Decided to pop up to Perkins to have a look at the car this morning.

I'll say this, pics don't do it justice!

The paint's been beautifully well applied, and even in its booth-fresh state it's got a much deeper shine than it had before. That's what you get from three coats of lacquer! :)

Which makes it all the more exciting when I say, the following pictures are of the finish as it came out of the spray gun. Before it sees the road again it's being flatted with 1500 and then 2000 grit sand paper, then polished up to a glass-like shine.

That said, I could roll up to a show with it as it is and still turn heads. Imagine how good it'll look when it's finished!

And a before/after comparison:

toooooo good

As i said on facebook. It makes me wonder why i went satin

Looks awesome dude, really does :)

Aiming for Stanford Hall as its first outing. I think it'd be rude not to enter it in the show and shine, eh?

That's awesome!

Our place can't manage that from the gun, but then again, our work is all insurance so we can't put as much love into stuff as they clearly have.

Different customer base though. Perky used to work at an approved BMW/Merc repair centre though. He's an extremely talented painter though, I've seen work from all sorts of other bodyshops and his finishes really are second to none.

man trouser twitch seeing this on fb!

Really makes me want to paint something!

This is very true.

Food for thought when I get round to giving my Mark3 a mini resto when it reaches the ripe age of 20.

man trouser twitch seeing this on fb!

Really makes me want to paint something!

I can't stop looking at the pictures. Seriously though, doesn't do it any justice seeing photos. This needs to be looked at in the metal to be fully appreciated.

This is very true.

Food for thought when I get round to giving my Mark3 a mini resto when it reaches the ripe age of 20.

Mine turns 20 in June, if I've worked out the manufacturing date correctly. June the 13th. I remember when I first got the car, some of the early Mk2s were 20 and I thought that was really old. Thing is, I've owned mine since it was relatively new (same age as the Passat is now, almost) and I've taken care of it properly which has helped keep it in good shape.

Some of the models we used at shows last year, on Max, were younger.

Not quite had mine as long as you, as mine was the ripe age of 11 when I acquired it, but its recently just turned 17 in Novemeber when it was registered, and I've owned it since March '04 before I could actually drive.

With my Mark2 nearly ready for the road, it means I can actaully retire mine for some TLC as and when funds allow.

sick!

Lol thats so sweet.

I might go paint a fence or somethin.

how many greys did they do on this car? i know if a couple and they are hard to tell apart really, and were you not tempted to go half cc'd with the bumpers?

how many greys did they do on this car? i know if a couple and they are hard to tell apart really, and were you not tempted to go half cc'd with the bumpers?

Only one, officially. Pearl Grey, LA7U. However, Atlas Grey and especially Pewter Grey look quite similar. Both are Golf colours, and neither are Mica (pearlescent) finish like the proper colour. I've seen a few 'Pearl Grey' Polos that look like they may have been painted Pewter Grey at some point, it's lighter and not quite so able to pick up surrounding light. They're quite old cars now, and with car park prangs, scrapes etc there are likely to be a lot of cars that have seen the inside of a paint booth at some point, whether the owner knows it or not.

Anyway, I appear to have used my Photobucket bandwidth with the fresh paint pics - so the latest ones are being hosted through Facebook.

Dropped in to see the car this lunchtime, as I was in the area. Adam's been hard at work for three days flatting and polishing the paintwork, and while I thought it was shiny before I hadn't seen even a quarter of its potential.

Not all of it has been done yet, and annoyingly I didn't have my tripod with me so the pics are a bit cack. Plus tbh you can't get any idea of just how shiny it is until you see it in the metal. It's going to look awesome!

This is the bonnet. And Ad says it's not finished yet!

The roof. Done, but dusty.

The passenger side door...

And the passenger side. Ad was still going over the quarter panel as I left.

It'll be fully polished by the end of the weekend, then it can start being put back together! 8)

looks like glass or still clear water, just the way it should have been if VW put more effort in at the factory

wait till its out in the sun should look amazing

hope mine gets reflections like that when it gets done its too "orangepeely" when you look close where vw haven't put enough coats on to properly colour sanded it down again

Edited 16 April, 201115 yr by genesisGT

Yep it has to be said shooting it freehand in a spray booth isn't doing the paint any justice. It'll look even better when it's not covered in dust and in natural light. The shine is ocean deep.

awesome alex really is. Whats your crazy painter dude got on his head? A mop? or is it his hair

mate that looks beautiful <3

top notch

awesome alex really is. Whats your crazy painter dude got on his head? A mop? or is it his hair

Ad changes his hairstyle weekly. :)

Looks awesome. Have you got replacements for the roof gutter trims lined up?

