# Vauxhall Combo Van Paint Restoration



## ryand (Jul 18, 2008)

Well this one has been on the cards for a long time, longer than I had hoped in actual fact and a little late in the year for my liking but there we go!

Here we have my Dad's ex British Gas Vauxhall Combo van thats clearly seen better days! Its never washed, and has seen polish maybe once or twice in the 7 or more years that he's owned it!!

The front canopy had rusted very badly and has now had a new fibre glass replacement fitted - now this is done I can get on with the work as I didnt want to do this before it went into the body shop and be made a mess!

The objective is to bring the paint back to life and add some protection, rather than looking for full correction - that would be a real mission!

A work in progress write up is below as I havent yet finished it, so this is whats been done/where I am at.

Befores:



















Wing that I very quickly used as a test spot a couple of months ago (Menz 106FA on a Megs polishing pad)






















































Process:

PW rinse
Soak in APC
PW rinse
Snow Foam through Autobrite Lance
PW rinse
Wash
PW rinse
Clay with Sonus Green
AG Tar Remove on lowers
PW rinse

Wheels with Bilberry @ 10:1,done twice and scrubbed with a brush
Tyres scrubbed with APC

After that lot we have:










Onto the polishing:

Having tried the test spot before I found that I had a good benchmark of some reasonable cut and enough to finish down to a nice gloss, a one step correction.

So I used a Megs Polishing Pad on the Kestral DAS6 with Menz 106FA and a dab of Megs 83 for a little extra lube where the paint was so dry. Wiping down with Last Touch and a MF.

Starting on the passenger side rear









50/50









50/50 rear panel



























Full panel



























Bonnet 50/50



























Full left side and bonnet complete including a quick coat of AG SRP



























Reason for the SRP is to give some protection until the rest of the van is finished next weekend. I have all of the drivers side to machine and the back doors, then AG SRP + EGP all the paint, the glass to do, the faded plastic trim to re-dye and the tyres to dress.

Been a busy month so far, done a car every weekend so having a break this weekend for the other halfs birthday, and then back to the van next weekend!

Also did the interior a few weeks back so will post those shots up when I post up the final completed shots!

Thanks for looking.

Ryan


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## chrisc (Jun 15, 2008)

come up a treat that very nice


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## woodybeefcake (Oct 12, 2008)

Superb 50/50's mate!


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Great transformation.
The of my favourite polish good old 106FA.
Far to many people over look it and you have used it to great effect on this one.
Nice 50/50 to enhance the write up.
You just need to get your finger out now and get the rest of the van finished.
Gordon.


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## mattsbmw (Jul 20, 2008)

Fantastic work 

106FA is a great polish, for extra gloss i use Lime prime after it


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Excellent work there mate - great 50/50's :thumb:


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## AliBailey88 (Oct 13, 2009)

i love it when old sheds are detailed, newer cars are just boring, top work!


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## Planet Admin (Jul 11, 2009)

Exelent job:thumb:


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## supercharged (Feb 1, 2008)

excellent work!!!


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## Pimms (Aug 21, 2009)

Well done, looks great!! :thumb:


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## Ollie_Escort (May 5, 2008)

amazing 50/50s! Theres almost no reflection in the unpolished side, almost looks like wetsanding 50/50s!


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## Planet Man (Apr 12, 2008)

Great stuff :thumb:

Superb correction work and pictures. Lucky the van bodywork is in such good condition as with your work it will really be a class above most other vans of similar age and mileage

Top stuff:thumb:


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## alan_mcc (Oct 28, 2008)

The 50/50 on the side rear panel- one of the best 50/50s i've ever seen tbh!


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## ryand (Jul 18, 2008)

thanks all, looking forward to completing the rest of it next weekend and showing you the final work and results!


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## gj777 (Feb 16, 2008)

From the first few pics I thought it was meant to have a "matt" finish! :lol: Terrific 50:50's and great turnaround.


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## angajatul (Oct 14, 2008)

Great improvement mate!


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## Supreme Detailing (Sep 5, 2007)

Good job on the van well done


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## ryand (Jul 18, 2008)

*Update - final project completion!*

Hi all

So managed to get the van finished yesterday, getting it indoors at a friends workshop.

