1966 Ford Mustang Coupe
I will start this report with a well deserved thanks. According to his wife, Graham, the owner of this amazing Mustang, doesn’t let anyone touch his two classic cars (the other being the Mk 2 Jaguar in a separate write up). So in order for me to be let loose with a rotary polisher on it for a day and a half was quite a leap of faith. It’s one I’m very grateful for and this is probably my favourite car out of all those I’ve detailed.
Based not far from me, Graham called me to have a chat about his two cars so I went to see him and assess their condition and talk about what he wanted to achieve. I was quite excited when he mentioned this one, having a bit of a weakness for classic Muscle Cars, but I wasn’t expecting what I found upon my arrival.
In a move of utmost bravery, Graham bought the car from America without seeing it, through an auction on ebay! Photo’s can be used to hide a multitude of sins, but after sending the money and anxiously waiting for weeks while it was shipped, this beautiful Coupe appeared at the docks in ‘as described’ condition. A small hiccup during shipping resulted in some damage to the chassis rails, but this was easily rectified before Graham starting perfecting the car to his own tastes, the interior re-trim for example.
The aim for this detail was to improve on the already very good condition. Overall, I’d describe the car as immaculate but there was definitely room for improvement to the clarity and gloss of the paint. I’m not sure exactly when this colour scheme was applied, but the history of the cars show’s it has been dressed in 3 or 4 different colours during it’s lifetime.
When I arrived on Wednesday morning the car was outside ready for me, a bit of damp misty weather rapidly giving way to the sunshine that had been forecast. Whilst pretty clean already (the car is never driven in the wet), a recent trip to the show had left a bit of dust and some splattered bugs on the paintwork so a quick wash was in order. Running my fingertips over the paintwork it felt very clean, and a quick go with a claybar in a few spots showed there were no bonded contaminants to remove. I dried the car and started to inspect the paint.
Having seen the car previously I knew pretty much what I was expecting to see, although the light hadn’t been great when I visited. A walk around the car with the Brinkmann torch highlighted the swirls and marring responsible for the reduced clarity and visual depth in the paint, as did the sunshine.
Getting into the polishing stage I worked my way through the lower abrasive polishes until I found a suitable working combination. As it happens, the paint was quite a lot harder than I expected and needed a fairly firm approach. First the defects were removed using a cutting compound, then separately the finish was refined using Swissvax Cleaner Fluid Professional to burnish the paint to a perfect gloss, removing any marring and polishing marks from the cutting stage and leave the paint perfectly prepared to receive the chosen wax. The difference was immediate and very obvious, even without a direct light source, the depth of gloss very pleasing.
After showing Graham and making sure he was happy (which I’m glad to say he was!) I continued around the car, correcting the paint panel by panel.
Every cloud has a silver lining? The now deeply reflective roof would seem to think so…..
The correction work so far had taken around 10 hours so with the light due to start failing soon and temperature starting ebb from the day, there was just enough time to apply a coat of wax. As far as Graham was concerned there was only one option here, it has to be the best. Swissvax Divine was carefully applied to the whole car, left to cure for 15 minutes and then buffed effortlessly off. With the sun having just dipped to the horizon, the soft light left the car looking inky and wet, the paint a million miles deep. A managed to grab a quick picture before it was put away for the night, out of the dampness that comes with the cool air.
Thursday was spent on Graham’s other car, the Jaguar, so I returned again Friday afternoon to put the finishing touches to the Mustang.
A once over with Swissvax Quick Finish was enough to remove any dust that had settled in the garage, then another layer of Divine wax was applied to the whole car. This time it was left to cure in the sunshine for about an hour before buffing off. It only added to the finish, looking even more reflective than before – ‘a black mirror’ as Graham rightly described it. Whilst the wax was curing I worked my way around the acres of chrome with a gentle metal polish to improve the lustre. The glass was cleaned and panel gaps dusted down.
A final buff, again using the Quick Finish spray detailer (which contains some similar ingredients to the wax, so is a truly complimentary product) and it was time to stand back and enjoy the end result. I make no apology for lots of pictures, this is a car I could happily stand and admire all day. Judging by the amount of people who walked past and either returned to get another look, or just stopped and starred, I don’t think I’m alone in the sentiment!
Of particular note in the following pictures are the garage the car lives in, fully decorated with some fabulous genuine period signs and banners, and the immaculate engine bay that Graham has created and maintained himself. Apart from vacuuming out the dust I created during the polishing stage, I can take no credit for the condition seen – it represents all the owner’s hard work.
Testimonials
“I know its your job and your paid for it but thanks again for bringing the car up to the standard that I really wanted. This was the first time I’ve ever had anything detailed but it wont be the last thats for sure!”
