My car has the usual odd scratch here and there…whats best to do with them?
deep scratches/chips can be cleaned thoroughly with panel wipe then using a small paint brush filled with several layers of paint, when dry flat back with some fine wet and dry at least 1200 grit then polish with either rubbing compound (farecla G3) or t.cut. fine scratches should compound/t cut out. If you are describing stress cracks, then you are dealing with a whole new can of worms, unless the car is an eyesore, I’d advise some “colour magic” or similar polish and drive the car often!! Stress cracks and crazing in the paint can only be cured with major body work, very dirty and very time consuming, hence very expensive (around ?5K for a de trimmed shell)
hope this helps
Mark
Thanks Mark,its chips and a couple of scratchs im talking about so il try what you have suggested.Ialso have a small crack,about half inch long on rear wheel arch where shell seems thin.Its not bad,but not sure wether its a job best dealt promptly with,otherwise will it get worse? Im also interested that you suggest useing the car often,why? Does regular use of car help reduce stress in some way?
Yes, it reduces stress enormously - especially on a warm, sunny day.
Guess i asked for that…bodywork stress then…
The body work deteriorates whether its sitting in a garage or out on the road. Better to enjoy ther car in return for the deterioration than have it go downhill sitting in the garage.
After almost 30 years of hard use including 40,000 miles of racing since a ground up rebuild in 1980 my Elan looks well used and will never win a concours but I have enjoyed every minute of that use and prefer the car to look used and enjoyed rather than pristine.
cheers
Rohan
I do use the car lots,and it looks pretty good…just want to keep on top of little bits before problems arrive.So should small cracks be strengthened before they spread?
Generally if the body work and paint has been done well a small crack will not spread in my experience. I have had small cracks in the top of the front guards where the wheels hit on opposite lock for 30 years that have not spread.
But if you want to spend the time you can grind them out repair and repaint but its a lot of effort and they will probably reappear again as they occur where the body flexing in your car with your use exceeds what the fibreglass or paint can tolerate. This does not really change following a repair unless you reinforce that general area where the crack occured while being careful not to relocate the high stress flex to another location.
cheers
Rohan
Just think- car built down to a price xx years ago; would you rather have steel or plastic body?
Fiberglass vesus ‘tin paper bag’ ,no contest, especially those of us around then remember that most British cars were already rusting before they were delivered…new !
Its worth remembering also that a new ‘out of the box’ elan’s paintwork & trim were cheap,light & cheerful , just a minimal blow over paint job so you couldn’t see through the moulding! So not as flash as most people restore & maintain them to now.