Correction on a Classic Saab 900

[christian900se]

Correction on a Saab C900 convertible:



Another beautiful day in Socal, I had a fellow Saab owner ask about a tuition detail so I planned for him to come over so that I can show him the ins and outs of polishing with a DA. This was meant to be a one step polishing session with the intent that a later date would be scheduled when there was more time to address more severe defects and to allow for a jeweling stage. He had warned me that the paint was not in the best shape but I told him not to worry. The car was washed and clayed before hand, which he did a great job of. He arrived around 10:45 and we immediately began taping. This is a very important step because of all the badges and trim that are on this car. We polished for about 5 hours and finally took a nice photoshoot while the sun was still out. I hope you enjoy this writeup, it was very rewarding for me to see the car's owner smile for the afters. A 20+ year old car doesn't have to look its age!


Products and Process:

-Menzerna Power Finish (203s)
-Makita Rotary (piloted by me)
-PC7424 (used by the car's owner)
-Orange and white lake country pads
-IPA wipedown
-Z***l Concours wax
-Tires: Autosmart #9 Tire+Trim Shine
-Trim: Poorboy's Trim Restorer
-Glass: AG Fast Glass
-Previously applied by the owner: 303 Fabric Guard to the soft top per my recommendation

Initial Inspection: the sun is a cruel mistress

Under the halogens: lots of haze, swirl marks, and RIDs

And my trusty "Swirl Finder"

Clearcoat issues:

I stepped up with the rotary and went for an initial correction pass to gauge the depth of the defects and the hardness or softness of the paint. Since this was a one stepper, I used a white CCS pad with Power Finish:

The owner's first pass with a PC: the right side was polished by him, very good results:

There were severe scratches in that area of the trunk, so I took another pass to knock those down just a bit further:

The back of the trunk: Before:

After:

 

[christian900se]

50/50:

After:

A 50/50 of the owner's DA work: some deeper swirls remain but the intent was never to achieve full correction, the left is done. Notice the increase in clarity-

The rear driver's side quarter panel had some very deep scratches that will need to be addressed at a later date, but they are improved: Before

After:

50/50 of the passenger door and the rear quarter. Left side done, right side has not:

The owner's handy work:

I was busy with the rotary (4" white CCS pad, 3" Uber backing plate) taking care of those deeper scratches on the drivers side: a shocking 50/50:

Before:

After:

Drivers door with the rotary: Before:

After: significant improvement, but deeper marks remain.

Before:

After: I love mirrors

I corrected the arches with the rotary:

Onto the hood: the hood had the worst damage without a doubt; it was hazy and oxidised with deep swirl marks and RIDs. I tackled this with my Makita and white CCS pad. The paint threw me a curve ball because it was super sticky and was causing my pad and polish to gum up like crazy. I slowed the speed down to 900rpm and put a dot of po87mc on to help with extra lubrication.


Before:

After:

 

[christian900se]

These are the money shots, and show what kind of drastic improvement we achieve. The 50/50 is down the center of the hood, right side done but not the left.

Left side:

Right side:

Left side:

Right side:

This is what makes you smile:

Left side is now done:

The passenger's side was done by the owner; he did a great job knocking down the heavy swirls and haze with the PC and Lake Country flat orange pad: Note that there is still some haze, this was polish residue that was later removed with IPA wipedown.

Almost done:

And the final afters:

 

[christian900se]

Two black on beige Saab 900 convertibles...

The Final Photoshoot:

The sun never lies: massive improvement

 

[christian900se]

And a final shot to end the day:

Hope you enjoyed this writeup so if you made it this far, thanks for reading

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Nice work!

One of the gals here at work just bought a black Saab Convertible, you'll probably see it in a write-up soon.


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:xyxthumbs:

 

[christian900se]

I will resize next time, thanks for the compliment Mike! I'm looking forward to seeing that Saab btw.

 

[TLMitchell]

Nice! Hate to rain on your parade but IMO Saabs went downhill after '94. Gotta love those old 900s!

TL

 

[jpegs13]

Nice job! And very nice that you're passing on your knowledge to another. "pay it forward"

 

[Meghan]

That right there shows you it does not matter the age of a car, that paint can still pop when in the right hands. Very nice detail, I am sure the owner fell in love with that Saab all over again!

 

[christian900se]

Nice! Hate to rain on your parade but IMO Saabs went downhill after '94. Gotta love those old 900s!

TL

I agree completely. While I like my car a lot, it is somewhat of a ####### child. The classic 900s have so much character and presence which is why I am going to be getting a 1988-1991 SPG by next year.

Nice job! And very nice that you're passing on your knowledge to another. "pay it forward"

Exactly, spreading the wealth never felt so good! It is always great when people realize how easy it really is, they always say "if I knew it was this easy, I wouldn't have waited this long!"

That right there shows you it does not matter the age of a car, that paint can still pop when in the right hands. Very nice detail, I am sure the owner fell in love with that Saab all over again!

So true, if only people would realize that. It is simply amazing how big of a difference a little bit of TLC can do, even with the limited time we had. Thanks for the comment Meghan!