Refinishing Classic Cars After Auto Detailing Training

Whatever your motivations are, restoring a classic car to its former glory is far from a straightforward task. It requires careful planning and a lot of time, effort, and patience.. It also requires a certain level of expertise. Your auto detailing training will help make you a great fit for the job.

Depending on your vision for the restoration job, you can take care of the car’s bodywork first or after you’ve fixed its engine and electricals. If this is your first time taking on a car restoration task, you will naturally have a few questions. We’ve got some answers here.

Start With The Exterior, As Auto Detailing Training Underlines

When the time to begin work comes, you’ll need to start by closely inspecting the car’s exterior for signs of dents, rust, and other imperfections. To get a clearer perspective, strip the car of all its paint. Paint often masks scratches and surface rust, and simply applying a new coat of paint over the old one will ensure that these problems remain unresolved.

One option to get rid of old paint is by sandblasting it off. This requires professional input, which your auto detailing training covers. Another alternative is to sand all the paint off. Once you’ve got all the paint off, check the car’s body for dents, scratches, or rust. 

If you notice any dents, you’ll need to pull them, fill them with body filler, and then prime the metal in preparation for repainting. If there are rusted parts on the car’s body, scrape out those areas delicately. Removing rust may leave a hole in the panel depending on the severity of rusting. Patch up any hole with a welding machine.

Once you’re done with this, prime the car’s body, then repaint it.

Move to the Interior Next

After allowing a few days for the paint to dry, you can move on to transforming the interior of the car. The first thing to do is remove the upholstery and floor mats so you can easily access the car’s floor and dash. You’ll learn how to remove seats effectively during your automotive training.

Check the seats for damage once you’ve retrieved them, then give them a deep cleaning afterwards. Next, inspect the car’s floor for dents or holes. Weld any hole, then prime the spot and repaint it. 

Finally, check the dash. You can replace those parts if there’s any substantial damage to the textured plastic. On the other hand, if you’re satisfied with its state, simply give it a good cleaning.

Polish The Chrome

The chrome on classic cars contributes in no small way to their personality and charm. To wrap up your refinishing job, you’ll need to ensure that the car’s chrome pieces regain their sheen. This is a simple matter of cleaning the pieces with cleaning liquid and a soft cloth. You may also want to give the car a good waxing. If the damage to a chrome piece is pronounced, consider getting a replacement.

Interested in auto detailing or other training for other auto careers?

Contact CATI to learn more about our programs.