Repainting a Maxi - opinions requested

[theorganist]

I am just about to aquire an Austin Maxi:

 

The story behind it is that it is a 1977/78 S registration Maxi 1750. The current owner saved it from the scrapyard in 1990 when he was 16 so it was his first car. It was taken of the road in 1998 and has been in his garage since. He offered it to me for free although I am giving him some money for it as there are also a shed load of spares with it!

 

He has done most of the work on it, around 90%. At some point he reprayed it from Sandglow to matt black, although it is not the worse paint job there are areas where you can see some of the original paint.

 

I think Maxi's look quite good in black but I don't want to keep it matt black, I suppose the easiest option is to paint it gloss black! Part of me would love to return it too its original Sandglow colour, not that it is my favourite but I have also toyed with other options like repainting it Brooklands Green which is my favourite Maxi colour or maybe the blue or gold colour the Maxi's my parents had in the eighties were.

 

Now for the dunces question! I am not a painting expert, I have repainted parts of my Renault 14 which looks quite good now I have found the exact shade! The lazy part of me wants to have to do as little work as possible, is it totally necessary to rub down/sand the old paint? Presumably if I were paint over it the only real option would be to use a dark colour?!

 

One more question, the car has black seats out of a later Maxi, I would love to put some earlier "leatherette" type seats of the type that would have been originally fitted. If anyone has some seats they have removed from an old Maxi they don't want I would be interested, could even swap for the cloth seats currently fitted!

 

Any advice or opinions would be gratefully received as I am looking forward to making it my own little project. I am not expecting and concours car but it isn't anyway!!

 

Thanks,

Peter.

[barefoot]

... is it totally necessary to rub down/sand the old paint....

 

It depends entirely on how crap you want it to look and whether you ever hope to sell it on.

 

I suspect leave it as it is until you can afford/learn how to do it properly.

& I think a '78 Maxi would have had cloth seats, my old man's '75 did but it was an HL.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

The lazy part of me wants to have to do as little work as possible

 

 

 

 

Thanks,

Peter.

Happy to help.

[pompei]

I'm certainly no expert, having only once repainted a car but my experience taught me that the better the preparation, then the better the final finish. There is also the risk of a reaction with the black paint. Are there any areas of original paint left, eg door shuts, under bonnet etc? If so, the lazy sod in me would be tempted to return it to its original colour.

[John F]

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!

 

Do a SpastoMaxi replica. SpastoMaxi replicas are for WINNARS!

[cort16]

The more time you put into it the better it'll look.

I'd definetly be going over it all and flatting it back. I'd also be tempted to put an isolator over the satin black as christ knows what it's painted with and it'll no doubt react when you go to put the paint on.

Paint wise 2 pack is harder and gives a better finish but it's really, really poisoness. You also tend to have to put on a base coat then laquer. Cellulose you can put on as one coat but you can't get metallics. It's also not as hard and takes longer to go off.

[theorganist]

Thanks so far guys as ever for you helpful and amusing comments.

 

I am planning to do as good as a job as I can on it, not really intending to be lazy about it!!

 

I suspect leave it as it is until you can afford/learn how to do it properly.

& I think a '78 Maxi would have had cloth seats, my old man's '75 did but it was an HL.

 

I can't afford to have it done professionally and would like to take it on myself.

There will be no hurry to do it I intend to to it over the space of a few months, a panel at a time probably.

 

It did have leatherette trim as the current owner uses one of the seats in his conservatory when he is playing the play station!! The rest were scrapped.

 

@Peter and John F: Wonder what did happen to that Maxi?

 

Are there any areas of original paint left, eg door shuts, under bonnet etc? If so, the lazy sod in me would be tempted to return it to its original colour

 

There are some areas of the original paint, one of the doors is off a later Yellow Maxi. I think I am more leaning to returning it to Sandglow.

 

I'd definetly be going over it all and flatting it back. I'd also be tempted to put an isolator over the satin black as christ knows what it's painted with and it'll no doubt react when you go to put the paint on.

 

I think I will flatten it back at least, not sure what he used to paint it, although apparently he used an electric spray gun to paint it.

 

Cellulose you can put on as one coat but you can't get metallics.

 

I used Cellulose on the 14 but that is only on patches.

[MrDuke]

Gloss black would look extremely nice, but it's the most difficult colour to do get right. Every single imperfection will show up, probably not the best option for a non-concours effort.

 

You could even try removing all the matt black with thinner and very very fine paper, then cutting back the original colour and touching up any rough patches. I'm pretty sure someone on RR did this with an old Sunny or Polo, and the results looked pretty good. Although sandglow is pants.

[cort16]

I'd wait until it's warmer and or do it tomorrow as the paint won't go off when it's cold. I'd be tempted just to do it all in oner as you could prep it before hand then just paint it one weekend. If you get a few dribbles and some orangepeelyness you can sort it out with wet and dry and a polisher. I've got one of them electric guns and it's okay just make sure you're pointing away from the car when you press the button as it dribbles like me after 12 pints of high intensity lager.

[Cavcraft]

Had one years back that had been hand painted in Tesco 'bamboo beige' house paint. Not a good look.

 

Stick to the original colour, everyone knows beige is for winners.

[AnthonyG]

I think Sandglow is the best option as then you don't have to worry about door shuts, etc. The amount of work involved to do that wouldn't be any more than with gloss black, it will still need proper prep and sanding back in any case.

