Occasionally here at Northwest Auto Salon we need something modified. When we do we, send the cars down the street (literally just 100 yards or so) to Group 2 Inc. Their motto is “Whether you are maintaining your daily driver, or building a fast road, rally, or race car; Group 2 Motorsports is your destination for repair, service, and upgrades.” From Lancias, to Lotus Cortinas, many eclectic cars go though the doors of Group 2. Often times, these cars that come in for work also need paint correction are sent back over to us at the shop. This time though Joe, the owner of Group 2, sent us his unrestored 1967 Citroën 2CV (deux chevaux in French) which packs a whooping 28hp from its 2 cylinders under 50cubic inches. This was Joe’s second 2CV but the only one that hasn’t been restored. Finally, he figured it was about time to send it to Northwest Auto Salon for some paint correction. Over the years, oxidation had gotten the best of this little French econo-car. There was no sign of the once glossy candy apple red exterior. This Citroën came to us looking like it was painted matte red. There were little to no reflections to be seen anywhere on the exterior of the vehicle. The guys quickly went to work and we think you will agree that life was restored to what has been called by Autocar Magazine, “one of Citroën’s most iconic cars.”
As far as the detailing goes, we wash, clayed and taped like normal and we tested and approved our methods of reconditioning the paint to its original state (if not better than new) to ensure we put essential oils and polish back into the paint while also removing the layer of “dead” paint. Take a look through our photos below to see the huge differences in the reflections, clarity, depth, color as well as shine. Quite a big difference and we always love doing work on single stage paint jobs that come out like this. To prevent the paint from oxidizing at a similar rate we were sure to use several coats of a carnauba based wax we chose for its longevity. Enjoy!
Here we have divided the panel into two sections with painters tape to show a before and after polishing on the same panel.
Here are some more examples of 50/50 shots such as this
If you look closely at the photo on the left you will see the photographer is standing the exact same distance, in the same clothes, on the same day, in the same position in both shots! Where there were essentially no reflections before, he can now be clearly seen.
And now for some shots of the 2CV after it was finished!
Now for some info on the 2CV.
“The Citroën 2CV (French: “deux chevaux” i.e. “deux chevaux vapeur”, literally “two tax horsepower”) was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1948-1990.[1] It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with uncompromisingly utilitarian unconventional looks, and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer quality of its underlying engineering. It was designed to move the French peasantry on from horses and carts. It is considered one of Citroën’s most iconic cars. In 1953, ‘Autocar‘ in a technical review of the car wrote of, “…the extraordinary ingenuity of this design, which is undoubtedly the most original since the Model T Ford.”[2] It was described by CAR magazine journalist and author LJK Setright as “the most intelligent application of minimalism ever to succeed as a car.”[3] It was designed for low cost, simplicity of use, versatility, reliability, and off-road driving. For this it had a light, easily serviceable engine, extremely soft long travel suspension (with adjustable ride height), high ground clearance, and for oversized loads a car-wide canvas sunroof (which until 1960 also covered the boot).”- Wikipedia (click here for link)
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