The day has come!

[big-boss]

I always new this day would come, I was out in the shop the other day sanding some water spots off my sanded aluminum Kirkham No. 498. I thought to myself- I have had the same wife now for the last 30 years and there is no way my cobra needs to look the same for the next five years soooo?????
Should I paint the thing or polish? That is the question.

Do you think I will hurt the value? If I paint?

[ACademic]

Originally Posted by big-boss

I have had the same wife now for the last 30 years. Should I paint the thing or polish? That is the question.

All creative editing aside, paint is always so much easier to maintain. I have seen some terrific painted Kirkhams and aluminum CSXs. They look more "real" to many that way, as I've yet to see any original without paint. Then again, the Kirkham is unique in the flesh and there are many that crave that look.

If you are going to allow your personal tastes and freedoms get in the way of valuations, well then that's another debate all its own. I would follow your heart on that one and not necessarily what your mind ($$$) is telling you.

[DougD]

I always assumed that the guys who didn't paint their Kirkhams spent their entire wad on the car and didn't have any $$$ left for paint....

Why don't you see many aluminium-bodied CSXs unpainted? I'm sure there is at least one out there, but is it only the Kirkham owners who like the naked look?

[JJCobra]

I have the same debate in my head all the time........

[RON N BKFLD]

Bill,, Just my opinion. Polished is easier to maintain than sanded. Bad news when you get a minor rock hit. Polish means pecking it out, file, sand, polish. Paint, well you know the process. I think most people would think they were looking at painted fiberglass. With polished they think it's chrome or stainless steel. You tell them it's polished aluminum, so they rapp their knockles on it. True. Either way, we need to go on a run somewhere when the weather is right......Ron.................................... .............................................

[RON N BKFLD]

I don't think cost of polish or paint was the question, but I guess your right. Paint is too much money. Ron
KMP241 482 Shelby, kmp218x 289 FIA, 78 vette pace car 1 of 200 L-82 4 speeds, 65 Sunbeam Tiger matching #, 67 GTO, 1995 Mustang, Bondurant open track car. ......just sayin, i guess I prefer polished.

[PatBuckley]

Originally Posted by big-boss

I always new this day would come, I was out in the shop the other day sanding some water spots off my sanded aluminum Kirkham No. 498. I thought to myself- I have had the same wife now for the last 30 years and there is no way my cobra needs to look the same for the next five years soooo?????
Should I paint the thing or polish? That is the question.

Do you think I will hurt the value? If I paint?

I assume you're talking about the car.

I had a polished one - something about a Polish polished car seemed irresistable to me....

Now that I have done that I would paint it. Blue or red. Way easier to keep nice looking despite what anyone says....

[RodKnock]

I never thought I would buy a polished Kirkham. Now that I have one, I wouldn't change my mind.

Every car on the road has paint and 99.99% of Cobras too. I wanted unique and I got it. It's awesome.

Yes, I have seen several alloy CSX4000's unpainted.

[RodKnock]

BTW, it also saved me a ton of time by not having to pick a shade of red or blue and even black. I would have vacillated on that decision forever.

[PatBuckley]

....only until the painter started shooting the color coat!

[David Kirkham]

Originally Posted by PatBuckley

....only until the painter started shooting the color coat!

It was actually Pat Buckley's car that pushed us over the edge to start polishing cars. He sanded his car in a very fine grit (I think 400, Pat can chime in here) and it looked so killer we had to try it ourselves. Pat really did a nice job on his car. It was the nicest Kirkham we had ever seen. At the time we were only sanding our cars to 120 grit. Our customers have always done really nice things over the years to their rides. Many of those "upgrades" and custom ideas we have later started to do ourselves.

After sanding to 400, one of our guys wanted to polish the stripes...then, well, polishing the whole car wasn't far behind.

big-boss, do whatever you want. I personally think the polished car is much easier to take care of than the brushed car.

David

[Dwight]

I vote PAINT


Dwight

[pusherfans]

I find the brushed stripes easier to repair scratches when they happen, then on the polished areas. I found that the partial polish is hard to make took like the surrounding area. I think polishing the whole car is very difficult and I don't have experience to do it.

