Bringing the Glory Back to a 1978 Holden Torana:

Classic Car Paint Restoration & Protection

Bringing the Glory Back to a 1978 Holden Torana

Classic Car Paint Restoration and Paint Protection

Got a classic car? Paint seen better days, but not sure what to do about it?

This is the post for you! We’ll take you through the process we go through to restore and protect the paint of a beautiful classic car.

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This stunning 1978 Holden Torana came to Paint Protection Pro for our premium Paint Protection service as the owner wanted to protect the paint from any further ravages of time.

Classic car paint restoration and protection process includes:

Vehicle condition assessment
Multi-stage decontamination wash
A 2-stage paint correction
Residue removal
Ceramic paint coating (Gtechniq Crystal Serum)

At some point the vehicle had undergone a full respray. On the plus side it was in fantastic, rust free condition but unfortunately it had just about every paint defect known to man including swirls, scratches, pug tails etc.

Vehicle Condition Assessment

One of the most important aspects of undertaking any paint correction process is to talk through the possibilities and risks with the owner.

In this case we were fortunate to have a real enthusiast owner who also understood the limitations the paint condition presented.

Classic cars usually don’t have the same type of paint as modern cars which are coated with a hard, clear coat to enhance shine and protect the paint underneath.

This means we have to be extremely careful not to remove too much paint and “burn” through to the paint or primer underneath.

In this case we took the time to talk through the challenges with the owner at each stage so the end result was safe but still met their high expectations.

Here are the steps we went through to restore and protect this classic beauty!

Shiny red Holden Torana which is a good example of car paint restoration and protection

Multi-stage decontamination

First things first we gave the car a thorough multi stage decontamination wash.

Due to the poor rust protection, humid conditions in Queensland and the poor drainage channels these cars are renowned for, we skipped the pressure washer and used a minimum water method instead.

Any water left was then blow dried away leaving the car ready for paint correction.

Shiny red Holden Torana with ceramic coating - back end

Paint correction to prepare for protection

With such soft paint it was extremely important to mask all potential high spots and edges to prevent the aforementioned burn through.

Then we ran a number of sample patches to establish the best pad and polish compound for the first stage of what would be a 2-stage correction process.

The correction process is the critical step in the car paint restoration process and takes a lot of experience to ensure the right polishing pads are combined with the right polishing compound for the specific paint.

Residue removal

Once the paint correction was complete and we were happy with the results the paint was stripped of any polish residue prior to applying Gtechniq’s Crystal Serum ceramic coating.

Ceramic Paint Coating

For this vehicle we chose Gtechniq’s Crystal Serum because the client wanted a high quality coating that offered the best paint protection with great gloss and water repellancy AND backed by a professional guarantee.

In this instance we applied two coats of the ceramic coating using a foam applicator.

Between coats we leveled the coating with special Gtechniq microfibre cloths designed specifically for the job and then buffed to a shine with ultra fine, edgeless microfibre cloths.

The level of gloss achieved at the end of the project was simply stunning and we know the owner will be enjoying club runs for many years without worrying about the elements!

So if you’ve got a classic car that needs a bit of love to bring it back its former glory, get in touch.

Interested in our Car Paint Restoration and Paint Protection services?

Get in touch or Book a Free Vehicle Condition Assessment – we’ll come to you and assess the best course of action for your car.

0413 853 100

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