Good (and reasonably priced) panel beaters in Brisbane

[hwatter]

G'day Guys,

I've been quietly working on a 1959 FC special sedan in brisbane here for the past year and its finally to the point where I can start worrying about aesthetics and body rubbers. It's my first time restoring a vintage car so I'm looking for some advice.

It has dents in the front right corner panel, the left front door and the stainless trim on the left hand side - so I'm looking for a panel beater somewhere in the Brisbane region, that done well for you in the past or has a good reputation.

Cheers

Henry

[hwatter]

Also looking for some advice as to how to go about the paintwork? I'm thinking about going down the route of rubbing it back myself but I'm also tempted to get it sandblasted. Given there's very little rust, is there any disadvantage (apart from time) in sanding it back myself? I'd like to keep the interior fully intact given its original and still in very good nick?

Cheers
Henry

[NES304]

What are you wanting in your project? Are you on a budget?


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[hwatter]

G'day NES,

Yeh I am on a budget, but I'm willing to spend a little extra to get it done right if I need to. My main thing is trying to do as much as possible myself, even if it takes a little longer.

Cheers
Henry

[FireKraka]

Hi Henry;
You say there is very little rust so I suppose we assume that you have look at the K legs of your sub chassis and the sills and the under the fire wall/gearbox support these are the places most likely to be rusted, sand blasting or rubbing back, either one will help to reveal if there are any other issues that you cannot see, our cars are getting to the stage now that there are very few that would not have had an old repair done or rust hiding somewhere.

Would love to see some pictures.

Regards
Neil H

[mcl1959]

Henry, rubbing back the paint by hand is fine but it gets difficult when you get to the pillars. This is the main reason why blasting or dipping is done. On one of my projects I had all the doors and pillars blasted, and then hand rubbed all the flat panels.

Ken

[hsv-001]

I may know some people . Where abouts in Brissy . May be able to help with beating and maybe supply of paint and sundries , at the very least prevent you from being ripped off . Message me . Cheers Haydn.

[hwatter]

Thanks for all the replies!

Haydn - Pm'd you mate.

Neil and Ken - I finally got to take some pictures, so you guys can see what we're dealing with. There are spots of rust you can see on the sills where rocks have chipped the paint but I guess its tough to know whats hiding on the paint.

The car has been in the family since new, luckily for the rust situation its been sitting in a shed in western QLD since 1984. Do you think it would be possible even to just colour match the areas where the panels need straightening out and then rub back/touch up some areas where its cracking or lifting? After I took the photos yesterday, i spent some time cut and polishing the old paint and it came up a lot better than i thought it would.

Cheers for all the kind replies. Excuse any silly questions or comments I make - I'm very new to the hobbie  

Henry

[hsv-001]

Henry , is that original paint, and if so can you give me the paint codes ? Its not easy from the photos but it looks ok . How is it mechanically . Also wondering what's the timeline as my shed is a little crowded at the moment . I had thoughts of recommending contact with a painter mate of mine who sells paint these days . He's on the south side and maybe could find someone to do it . Problem is he would more than likely tell you to contact me . Probably best to call me . Phone 0755477094 evenings . I could come over and take a look at it maybe ? Cheers Haydn . 

[mcl1959]

That's a nice car!
I think you should carefully think about restoring this. Your idea of just repairing the damage and spraying just the damaged area is a good one.
There is considerable interest now in original or survivor cars and the more that can be left "as is" the better.
My opinion is to have the guard and door repaired and carefully eye match the paint to blend in.

Regards.   Ken

[Ken's 57]

Henry, I agree with Ken. I'd clean it up as best you can and see how it scrubs up. I have a survivor FE with original duco and have resisted the temptation to restore. I managed to eye match a few small areas of paint with acrylic, which in small doses and careful blending doesn't stand out too much from the duco. I love the car's authentic appearance and the smell from the original trim every time I get in. Good luck what ever course you decide on. Nice example.
Cheers, Ken

[FireKraka]

Hi Henry
I have to agree with the Ken twins having seen your photos and you knowing all of the history this car deserves to be brought back to original or survivor as others say.

Good luck and I would definitely speak to Hayden and get him to have a look.

Regards
Neil H

[hwatter]

Cheers for all the replies! Yeh the more I think about it the more I reckon it'd be better to just leave the paint as is as far as possible.

Haydn - I'm not too sure about the paint code but I do know that it had a respray in the 70s, after it had a minor prang. You can see on this photo where the 'new' paint has flaked off. I'm guessing it flaked off when pop backed into it in the shed a couple of years ago.

Mechanically it goes well, it wasn't particularly hard for me to get going - even starting with next to no mechanical knowledge. It still has the original grey in it with ~60,000 original miles on it. I had to replace a few parts in the electrical system (plugs, leads, points, capacitor etc), rebuild the fuel pump and carby, replace master and slave cylinders. I also replaced the welch plugs, the main gaskets and anything else that was rubber while I was at it. Its drivable now, but it did seem pretty hot after I moved it from my old place to my new house - about 10 minutes drive but very hilly. So I'm thinking that either the water pump isn't going as well as it should or the radiator may need recoring.

I'm not in too much of a hurry, it's a long term project and there's a couple of other things I can go on with - so happy to wait if need be.

Cheers
Henry