 

Trouble with leaving it matt black is that, unless done with the same amount of care as a normal 'gloss' paintjob, it rapidly acquires the rat/shed/shit look of a car run until the next MOT and then binned, attracting vandals/coppers etc.

 

Theres an article in the current (I think) issue of Practical Classics about a guy (poss one of their staff) who did a car with rattle cans, and he said it came out well. Might be worth having a look.

 

PS I have several owners handbooks for different years of Maxis - if you want one for a £1 & postage, PM me

 

PPS DVLA says that fantastic Maxi was last taxed in 1980, so looks like its been off the road long time and then resurrected at minimal expense.

[HillmanImp]

Gloss black would look extremely nice, but it's the most difficult colour to do get right. Every single imperfection will show up, probably not the best option for a non-concours effort.

 

I agree with this statement. As like me you are a novice, depending on how good you want the car to be and how much prep it needs, it may be a good idea to paint it black first to show up any imperfections in the bodywork. This is what I am planning on doing on my Imp before I paint it white as I will be able to sort out any bits that are not straight, bumps etc. If I sort out the imperfections when it is black they will never be seen when its painted white.

 

I suppose it depends how much prep it needs and how good it already is.

 

If the interior/engine bay/boot/doors etc are all the original colour then its got to be painted that colour. Am very much a collar and cuffs person when it comes to cars.

[theorganist]

'd wait until it's warmer and or do it tomorrow as the paint won't go off when it's cold.

 

I am not getting the car until mid October at the earliest and have only seen it once but the engine bay was partly painted black with some patchy areas of Sandglow if I recall correctly!

 

There were definatelty bits of Sandglow in places, also some yellow on the door that had come from the yellow Maxi.

 

PS I have several owners handbooks for different years of Maxis - if you want one for a £1 & postage, PM me

 

PPS DVLA says that fantastic Maxi was last taxed in 1980, so looks like its been off the road long time and then resurrected at minimal expense.

 

Thanks AG will probably take you up on that offer!

 

agree with this statement. As like me you are a novice, depending on how good you want the car to be and how much prep it needs, it may be a good idea to paint it black first to show up any imperfections in the bodywork

 

Sounds like a good idea, thanks.

[jonathan_dyane]

I did a reasonable repaint on an elderly Dyane I had which involved rollers and coach enamel

 

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Do it all in one go- painting panel by panel is just an arse. Sandglow is a very forgiving colour in terms of imperfections, but it will need half decent prep. A gallon of cellulose thinners and one of those kitchen scouring pads will get the matt black shit off./ Hire or buy an electric DA sander, get a box of 240 grit pads and set to. Go over it again with 600 grits, blow it off, mask it up, wipe it all over with panel wipe and prime any repairs/sores with rattle can grey primer.

 

Then paint the bugger all in one go. Today would have been a great day to do it outside with a fast drying thinner! 3 litres of Cellulose or single pack acrylic with thinners, and get a mate who's handy with a spray gun to paint it. If you knew a bloke who is a VERY good painter, you could use a synthetic enamel like ICI Permobel (can you still buy it??) which is a very hardy 'shine from the gun' paint that covers very well. But you can't rub down runs or dirt in the paint, and you can only paint over it with more of the same.

[Craig the Princess]

I'm watching this thread with real interest as I am currently respraying very slowly a Aconite allegro and struggling.

[cort16]

The painter in the unit next to mine painted a BMW white is some kind of industrial paint like that enamel stuff. It meant for tractors and lorrys as it's so hard wearing. It came nice out the gun but looked brilliant after a polish. I can find out what exactly was it was if you want?

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

The painter in the unit next to mine painted a BMW white is some kind of industrial paint like that enamel stuff. It meant for tractors and lorrys as it's so hard wearing. It came nice out the gun but looked brilliant after a polish. I can find out what exactly was it was if you want?

 

Synthetic enamel! Known as Permobel after the ICI name - it's tractor paint, thicker than a whale omlette but gleams like a shiny sixpence up a sheeps arsehole.

[theorganist]

Thanks for all your fabulous replies, they have all been very helpful. It is a shame I don't have the car yet as this weather would be perfect.

 

I think I will do it all at once on second thoughts, can't wait to get hold of it now!!

[eddyramrod]

Since you've already considered the option, I say take it back to Sandglow. I think it's a dire colour (and therefore perfect for a Maxi, which is a dire car) but it is the original, and will get lots of admiration at shows and wherever else you go.

[The Moog]

What about Rustoleum stuff that people use on campers? Or would its finish be too rubbish?

[scooters]

Maxis are big cars...lots of bodywork to cover ..tricky to get a good finish in Matt black. A few years ago I swapped a DAF for a Torsten Maxi...he'd rescued it...had been Orange but a previous owner had roller painted it in a sort of bloody shit brown colour...looked fucking horrible. Mechanically well sound though...until I clunked the gearbox on a kerb and swapped it with a banger racer for a scimitar gte

[theorganist]

What about Rustoleum stuff that people use on campers?

 

We use quite a lot of that stuff at work (not for painting cars I hasten to add)!

 

To be honest I don't think I could make it worse than it is, it will never be concours I just don't have the money, I just want to make it look nice!!

 

Just seen a black V reg Maxi on e-bay (it did not meet the reserve) not far from me so they definately existed in Black!

[keef]

Just in case anyone wondered; it ended up Sandglow.

 

Here it is on it's way to the Isle of Wight!