Interior Quarter Panel -Sun Damage

[JimB73]

Hello all, The interior rear panels on our convert has patches of what I believe to be sun damage on them. The areas are lighter in color and kind of chalky on the surface. If you rub it, it starts to crumbly. Anybody else run into this? Is there any way to repair the areas without having to replace the whole panel? I was thinking of coating it with something to reseal it somehow?? 

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Yes this is a normal issue with the ABS plastic panels. I think some forum members a came up with some ways to make them better. Do a search for their info.

 

[MikeGriese]

You can't really fix them, but you can paint them up to approximate the texture of the original finish. There was a thread recently that described this - look for threads that have been active in the past week or so.

 

[SteveO_71]

I dont have a vert but the tops of my quarter panels were also sun damaged. I sanded off loose stuff and coated it with a texture paint ( SEM I'm thinking ) and then sprayed it to match the rest of the interior ( SEM ). It came out pretty good actually.

If you want to match texture of areas to be painted, here is a video from a previous post on this site that shows how to do that.  Havent tried it but looks interesting.

https://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-how-to-copy-and-apply-plastic-grain-texture

 

[JimB73]

Thanks for replies. I will search the forums again and check out the link. I was hoping to find a way to spot treat the areas rather then repainting the whole panel but blending it in would be a problem for sure.

 

[detritusmaximus]

The joys of ultraviolet light. They keep saying plastic lasts forever, but the UV eventually breaks it down. and it gets chalky. Same with paint.

 

[JimB73]

I dont have a vert but the tops of my quarter panels were also sun damaged. I sanded off loose stuff and coated it with a texture paint ( SEM I'm thinking ) and then sprayed it to match the rest of the interior ( SEM ). It came out pretty good actually.

If you want to match texture of areas to be painted, here is a video from a previous post on this site that shows how to do that.  Havent tried it but looks interesting.

https://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-how-to-copy-and-apply-plastic-grain-texture

That is an interesting link about how to create the texture will keep that one in mind!  -Thanks!

Jim

 

[ChrisH]

Ours were heavily sun damaged.  We watched some YouTube videos.  Scraped off the loose chalky layer then used steel wool.  We lost most of the texture but at least the color is back.

 

[JimB73]

Ours were heavily sun damaged.  We watched some YouTube videos.  Scraped off the loose chalky layer then used steel wool.  We lost most of the texture but at least the color is back.

Thanks for the info, I will look into this. I have been soaking it with 303. It brings the color back for a little while then fades again. Maybe once the chalky layer is removed and then apply the 303 it will hold the color better.

 

[ChrisH]

Before and after.

 

[rio1856]

Your workmanship is outstanding Sir!

 

[JimB73]

Before and after.

Wow, Nice Job!

 

[SteveO_71]

Looks really nice!

Is that a flat finish or did you add a texture to it?

 

[ChrisH]

Looks really nice!

Is that a flat finish or did you add a texture to it?

I did not try to add texture back to them, so they are pretty smooth.  I think they look alright without the texture.  Being that I’d have to put texture back over the entire piece the risk of messing them up isn’t worth it to me.  If it was a small section I would try to add it back.

 

[Austin Vert]

Hi Jim,

Yes, this topic has been dealt with at length a long time ago.

As other Forum members have said, if a Quarter panel has been age and sun damaged, then refinishing is an option to get you out of trouble, and can bring decent results.

However, this depends on how much damage/rot has occurred to the surface. This damage or rot can be from mild to wild. Light/ medium/ heavy. Age/ sun rot happened to me with my '73 white interior Convertible. In my case, it was what i would call, medium damage. As we know, when the surface is damaged, you get this chalky, brittle and crumbling away surface problem. Scraping and sanding back this damaged layer, so you end up exposing a stable and sound surface to refinish is the key answer here, as it is a waste of time painting over a crumbling unstable surface, that keeps breaking down. Your paint will have trouble adhering to the damaged surface, and in the long run won't last.

If the qtr panel surface is heavy damaged, then a large amount of material will have to be removed before striking a sound substrate. This can be impractical in some cases, and it can be hard to achieve a good looking finished painted panel, even though you are shooting texture coating paints. If you have light to medium damage, the texture coating can bring fairly successful looking results. I could go into various types and brands of texture coatings but it would take forever to cover this side of it. Also, in refinishing the panels, getting the gloss level and the color match just right, can be tricky. If you miss out here, the end result can look very cheap and average.

