again guys!



-Ronald
 
as far as the trim stuff goes, you could try www.50resto.com, though it does cost bucks. the passenger window trim, is it broken, or the paint just coming off? you could try repainting it.



the roof, i don't think there is much you can do other than a new paint job for it. but you should put some rust prevention on the rust spots to prevent the rust from spreading.



for the rest of the car by hand, just clay, prep, polish, and wax. what products you use depends on what you can get and afford. Meguiars is usually easy to get and isn't too costly. and what you get depends on how bad the rest of the paint is, as in is there oxidation, swirls, etc etc.



seeing your stang makes me wish i had more money to fix up my old '89. :D
 
The window trim is just peeling really bad.. but its not actually cracked.. so maybe stripping it off and repainting it is the proper course of actuion. Same thing goes for the window trim, that crap is expensive to replace, so I might sand it smooth and paint it as well.



Clay, Prep, Polish, Wax.



What would you recommend for 15 year old paint? There are some swilr marks, not too much oxidation really, mostly just little chips and stuff. Clay I can do.. prep, like car wash? I ususally use the Zymol car wash, and then I'll throw a coat of Zymol on there.. it works.. but it's just ok. I have no ideas on polishs, sealers, and whatever. :(



I'm jealous of a) your car, and b) where you live. Screw you! ;)
 
smurph98gt said:
I have no ideas on polishs, sealers, and whatever. :(
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No offense but have you searched much yet?



That being said if your looking for something quick, cheap and easy to do, clay the car, then use some Poorboys PwC or even a light abrasive like Poorboys SSR1 or 2, then use PwC. That should give you a good start.

www.poorboysworld.com

You can email the owner and he would be happy to help too I bet.
 
I really have, honestly.. but the thing I run into is just the vast amount of info and differing opinions, its hard to nail down what someone thinks is goodm when in a thread you get 50 replies all saying to use different products. Granted, I should be able to take that and forumlate my own opinion on it, which I will.. I just like to ask others what they while on topic. :)



Thanks, I'll check that stuff out!



-Ronald
 
hey, man I'm buying a beater 4x4 soon. most of the ones I have looked at have the same stuff on the roof...its probably bad clear coat/faded paint not just oxidation.



if it is just oxidized, you can use a heavy/ medium cut compound to take off the oxidation and bring back the gloss.



If the oxidation plan did not work my plan of attack was this:

wetsand with 800 grit then 1500

rust converter primer on rust

rattle can primer on area

wetsand with 2500

* now either, pay someone $200 to blend in the areas OR rattle can some colormatched touch up paint



Now, if you do go with a cheap re-spray you really need to do ALL the prepwork for the rust, and probably sand the entire car for good adhesion. Also remove all the emblems, door handles, etc. Cause if you dont, they wont and the job will come out like ****.
 
heh heh, well, 1) it's costly having my car with gas prices and whatnot, and 2) the weather hasn't been all that great lately, it does rain here, ya know? :D



yeah, the trim and stuff, just repaint if you can.



prep - that's when you get rid of the swirls, oxidazation, paint imperfections, basically cleaning the paint and making it nice, smooth, and shiney.



what kind of products can you get? are you going to mail order? and by hand, well, it's hard work and might not get rid of all the swirls (just a warning). meguiar's makes some good polishes, like #9 Swirl Remover 2.0 or #80 Speed Glaze or even Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner (MPPC). a PC really helps, so save up for one.



but it's been a while since i've done anything to the '89 (too much time on the Mach1 :D) so i can't really say what works. so yeah, do a search and see what *you* may like, afford, and can get. i found the 'Click & Brag' section helpful in finding what combos people use and what i could possibly expect.
 
If you are looking for something effective, cheap, and quick, try clay, then following with some Colorx topped with a couple coats of NXT. At around 20 bucks, you aren't putting too much into it, and it will look somewhat better. If you have a rotary or pc handy you can step up to a product like #83 followed by #82, then NXT. But Colorx is best by hand.
 
I was thinking of trying that Poorboys stuff, SSR2, as recommended by someone earlier as it is pretty cheap, and from what I've seen is fairly effective, but I don't know how it's going to be going on by hand..



I might give the ColorX stuff a shot then, that sounds pretty cheap for all that stuff, plus I'm sure it'll be better than nothing. Then that'll give me a chance to save for a nice PC and some discs and some quality microfiber towels and get away from that crappy chamois I have.



So, I'll do the following:

- Wash with my Zymol car wash

- Clay everything

- Wash again (?)

- Use ColorX

- NXT



Hirosh, I went and visited Honolulu in November when the Nimitz rolled through, I met my brother who was on board, I haven't gotten that place out of my head since. :(



-Ronald
 
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