Repaint or Leave Original?

[ARowe84]

This is definitely a preference topic but curious your thoughts: I have a 69 1600 in 665 Yellow. As far as I can tell its original paint. I've gone through just about the whole car and fixed suspension, engine, interior etc. Not show quality but a very nice driver. All that's left is the exterior. I'm torn on whether to repaint original color or leave it alone with its dings and small amounts of patina especially on the hood and trunk seams. What are your thoughts? If i was to to repaint any tips on how to prep the surface as far as sanding and what to take off. I wouldn't be taking the engine out. This will not be a show car. Wondering if MAACO would do a decent affordable paint job if I do the prep. I've heard their paint turns out decent if the prep is done correctly. Also, anyone who has painted there car 665 Yellow. Is there a specific paint code to give that would accurately match the factory color? I've seen some that look far to yellow. Thanks guys, hope all of you are doing well!

[dynaguy]

You can as much driving fun without a new paint job. Probably more because will not have worries about rock chips,door dings and the like. There is a saying "they are only original once". Enjoy your Fairlady for a while before making her a princess. BTW I have a '69 sr20 resto-mod that has been completely restored and a '66 barn find survivor that is going to stay with original patina. Pat

[Gregs672000]

Another option is to restore the paint that's on the car. I'm sure you could find a decent color match touch up (automotivetouchup.com) in a bottle or pen form for those you feel are bad. With very careful wet sanding and buffing you can improve little spots. For the rest of the car, a clay bar does wonders on good paint, or if its pretty oxidized or dead get a couple paint restoring compounds (usually a medium cut and buff, followed by a light cut and buff, then a swirl remover and a good wax), buy or rent a variable speed buffer, get a foam pad for cutting and another for the swirl remover, and watch magic happen. A fraction of the cost of a new paint job, let alone the time and work. You'll amaze yourself. You'll keep the original paint. You won't have spent thousands on a paint job that's gonna get chipped if you drive the car! Take some time to get used to using a buffer and compounds (keep the pad generally flat, don't push hard, watch your speed), and watch your edges/sharp places on the body. We can guide you, or I'm sure YouTube has a dozen videos.

[Linda]

I am not a big “patina” fan. Some think it adds to the value of the car, yet most buyers who are not collectors I think prefer a decent paint job. I definitely do. Whatever you prefer of course. Some shops don’t trust a customer’s prep, but you might want to do it anyway if you can and want to for the experience. As for stock colors, they are a bit limited. I never really liked any of them all that much either lol. But I appreciate a nice paint job of which there are many fine examples with Roadsters.
The main thing is not getting carried away, ripping everything apart and then never reassembling.... I call it Humpty Dumpty Syndrome..hard to put it all back together. I like the Fix, Drive, Fix, Drive approach.
It is smart of you to give it some careful thought.
You Tube has lots of videos on paint correction. The more I watched the less I felt like doing any of it, when I had the last paint job. Let the pros do it, I thought.lol
Linda

[S Allen]

This is from another thread. Suppose to be the actual formula for the 665 yellow.

I have the same color-665.I made efforts to get it,and got the recipe from germany.It`s like this:
PPG code NIS665
Quality:DG PB DELTRON
Component Nominell tolerance Accumulated
700 1232,50 -1.23/+1.23 1232,50
705 39,10 -0.05/+0.05 1271,60
703 26,10 -0.05/+0.05 1297,70
---------------------------------------------------------
sum(q) 1297,70
sum (ml) 999,93

A bit more info form Acote here on the forum. This is what he used to paint his car 665.

PPG Color code pale yellow 81768
OEM 665 Yellow
Mixing scheme OMNI AU (MBX Solid)

S

[datsun1500]

An original paint with patina will always be cooler than a repaint.

[theunz]

There is a fine line between patina and crap.

[Mike Unger]

An original paint with patina will always be cooler than a repaint.

I'm with Mark on this. Especially if your talking about a cheap repaint. It sounds like your car is in pretty good shape and you can enjoy it as is. I would rub it out and preserve it unless your willing to do a high quality repaint which is not cheap. I would always value a vintage car with original paint more than a repaint unless it was an excellent restoration. That's my opinion and others will vary.

[datsun1500]

Find a place that does paint correction and ceramic coatings as most of those guys are paint gurus. See what they say as far as bringing it back. Much cheaper than a paint job, and as I said above, much cooler.
Quick search shows these guys, but I’m sure there are many more.
https://santarosadetailing.com/opti-coat/

[2mAn]

Let’s see pics of the car!

[bobd]

I have always been more interested in the mechanical aspects as opposed to the cosmetic.

My theory is that I can get 80% of the enjoyment of owning and driving the vehicle at 20% of the cost of building a trailer queen.

That's why I can't seem to get motivated to do more body work, my dash is cracked, four different shades of paint, and interior is rough.

But I drive the heck out of it every chance I get.

YMMV.

[cole455]

I was fortunate enough to meet Andy last year and saw his car in person. It’s very nice! I agree, it’s likely original paint and it looks very good still (with the occasional ding or chip). I think it would put many other paint jobs to shame and it’s over 50 years old!

[eye]

Leave it original. It's only original once.
If it isn't rusted through or falling apart, I'd just drive it. I've restored boatloads of cars and bikes over the years to show quality and I'd take a decent original any day.
Just my 2 cents.

[theunz]

Now that picture shows patina.

[2mAn]

Looks good to me!