Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Old-Nail]

I'd like to polish the paintwork on my old Austin Somerset to see if I can revive it a little, has anyone used Farecla products before and if so should I use G3 or G10?

I've tried T-cut but the paint just shines up a little and not really what I was looking to achieve.

The paintwork is a badly executed, perhaps ten tear old respray that has uneven and orange peel areas, I do have a good polishing tool but I've never used it yet!

Interestingly, the car has been stored outside under a synthetic tarpaulin sheet and in the recent high winds the paint where the nylon has flapped against it has come up a treat!

That gave me the idea, the wind has shown a good finish can be obtained, any advice on how to complete the job?

[bob2]

Hi Old-nail, I've used G3 quite often and I find it a very good rubbing compound. I have done a Land rover 110 with it, the landy was totally matted and it shone up well!!
I even rubbed it by hand and not with a buffer.
I used a polishing cloth and a bucket with water.
I kept the polishing cloth quite wet and kept rinsing it every now and then when I felt it needed it.
When I had polished the whole car with G3, I went over it with rexin but Farecla have the G10 which I was told is very good (never tried it yet), then i used some turtle wax xtreme to protect the paintwork.
It was shiny for a good couple of months but this landy does not see that much tlc and resides outside in the baking sun and therefore was back to matt after a couple of months.

However my surf blue mini had a poor paint job in cellulose (finances were tight) and was very matt when finished but with some M3 rubbing compound and rexin polish it came up quite good and with regular polish with autoglym (ie 3 or 4 times a year) it still wears a good shine after 6 years.

You might as well try it, not much to loose and surely less expensive and less hassling than a paint job.

[Old-Nail]

Thanks bob2 I'm going to experiment with G3 then G10, just to see the kind of results I can get.

I think I will re-paint the car after all just to change the colour from dismal grey but I'm interested in the farecla results so I will 'practice' on a section of the car first.

[bob2]

U can always re spray it whenever u want but I'd get it road legal and see how it feels on the road before painting it.

[Rick]

Good advice from Bob there - you might not like driving the Somerset!!

R
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[Old-Nail]

My intention is to sell it when I'm done, I have far too many projects on the go to keep them all.

I want to do the work to gain experience of the various procedures involved in vehicle restoration, simply working on this car has familiarised me with many essential tools, techniques and suppliers that I wouldn't otherwise have found.

I'm fond of the old Somerset and needed to save it but the Vanguard is still the best car for me!

[bob2]

Well thats a different story, but I bet if its done nicely u will be reluctant to sell it!!
well I would be!!

[kaybee]

Hi O/N, if the paint is rough and lumpy as you describe, you won't get much of a shine unless you block sand it back to a flat finish with very fine abrasive paper and then machine buff it with a good quality compound to bring up the gloss. That's why the rubbed away area's from the flapping cover look better than the rest of your paint surface, the wind has done the work for you , cheers, Col.

[bob2]

Yes thats true Kaybee but since he hasnt done the respray himself, one cennot be sure what is there underneath the surface, maybe there are layers of other paints (colours).
My point is that if he does sand it down the paint underneath can be shown.

Well worth trying a small area with rubbing compound first and then see whats best!!

[Old-Nail]

I've removed the bonnet for better access to the engine so I might just try on that to see what happens!

Kaybee's right the wind did an excellent job and made me realise that this paint job could actually come up quite nice!

Overall I think the paint is put on thick enough to buff out as it's orange peeled in places, the only problem I can see is the bits that need touching in may end up looking a different colour as I have no idea what shade of grey has been used.

If all else fails I'm happy to repaint it as I would prefer it to be a better colour.

[john-saab]

I used the G7 to rub out the "orange peel" on my car after spraying it..it worked well with a little water.
I use G3 on cars that need a little help..its a bit harsh and can grind paint away if used too often.
If you can find a body shop supplier you can buy G3 in 750ml bottles and it seems to be a bit wetter than the tubes...this is great stuff to use if you intend to cut the paint with a machine..and takes the hard work out of polishing a car that has been neglected.
I would'nt reccomend using G3 on a regular basis. Farecla have a polish..it works well but leaves white marks on rubber and is a lot of work ..the shine does'nt last long

[Old-Nail]

I usually look to ebay for most things I need but there only seems to be G3 plus the odd G10 on offer.

I wouldn't over use it I'd just like to see how it well it restores the old paint.
Chances are I'll finish up repainting it after all though!

[47p2]

Sorry to open up this old post, but I have to admit I am a fan of Farecla products.
G3 it a course compound and you have to be very careful with it. Also it breaks down better if using a machine. If the orange peal left after a poor spray job is really bad you can cut the paint back with some 2000 grade wet & dry then apply a little G3 to the cutting pad. Working with plenty of water as a lubricant you can obtain an almost mirror like finish. I tend to start with G3 then finish with G10 to take any small marks out of the paintwork.
When you are finished cutting, clean off the paintwork and give it a good coat of wax. There are several polishes I use and it depends if I am machining or hand polishing as to what I will apply.

This was the Range Rover I bought a few months ago, I started with wet & dry, then G3, then G10, and finally finishing by machining on some Farecla Glaze for dark colours.

Remember if you do use wet & dry to stay away from the edges as it is all too easy to go through the paint here


The finished product


As the weather was a little warmer this week I decided to do a spot of polishing of some of my other cars.
This picture is a reflection of my S-Class looking at the door of my V-Class that I have just polished. I used Farecla Glaze machined on and off and finished with Farecla Black Top applied and removed by hand.


Another view of the V-Class


A reflection of the S-Class in the V-Class door

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ROVER
One of Britain's Fine Cars

[Old-Nail]

P2 it was worth opening up the old thread just to see the stance used to take the pics

Seriously though thanks for the info, when i finally get around to the polishing stage of my rebuild Farecla's the stuff I'll use.

[47p2]

O-N, Just remember to be very careful, especially if you are using a machine. It might be best getting hold of an old scrap bonnet to practise on.

Here are some more reflection pictures.

This is a picture of my garage through the door of the P2


This shows roughly how the picture was taken, I did have to move slightly to show this


Finally this was looking into the garage and no reflection

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ROVER
One of Britain's Fine Cars