Ugly SE got painted
 

My ugly old SE, saved from the jaws of the crusher, came back from the bodyshop with some new K3 all over it. Hmmm. Maybe it's not a swan, yet, but it's no longer an ugly duckling. A little semi-gloss black on the trim, a little interior upholstery improvement, and it'll be a gem. Runs like a champ, too. New vanity plate on the way: "NO CAM".

very clean

very shiney

I'm very envious

Very nice.

I would love to have mine in that shape

Looks awesome, If you dont mind me askin, how much that run you?

Looks great, and I am with Matty, how much did it cost you?

Maybe it is just the pics but it appears more gray than a k3 silver. I am not really one to talk if you could see my 84 SE k3. I am in the process of repairing the dings and dents during my limited spare time and looks like it has some kind of skin disorder. Just don't pull up next to me, I may go into serious depression.

very nice i like the shine on it:)

$1800, about half for paint and half for body work, like replacing the LF fender and sanding out some horrible paint checking. Apparently, this poor SE spent its entire life outside taking the brunt of bad weather someplace because the original K3 was checked and worn thru to the white primer and generally disintegrated into dust and stains. It was very ugly and caused consternation among my neighbors and family. I was afraid the Los Altos cops would haul it away for being a civic eyesore (I kept it hidden in the garage for about a year while I got the mechanicals straightened out). But most of the body panels were straight and relatively ding-free. It's a single-layer finish, which I chose for economy even tho I could easily discern the difference between single-layer and two-layer. I didn't get the ultra-durable finish because I always garage or cover my cars anyhow.

What a ho.

It DOES look like a gray more than a K3. Next to my 85GSL K3 you can see a very slight difference. But, in the end, both cars start to look gray. Maybe I'll get a pix posted showing the two of them. It is definitely true that a two-stage paint will have a littl e more sparkle and depth. But any silver is dangerously close to gray.

In a couple months when the paint is hardened I'll wax it up with carnauba and it'll show better depth. I also have a big bottle of that special 3M polishing compound for show cars someplace, maybe I'll try that in about 6 months.

bliffle
Are you going to Rotary Fest June 24th in San Francisco? I would love to see it in Person.

it really looks great!!! thats the sunbeam silver correct? it looks fantastic!! for comparison purposes, you should take a pic or two of the gsl and the se side by side. yeah......., for comparison purposes:)

Looking good Bliffle, post more pics when you get the trim done.

I'll get pix of the two cars when the weather clears up. The 85GSL looks pretty good but it needs a trip to the bodyshop too. Then I can lose even more $$ when I sell it to someone for less than it's worth, in order to make stableroom for something like a cosmo.

Incidentally, the pix were taken with a Nikon coolpix 4600 I picked up on ebay for $90, and which is better than any other 3-4 megapixel pocket camera I've tried or bought. Breed will show.

Keep the GSL as is for daily driving and use the paint money towards to Cosmo....IMHO

Don't paint the side trim. Mask the paint off and scrub the trim with 0000 steel wool and mineral spirits. Then appy a trim dressing, Mother's Back to Black works great for this.

Painted side trim gets a hard layer on the surface and the paint chips. Major pita to redo.

Does anyone have the stock color code for the silver paint on our cars? I need to redo a both doors on my car and cant find the color code.

I need to make room here for a Cosmo. And I promised myself I'd sell at least one car before buying another. The 85GSL is a good car for a young woman, maybe a student. Has PS, PW, etc., and leather seats, including the high drivers seat. But it's 200 lb. heavier than the 83GS. Only 80k miles.

Looks like the 85SE will become my DD.

Color code is on the firewall and the doorjamb. Someplace here there's a list with the names.

The paint code is on the vin tag on the firewall. Due to age, sun, airborn chemicals, etc., mixing paint to the original formula will not match. Take the car to an autobody paint supplier, give them the code as a starting point, then they can mix the new paint to match.

I lined the SE up with my neighbors silver Porsche (says "Boxster" on the tail) and they look the same.

Looks like the SE will become my DD. Since I painted it, it's accelerated faster, shifted smoother and run quieter.

But now that I've gotten rid of most of the overpowering smells that it used to have (mostly the autostore deodorants that had been sprayed on the upholstery) by hosing it out and then wet vacuuming, I start to notice some exhaust aromas. So I guess I gotta have the exhaust system checked out.

This SE gets better and better: I just discovered that the cruise control works perfectly, and I really appreciate that on any drive over an hour.

Got the driver side door panel restored pretty good, and put my spare driver seat in (pristine red leather I pulled from the JY a couple years ago) so I can get the seat upholstery repaired.

I think I know why the K3 Metallic Silver (sunbeam silver) looks dark: it requires a white undercoat and a 3 phase paint job: white, K3, clearcoat.

With 150k miles, I believe this car was neglected more than abused, so it promises to be a good SE when totally resurrected.

The OEM radio is gone, replaced with a Pioneer head unit. I can get an OEM radio at the JY, but I think I'll leave the Pioneer in for now because it has a CD player.

What I need is a guy in the area to work on these details so I don't have to do it.

looks great, bliffle.

I'm getting noticeable exhaust fumes inside, so i ordered a new hatch seal from m'trix. May also need taillight seals.

looks really good. keep it up