In my case, i gave up on the refinish approach, and decided to have the qtr panels recovered with a cream vinyl to match the color and appearance of my original seats and new front door cards.I went to a pro trimmer to have this done, and paid around $300 for labor and materials. The end result was stunning, and looked first class. What sadens me, is that Ford did not do this in the first place when the car was manufactured. Cheap and nasty i say. :chin: 

Cougar, being an upmarket Mustang, offered better standard and quality of trim.

Hope that helps,

Greg. (Pro Painter)

 

[rio1856]

I was perusing the Just Dashes website and I saw these  http://www.justdashes.com/2013/05/1973-ford-mustang-mach-1-panels-restoration/  In my opinion I think they look really nice. They "thermo vacuum form vinyl" over the pieces.

 

[Horsin' Around]

Austin Vert...

"In my case, i gave up on the refinish approach, and decided to have the qtr panels recovered with a cream vinyl to match the color and appearance of my original seats and new front door cards.I went to a pro trimmer to have this done, and paid around $300 for labor and materials. The end result was stunning, and looked first class. What saddens me, is that Ford did not do this in the first place when the car was manufactured. Cheap and nasty i say. Chin"

Any way we can get pictures of the recovered panels?

 

[Austin Vert]

Austin Vert...

"In my case, i gave up on the refinish approach, and decided to have the qtr panels recovered with a cream vinyl to match the color and appearance of my original seats and new front door cards.I went to a pro trimmer to have this done, and paid around $300 for labor and materials. The end result was stunning, and looked first class. What saddens me, is that Ford did not do this in the first place when the car was manufactured.

Any way we can get pictures of the recovered panels?

Hi there Sir,

Yes, i did take a few good photos way back when the job was finished, but they are now on an old hard drive, and would be rather hard to find. The next best thing i can offer is a walk around video i shot back in 2017 of my Mustang (Goldie). It gives a look at the quarter panels on both sides in fairly good detail. You can of course, pause the vid to get a still image of the panels. The vid runs for about 5 minutes, but you can skip to the qtr panels part, by dialing in the 3.30 minute mark, and view from  there onwards. Sorry, best i can do at short notice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQArL3B4VEc  

Thanks,

Greg.

 

[JimB73]

Hi Jim,

Yes, this topic has been dealt with at length a long time ago.

As other Forum members have said, if a Quarter panel has been age and sun damaged, then refinishing is an option to get you out of trouble, and can bring decent results.

However, this depends on how much damage/rot has occurred to the surface. This damage or rot can be from mild to wild. Light/ medium/ heavy. Age/ sun rot happened to me with my '73 white interior Convertible. In my case, it was what i would call, medium damage. As we know, when the surface is damaged, you get this chalky, brittle and crumbling away surface problem. Scraping and sanding back this damaged layer, so you end up exposing a stable and sound surface to refinish is the key answer here, as it is a waste of time painting over a crumbling unstable surface, that keeps breaking down. Your paint will have trouble adhering to the damaged surface, and in the long run won't last.

If the qtr panel surface is heavy damaged, then a large amount of material will have to be removed before striking a sound substrate. This can be impractical in some cases, and it can be hard to achieve a good looking finished painted panel, even though you are shooting texture coating paints. If you have light to medium damage, the texture coating can bring fairly successful looking results. I could go into various types and brands of texture coatings but it would take forever to cover this side of it. Also, in refinishing the panels, getting the gloss level and the color match just right, can be tricky. If you miss out here, the end result can look very cheap and average.

In my case, i gave up on the refinish approach, and decided to have the qtr panels recovered with a cream vinyl to match the color and appearance of my original seats and new front door cards.I went to a pro trimmer to have this done, and paid around $300 for labor and materials. The end result was stunning, and looked first class. What sadens me, is that Ford did not do this in the first place when the car was manufactured. Cheap and nasty i say. :chin: 

Cougar, being an upmarket Mustang, offered better standard and quality of trim.

Hope that helps,

Greg. (Pro Painter)

Greg, Thanks for reply and the detailed information you provided, good stuff ::thumb::  I will keep the idea of covering the panel with vinyl in mind if I can't get them looking good.

Jim