Nope, we tried getting the old ones off without bending them and I reckon they're ok to reuse. We shall see.

Thank god for royal weddings - today meant I got a full day with the car and I've got LOADS done.

I actually got a bit carried away, and forgot to take any pics until the end of the day.

But, today's completed tasks:

- Speedlines swapped for my old 15s (borrowed from my mate who bought them off me 18 months ago) while I wait for new tyres for the Watanabes

- tailgate badges fitted

- tailgate tub vinyl trim fitted, with grab handle, lock and number plate lights

- rear wiper mechanism fitted

- rear lights fitted

- b pillar trims fitted

- doors assembled with windows, door cards, door handles, seals and alarm sensors

- side repeaters fitted

- roof gutter trims fitted

- inner arch liners fitted

Pics say a thousand words. The car was really dusty, so don't view these as an indication of the paintwork. It's had four days of being flatted and polished, trust me it needs to be seen in the metal!

But it's starting to look like a car again!

The slam panel hasn't been painted yet, so no point fitting the front bumper, headlights or grille yet. But you can see the front edge of the arch liner. It's pretty close to the wheel!

Last time I had these wheels on the car, it was sitting a little higher. I still think they suit the car, but there's no way these will fit under the arches now. Satin b-pillar trim looks awesome against the dense pearl paintwork.

Paper windscreen makes it look like I've got tints!

I'm going to wind the driver's side up about half an inch to level the ride height. I'm glad I decided to refit the vinyl around the number plate, it really suits the car! Undecided whether I'll put the Supercharged badge back on, I'm quite tempted to leave it off.

Still a decent list of tasks to do:

- paint and refit sunroof panel

- paint inside the boot

- paint slam panel

- paint and fit rear strut brace

- fit rear quarter windows and windscreen

- fit windscreen wipers

- fit sill and arch trims, and side rubbing strips

- fit front and rear bumpers

- another session of flatting and polishing

- underseal everywhere!

- fit tyres to new wheels, and swap them over

A lot of that is due to happen this week, I'll be fitting up the last of the trim next weekend hopefully and then collecting it the week after if all goes to plan. Can't wait now!

Took advantage of being back in Cardiff for the weekend today - some awesome scrap yards around here! Spotted this morning - a Scirocco Scala, a (stripped bare) red Porsche 924 and a white Porsche 944. I've yet to live anywhere that's so easy going when it comes to walking around and trying to find parts, or that has so many properly old cars.

And, while I didn't find what I was looking for, I did find this:

It's the leather steering wheel from a Corrado VR6. I had one on my car years ago, and took it off when the leather at the top started to wear through. Cost me a LOT more than I paid for this, and this one is in better condition. I'll probably run it this year, get the other one retrimmed when I can afford it, then swap them over and sell this one.

And the Speedlines are clean(er) and ready for their new owner to collect on Monday.

Hectic week this week, finishing with a busy day at the workshop. My new tyres have arrived, and they're now fitted to the Watanabes. They look great! I may have to paint those valve caps black though.

Progress since last time includes the sunroof and strut brace being painted. How good does that look!

The big task today was getting the trim re-fitted. It's a puzzle that starts with the sill extensions, then the arch extensions, then finally the rub strips on the doors and rear quarter panels. One corner at a time I swapped the 15s for the Watanabes, and riveted/Tiger Sealed the arches in place. I can't get over how much lower and wider it looks.

Unfortunately the car was right over in the corner of the workshop, so excuse the not so great pictures.

They fill the arches better than the Speedlines, I think. Paint looks great even when it's covered in dust!

Rear arches are both fitted too, so only the rubbing strips left.

Got a few bits to order in. I've decided to fit a genuine aerial, if it's not too expensive. I also need to get some new wheel bolts, as mine are pretty gash. The boot and slam panel are being painted this week, and with that done I can put the rest of it back together.

Next time I go up to the workshop, two weeks today, I should be coming back with a car! 8)

Edited 7 May, 201115 yr by Alex