Outside of touch-ups, cleaning and keeping a polished car clean is much, much easier and faster than a brushed car.

If you paint, when you get chips, etc, you can't really make them disappear, in a polished or brushed car, you can, although it's quite a bit of work.

somethings to think about. I myself like the uniqueness, but feel I am missing out in not having my dream blue and white Cobra. But I don't have the heart to paint it yet, I may never.

[RodKnock]

I've actually thought about painting the center brushed stripes black, but that's all I would consider painting on my Kirkham.

[Jamo]

Have fun deciding.

[Paul F]

The second questions seems to be driving the first question. I'd not consider the latter question as part of my decision on this.

But that's why we can't answer the question. Your personality, your habits, your priorities are yours, not ours. But let's sound it out anyway.

I don't care about the value of the car. I want to own my Cobra for life. So it is not part of the decision for me.

Shine - Only the owners of a polished car can compare polished vs paint for you as far as keeping it looking good. Without experience, it seems obvious that wiping down paint is a lot easier than polishing aluminum. I avoid bare aluminum like the plague. Its is very high maintenance. I think the guys with the polished cars will disagree. But for the stuff I have that is aluminum, I curse it every time I polish it. 1 for paint. 1-0 paint

The fear factor - For me, polished has many advantages over paint. No fear of scratches, rocks, dings and the like. Repair is usually simple. With paint, I would be in fear at all times. 0-0 tied

Cool is a big part of the equation - polished. +1 for polished. 1-0 polished, maybe even 2 for polished. 2-0 polished.

[rodneym]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

BTW, it also saved me a ton of time by not having to pick a shade of red or blue and even black. I would have vacillated on that decision forever.

What are you worried about? If you want a red one, park next to red one. If you want a blue one, park next to a blue one. Just don't park next to a green Gremlin.

I've seen a couple 'naked' CSX's. But with the CSX crowd and company, they seem more tied to history. I guess Kirkham decided to let it all hang out, plus they've done some of their own things to distinguish them from CSX.
I love the polished Kirks. Glad some of you guys have em. Cause I like to look. Really beautiful. But for me, the brushed look is so raw and that's why I chose it. Nothing meaner.

One thing I believe about Cobras: They look great in any color.

[trularin]

It is your car...do what you want.

[Jimeg]

Gentlemen, If you don't mind a BDR owner adding his two cents or comments.......lets keep something in mind, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and/or "Whatever floats your boat".............

[PatBuckley]

Originally Posted by David Kirkham

It was actually Pat Buckley's car that pushed us over the edge to start polishing cars. He sanded his car in a very fine grit (I think 400, Pat can chime in here) and it looked so killer we had to try it ourselves. Pat really did a nice job on his car. It was the nicest Kirkham we had ever seen. At the time we were only sanding our cars to 120 grit. Our customers have always done really nice things over the years to their rides. Many of those "upgrades" and custom ideas we have later started to do ourselves.

After sanding to 400, one of our guys wanted to polish the stripes...then, well, polishing the whole car wasn't far behind.

big-boss, do whatever you want. I personally think the polished car is much easier to take care of than the brushed car.

David

Thanks for the compliment, David.

I actually went down to 1500 grit paper before polishing.

My only issue with leaving the car au naturel is that as soon as you are done with your polish or sanding job the aluminum starts to oxidize - and you really can't just clean up one area (well I suppose you could but IMO it then looks really bad) you have to do the entire car! About every three or four months. There are other things I would rather do.

I have heard of some products that preserve the shine (Zoopseal?) but I never tried them.

I even purchased a gallon of Alodine 1001 from Wicks Aircraft Supply allegedly they use the stuff on planes to keep them shiny but I never tried it. I heard it was really really nasty stuff and that I should not go near it so it is sitting in a cupboard with a big warning sign on it not to drink it.

The reason I nver tried any of these products is because I could just see them totally ruining my lovely aluminum that I had spent thousands of hours on!