240 headlights, and red paint

[Alec Dawe]

Looked at an 1998 240 gl today, in very faded red, but seller only wants £200 for it, BUT both headlamp reflectors are knackered, almost no silvering at all. Anyone know if these have to be replaced as a whole unit, or can you get lens and reflector seperately? How much is a complete headlamp unit. I would have thought this was an M.O.T. failure?
The red paint has faded horribly, but is sound. Any chance of cutting it back to get a decent finish, or is it a respray job (not worth the cost on a 1988 car?).

[Peter D]

You mean 1988 not 98 and yes you can £19 each from Euro car parts. to fit them warm up the plastic ball sockets with a hair dryer immediately before fitting or even the new clips cab break. Regards Peter

[Alec Dawe]

OOPS!!!!!
Yes 1988.. 'F' reg
Is that all?? I was expecting something ghastly like £80 to £90 a piece, if they are only £19 that puts a competely diffent slant on things!
And thanks for the warming up tip. That's usually the sort of thing you find out after you have broken the first one!!

[bobcat]

depending on how bad the paint is, you should be able to cut it with some g3 using an electric orbital polisher.

you will then either need to keep it polished to protect the paint from fading again, or you will need to put on a paint sealant, but you want the paint a1 before you do that as it puts a hard clear coat over the paint that stop dirt and uv rays getting at the paint.

[Peter D]

sorry I meant GSF motor parts. Regards Peter

[Alec Dawe]

Thanks again Peter.
Do you have an address or web site for the supplier?

[dgbalfour]

The club supplier, Nordic, also list them online. I'd email them for a quote too, they give discounts to VOC members.

sales@nordiccar.com

David

[Peter D]

www.gsfcarparts.com you could have googled for it. Regards Peter

[Glen Morangie]

[QUOTE=bobcat]depending on how bad the paint is, you should be able to cut it with some g3 using an electric orbital polisher.

Just out of interest will this work on all faded red paints or just those before the water based was introduced around '89 or whenever?

240's I've looked at suffering the faded red pigment look very much as if the paint has bleached altogether, not just the surface.

I thought it was a problem finding a sufficiently durable water based red pigment, and that the problem was resolved to some extent later, around 1991 or 2.

Is this not right?

[Peter D]

No, Volvo 240 all had cellulose based paint thus no laquer coat unless metalic. If you just rub the faded red paint with you fingure it will turn red as no laquer. Car will cut down and polish up OK ish, room and bonnet may be a bit patchy at first. But Hey £200. Regards Peter