Reversing the seven signs of ageing (or the fifty shades of red)

MG 15 years old but looking good as new

Has the car that was once your gleaming pride and joy become dull with age? Do you think nothing short of a respray could restore its showroom looks? I thought so too, until I met Gary Pike of Shiny Happy Cars.

A few weeks ago I left my beloved but faded 15-year-old MG with Gary and headed off for a fortnight’s holiday. When I returned, I couldn’t believe it. She looked as good as new. I hope the before and after pictures I’ve taken will do some justice to the transformation.

‘Hotty’ (read the number plate backwards) is an MGF which we bought seven years ago as my slightly early 50^th birthday present. For her first eight years she had been garaged by her owners every winter and taken out only for summer fun. Her service records show that she sometimes did as few as 2,000 miles in a year. Not surprisingly, she had hardly aged at all.

With me behind the wheel she turned into an all-year-round daily commuter and a long-distance holiday traveller, soon racking up thousands of extra miles. Without a garage, she was exposed to all weathers – both at home and on the road. And although I started out with good intentions of cleaning and polishing her regularly, life got in the way.

Before: clear variation between panels

After: colour and gloss levels even

By the time Gary saw her, all of her paintwork had aged. Worse still, the colour varied from panel to panel. It became obvious that some areas had been repaired and resprayed in the past, as the new paint had gone completely matt. Elsewhere, differing exposure to the elements had left some parts relatively bright while others no longer matched the original shade of red.

I hadn’t re-proofed the soft top for some time and it had become a habitat for algae. Not only had this turned the once black roof to green, but the algae were eating away at its waterproof surface. I could say more, but I think the pictures tell the story.

If you’d like to know about the specialist processes Gary uses to renovate cars, inside and out, get in touch with him and he’ll be happy to talk.

Before: colour faded and dull

After: every surface reflects the sky like a mirror

Before: hood had turned to algal green

Gary’s Shiny Happy Cars work is something he does in his spare time, and he’s looking for interesting projects, like the MG, rather than run-of-the mill wash-and-wax jobs. If you think your car deserves this special treatment, you can email him at gary@shinyhappycars.com.