Even NOS Parts Need to be Restored

One of the items that is extremely difficult to find for a 1976 280z is a bumper corner.  You may have read my previous post on the process I used to restore these.  I had to find a NOS (New Old Stock) part for the front drivers-side as the one that came with the car was too far gone.  This new part bolted right on and has been on the car for months.

This weekend I took the car out on a drive and was surprised when I returned home to see that the cover was hanging on with only one mount!

The rear mount, which is a piece of metal pressed into the rubber part, had popped out.

This was a quick fix which involved screwing the mount into the rubber.  I have taken this as a lesson that NOS parts degrade over time even if they are still in the package.

Staring into the Pulsar

Anxious to find out just how well the paint would clean-up on the Pulsar, I began the process of restoring the paint on the hood.  I began with a wash with Griot's Car Wash to remove the loose grit.  This still left some bad oxidation and other bad marks in the paint.  I then moved on to the touch-up paint, addressing all of the pecks and chips in the hood and headlights that I could see.  Once the touch-up paint had cured, I used a clay-bar to remove the stuck-on residue and dirt, leaving a very smooth finish.  I then moved on to an aggressive paint polish (Griot's #2 polish) on a random-orbit polisher.  The polish pad turned deep black from the paint that had been removed in the process.

What I found was that there is hope for the finish!  The below picture shows the contrast between the polished and unpolished paint (the unpolished is on the top of the photo).  Once a few coats of glaze and wax are applied I think this car will become a 12-20 footer!

There is hope yet for this paint!