Hi All, I'm looking at a early 80's P car with badly scuffed / scratched clear coat. The car was kept in a barn with a tarp on it for years, hence the scuffing. What, if any options are available to try and bring the clear back vs a re-spray?Click to view attachment

There are quite a few excellent shops recognized for high-end paint work. Search for one and go talk to them and look at their shop and see what kind of work they have on the floor. Then let them suggest their approach to the problem. That is how I would approach it.

Some guys can work the magic but also know enough to tell you when it’s time to start over.

Thanks for the replies. This is a low mileage car and part or most of the potential value might be originality. How much does a partial repaint of the clear or clear and base in certain panels vs a complete "top side" (rubber in but gapped, no jambs, etc.) paint job devalue a car vs all original and color corrected paint? Also, any recommendations in Knoxville area that could do one or more of these tasks? I had a really good detail guy / painter in St. Pete and would like to find a similar shop in Knox.

I believe if the paint work is done correctly, that is to say, glass, trim, seals removed and then prepared and painted properly, cleared and polished, really no issue with value. If someone just tapes off glass and trim and shoots color, now I see a depreciation of value.

If it is a clean low-mileage car, please have it done by a shop that does the work correctly and get photos in process in the event you ever sell and need to disclose the work.

Hard to tell what to do given the picture. Do you have more pics?

I've very rarely seen things"buff out". plus the clear will be so thin that it will soon need repainted.

Kevin

You can't just put new paint, specially clear, over really old paint, and have it not peal eventually.

Probably just needs a good cut & polish. But if it's really worn you risk breaking thru the clear coat which means new paint job. An expert shop will measure the paint and work accordingly to give you the best possible results.