When I checked out paint shops, I found that very few wanted to do a
restoration project. I finally found a shop in Bellflower, about 15
miles away. They were in the process of painting another Bugeye, and it
was a very good job, especially considering all of the body work that
had to be done. I took it over about two months ago, and they promised
to have the job done by the time I left for England.
Unfortunately, whenever I dropped by to see the progress, there was
none. In fact, they had not gone a step further on the other Bugeye!
Finally, I had a frank little discussion with the owner, and he said
that not only would it be done before I left, he was not even sure he
would start. Although he "guaranteed" to have it started by the time I
get back on June 7, he knew that it would not be done by then.
I resumed my search for a paint shop, and the local Maaco shop had no
problem doing the job. Of course, it turned out that the manager was an
ex-Sprite owner, and had bought his in March 1961! Talking with him, he
began to reminisce about the years he owned his, and some of the things
he used to do. It was really fortunate that he knew all about the
fender beading and how he would repair the damage done by my brother 45
years ago. So, yesterday, my brother brought his car trailer over, we
picked up the Sprite and took it to Maaco. When I got there the manager
regaled others with tales of HIS Sprite, demonstrating how he could pick
up the Sprite by the front end, and how they would be able to paint the
undercarriage. He said it would be done and waiting for me when I got
back from England on June 7. Whew!
Interestingly, I had given him the DuPont codes for Old English White
that I had found on the lists several years ago. He had checked with
DuPont's technical support, and it seems that duPont had changed the
code and the names. He will, however, check to make sure it is the
right color by comparing it to a spot of originial paint not
"contaminated" by age that when was uncovered when I removed the tail
lights. When I return, I will post the new name and code, as well as
the paint mixture.
Buster Evans
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