May have bit off more than I can chew!

[Reddwarf]

A friend of ours has a 1980 MGB. It hasn't run in a while and he recently got it fixed and inspected. He told me I could take it for the weekend. I told him I'd detail it. He does not expect me to detail it but of course I want to!

The problem is that it is a mess! He thinks its clean and ready to go, but OMG! I don't think I have enough time in the weekend. From a distance the paint doesn't look too bad, but up close it has scratches and is very rough feeling.

One big problem is the car is a little rough around the edges. Some rust on the wheels, etc. The top has a couple of tears so I'm a little worried about doing a typical wash on it.

Do you folks thing I should use DP 4 in One or regular soap and be careful in washing & rinsing?

Is there any preventive treatment I can do for him regarding rust areas? Like under the hood along the tracks? Would a sealant help?

One other question! It has the huge decal strips down each side. Will the UDM and polish rip it?

[Dust2Glory]

Well...... 4-n-1 probably would be ok, definately clay. On the rust, i think the only way to stop it would be to sand it out and then seal it. On the stripes, you can get some automotive tape and tape them off, or try out the polish on a small area and see what happens

[Rsurfer]

Originally Posted by Dust2Glory

Well...... 4-n-1 probably would be ok, definately clay. On the rust, i think the only way to stop it would be to sand it out and then seal it. On the stripes, you can get some automotive tape and tape them off, or try out the polish on a small area and see what happens

Maybe you could duct tape the tears on the top before washing.

[Reddwarf]

The biggest tear had duct tape at one time. There is tape residue. The carpet on the driver side is loose so he used black electrical tape to hold it down. It turned out that the rips were not the big problem, rather it was the poor seal on the windshield that caused the biggest leak!

I ended up washing with the two bucket method as I was afraid 4 in 1 would not be strong enough to clean the years of built up grime. Some water got inside but I was able to dry that off.

[Rsurfer]

Originally Posted by Reddwarf

The biggest tear had duct tape at one time. There is tape residue. The carpet on the driver side is loose so he used black electrical tape to hold it down. It turned out that the rips were not the big problem, rather it was the poor seal on the windshield that caused the biggest leak!

I ended up washing with the two bucket method as I was afraid 4 in 1 would not be strong enough to clean the years of built up grime. Some water got inside but I was able to dry that off.

So how is the detailing coming along?

[Reddwarf]

Done, will be posting pictures later this afternoon.