I had the machine work to finish, then AG SRP + EGP all of it, AG Rubber Cleaner on the tyres, AG Bumper Care on the faded bumpers and plastics (will dye them black the next time I get a chance as this stuff will wash off in time), AG Fast Glass inside and out.

All polish and pad combos were the same as before.

Sorry for the not so great final shots - didn't have the decent camera to hand and the outside ones the light was going and struggling to get a decent shot, but you get the idea!

Cheers

Ryan

Finals:










Work being inspected by my Dad and the neighbour!


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## MarkJ (May 13, 2009)

Great transformation matey


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## menis (Nov 5, 2009)

wow what a difference keep up the good work


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## petemattw (Nov 3, 2008)

Incredible turnaround, I'd love to get my hands on something like this for a weekend of fun!


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## alan_mcc (Oct 28, 2008)

petemattw said:


> Incredible turnaround, I'd love to get my hands on something like this for a weekend of fun!


Yeah, it must keep up with them pesky Ferraris on the twisties.. :lol:

That is a fantastic turnaround. Specially on the arches. I have a friend with arches like that and i've not a clue how to start.


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## ryand (Jul 18, 2008)

alan_mcc said:


> Yeah, it must keep up with them pesky Ferraris on the twisties.. :lol:
> 
> That is a fantastic turnaround. Specially on the arches. I have a friend with arches like that and i've not a clue how to start.


Cheers. Yeah think I got it up as far as 60mph on the dual carriageway yesterday!! No power steering so it was like going to the gym driving it!

Used AG Bumper Care on the arches, used quite a lot and rubbed in very well, left for 10 mins then lightly buffed. Should do it for a while, but some bumper dye is the best solution really.


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## NornIron (May 12, 2007)

Great work... I love threads like this! :thumb:


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## steve from wath (Dec 12, 2008)

top work
like the polo iv ejust posted
you get a great ammount of satisfaction from work like this
well done and great work


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## billybob9351 (Feb 14, 2008)

might i be right in thinking thats an N reg an also that its a ex british gas van if so snap and good luck with the tyre pressure signs lol


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## Phil H (May 14, 2006)

excellent work, what a difference


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## ryand (Jul 18, 2008)

billybob9351 said:


> might i be right in thinking thats an N reg an also that its a ex british gas van if so snap and good luck with the tyre pressure signs lol


you got it, think I said it was in the first post?!

Have left the pressure numbers on cos the old man will forget otherwise!

next time I wash it I will take some better final photos.


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## moshinho (Nov 4, 2009)

excellent work mate


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## mel (Mar 8, 2008)

Amazing turnaround... Great 50/50's


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## coxy (Aug 3, 2006)

That looks great, as said some of the best 50/50s, why people let cars get so bad is beyond me! 

Is that a dirty arch i see in the last pic?


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## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

Nce work Ryan, these sorts of details are the ones that really stand out and the amount of work put in really shows in the end product............:buffer:

Top work and any more write-ups on the cards?


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## Franco50 (Feb 5, 2008)

Great job you've done there mate. I love these write ups of 'normal' vehicles - you get so tired of seeing pics of Astons, Ferraris, Mercs etc.


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## greenscrosslady (Jun 13, 2010)

What a great job. We are only just starting our renov. Where did you find the replacement canopy?


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## PIT (Apr 22, 2010)

amazing 50/50


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## ryand (Jul 18, 2008)

greenscrosslady said:


> What a great job. We are only just starting our renov. Where did you find the replacement canopy?


thanks, I found it from a fibreglass manufacturer that sells these on ebay. They can be bought either finished in black ready to fit or primed ready to spray.

I'll be having this van back again towards the end of the summer for a quick freshen up and some new protection to be added.


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## Guest (Jun 14, 2010)

Love it


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

very nice. certainly different from the usual pink to red transformations


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## Phil23 (Nov 29, 2008)

Outstanding improvement, nice to see an old work fan getting some detailing love. :thumb:


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## squeakyclean32 (Mar 13, 2010)

What a stunning result ....all that hard work has certainly paid off...well done :buffer::thumb:


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## ryand (Jul 18, 2008)

glad you like the results all, it was a very pleasing result! All the people that have seen it afterwards think its a new van or had a re-spray!!


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