Making Ends Meet

[not2old]

I sold my daughter's old motorcycle to one of my employees cheap, thinking it was for one of his sons. He resold it for a profit. Since then, when he asks about anything else I'm selling, I quote what I paid for it.

 

[strum456]

My 18 year old ranger's clear coat is also peeling badly. How do you fix that problem. I have had this truck from day one, it has over 200k miles and keeps on running. I hope I didn't just kind it.

The only way would be to repaint the vehicle. If you are really lucky, your clear is only peeling on one panel, and you could just repaint that part. This is usually not the case, however. Getting a good match with new paint vs faded paint would be another problem.

 

[300UGUY]

I sold my daughter's old motorcycle to one of my employees cheap, thinking it was for one of his sons. He resold it for a profit. Since then, when he asks about anything else I'm selling, I quote what I paid for it.

I gave some farm items to a friend of mine, thinking that his kids were doing a 4H project. About a month later, I was visiting another friend of mine, he had a bunch of those items, told me that my friend had sold them to him at a garage sale. He has since asked if I have any more items that I want to "get rid of". I always just say no now.

 

[MasseyWV]

My 18 year old ranger's clear coat is also peeling badly. How do you fix that problem.

Normally it is best to sand off all the old clearcoat using a DA (Dual Action) sander, then spray on new basecoat followed by clearcoat.

However, when I want to make a quick patch, I use a new sharp single edged razor blade, held at about a 30 degree angle, to peel up the bad clearcoat and clean up the edges, followed by a gentle wet sanding, before applying a coat of touchup clearcoat. It takes some practice to get it right and it doesn't look as good as factory but it looks a lot better than peeling and bubbling clearcoat.

For example, I recently finished stripping all the clearcoat from the top of the Cavalier I am working on because it looked awful and was half gone anyway. The basecoat was then lightly wet sanded to remove the marks left by the razor blade. It took a lot of time but I stripped off a little at a time each day, after I completed other tasks, which made it seem much faster than it really was.

Even without clearcoat, it looks 100% better, especially when it is wet. In a few days, or whenever the weather conditions are right (warm with low humidity), I will spray it with clearcoat, then wet sand it, followed by a good buffing of the whole car to bring out the shine.

 

[ncnurseryman]

Great info. How is wet sanding done?

 

[MasseyWV]

Great info. How is wet sanding done?

Do you mean wet sanding in general or in this specific situation?

Wet sanding is just like it sounds, you sand using sandpaper designed specifically for use with water. In this specific case, I wet sand using 800 grit wet/dry paper, but you have to sand by hand and use very light pressure or you risk sanding through the base coat of paint.

 

[Oaktree]

Too bad you're 1000 miles away. I had an early 90s Cavalier...loved that car. Had over 300k on it when I had a close encounter with a kid who ran a stop sign. Not many 20 year old cars on the road up here in rust country!

 

[MasseyWV]

Too bad you're 1000 miles away. I had an early 90s Cavalier...loved that car. Had over 300k on it when I had a close encounter with a kid who ran a stop sign. Not many 20 year old cars on the road up here in rust country!

I've bought and sold several Cavaliers over the years and agree that they are nice little cars. They're simple and nearly bulletproof, if they are taken care of. This one has it's flaws but things are coming along nicely and I hope to have it market-ready in a week or two, weather permitting.

Aside from finishing the clearcoat which will be relatively simple, the biggest challenge will be the headliner because it has to be done right or it will eventually sag again, and the interior has to be put back in afterwards.

One other thing I need to address is an oil leak I believe to be coming from the front crankshaft seal but the seal is cheap and changing it takes about 20 minutes if you have the tools and the knowhow. Fortunately, I've repaired and overhauled many engines so changing the seal will be a breeze.

Oh, and I almost forgot that I need to buy an O2 sensor because the check engine light came on the other day. After pulling the code it indicated a bad oxygen sensor which sounds about right for a car with 90+ thousand miles. The sensor is about $17 at Autozone, I just have to remember to pick one up the next time I am in town.

Whoever ends up buying the car should be pleased. It has many new parts that have been replaced within the last year. New shocks, struts, alternator, radiator, brakes, rear brake lines, EGR valve, headliner, etc... I just have to determine a final selling price when all is said and done.

As you can probably tell, I try to do a good job when fixing up an old car. All too often, I see people trying to dump their junk on someone else, but I don't do that. If a vehicle has problems, I either fix them, or tell the buyer exactly what they are getting for their money.