76 replies to this topic

[pezley]

Just one question, isnt cellulose paint/clear coat not petrol resistant ?

 

Also, are you using gravity feed guns or do you have a compressor ?

 

I want to spray my hard top , just gonna look at getting the right stuff

[fezzasus]

Cellulose isn't petrol resistant, but given enough cure time will hold up fairly well. I'll have a better idea of this in a week when I've got the rear clam refitted. Only 2 pack paints really hold up well to petrol but I don't want to kill myself so i'm not going to use it. Worst case I can touch up every few years.

 

Gravity feed guns still need a compressor - something needs to propel the paint. Most modern paints are designed for gravity feed guns anyway. If yours is a solid colour you'll be able to do a good job with just rattle cans - take a look at what jules S has been doing with his.

[fezzasus]

Any more sneak peaks on this Tom?

 

If I had somewhere to work no the car I'd be highly tempted to try my hand at it. If I mucked it up it would still need a respray so would only be down on the cost of the mats.

 

I'll get something up by the weekend, I'm in the middle of supercharging it at well as spraying parts that come off, so I'm all over the place at the moment.

[pezley]

My problem when I have tried is not necessarily the colour but the clear coat. It never comes out high gloss, more of a dusty feeling finish. I'd like to find out how to get a nice glossy finish

[fezzasus]

The clear coat is very forgiving, you can always sand it back down to a good gloss if you coat it thick enough. Usually the dusty feeling is because you're holding the can too far away and it's drying before it reaches the surface.

[rik]

My problem when I have tried is not necessarily the colour but the clear coat. It never comes out high gloss, more of a dusty feeling finish. I'd like to find out how to get a nice glossy finish

 

"1-pack" rarely comes out with a shine, you have to wet sand it down then polish

"2-pack" generally comes out with a shine, but unless you are really skilled you would still have to sand down and polish to get a good finish

 

don't worry when you start sanding and it looks awful even at 2000 grit - it will look awesome when it's polished

[FLD]

My problem when I have tried is not necessarily the colour but the clear coat. It never comes out high gloss, more of a dusty feeling finish. I'd like to find out how to get a nice glossy finish

 

There's a knack to clearcoating.  From a gun I lay on a dust coat (feels rough) and I let that dry.  I then lay on a full gloss coat.  The dust coat supports the second coat so there are no sags etc.  The trick to a good gloss coat is care when viewing so you can see when you have a fully wetted surface.  If you're doing it from a rattle can you will be lucky to get this as you cant lay it down fast enough / thick enough.  Its no problem but you will have to put in extra work with a cut and polish, something that can be avoided with a gun if you get it right. 

 

Even from a gun you can get this problem as some guns come with a small needle set.  For large panels you want to be at least 1.4mm for base coat or clear and at least 1.6mm for primer.  Smaller and the paint will be dry before you have a full wetted coat.  Smaller panels / areas and you can get away with a smaller needle set ie touch up guns.

[TazN]

Good luck with the sc conversion Tom, that thread was what brought me back to this thread!

 

Jules thread is very inspiring, he has managed to get a good looking finish on it. I tried rattle can metallic on my wheels and it doesn't work so I'd stick with a solid colour just a shame all the colours I want are metallics!

[fezzasus]

I'm aware this has gone quiet so here's how the rest of it was fixed. Hopefully will act as a guide for other people in the same situation.

 

Damage where the sill butts up to the tub was difficult to fix, tried patching it but didn't look good, settled on this.

 

 

1. Cut out damaged area

 

 

3. Lay up fibreglass sheet to match, cut to size.

 

 

4. Bond in place using fibreglass bonding paste and tape.

 

5. If accessible, use woven fibreglass on the inside to patch the join

 

7. Use P40 to fill any gaps/changes in height on the outside.

 

 

8. skim with easy sand filler.

 

 

 

10. Sand flush, fill with either putty or filler-primer.

[TazN]

Thanks for updating this Tom. Mines got similar damage on drivers side and I've been trying to ignore it but will look at sorting it this spring I hope.

[fezzasus]

Harry, i'll try to get another photo tonight of the finished item. I used Dolphin Glaze for the final filler skim, final result is pretty good.

[Kart59]

That looks fantastic. What sort of prep do you have to do before painting?

Thanks. I'll try to put a proper guide together as I progress, but this is what i'm doing at the moment. 1. Key the surface with 240 grit. 2. Inspect surface for damage (stone chips and small damage), fill, sand back with 240 grit. 3. 2 x coats of high build primer (using U-Pol P88 equal parts thinner) 4. 1 x guide coat (1 part primer, 1 part base coat, 6 parts thinner) 5. sand back guide coat with 400 grit to remove high spots. 6. Base coat (number of coats depends on colour, I can get away with two with this stuff) 7. Clear coat.

I've been looking for a run through like this! If you can put a guide together that would be epic! Where do you get your paint from, any links?

[Kart59]

On my phone, just seen your post about ebay for the paint. So there is no sanding in between colour coats or before clear coat then?

[fezzasus]

On my phone, just seen your post about ebay for the paint. So there is no sanding in between colour coats or before clear coat then?

 

Nope, no sanding, unless you get a large drip of paint. This is worth a read: http://www.mig-weldi...ay-painting.htm

[jules_s]

 

On my phone, just seen your post about ebay for the paint. So there is no sanding in between colour coats or before clear coat then?

 

Nope, no sanding, unless you get a large drip of paint. This is worth a read: http://www.mig-weldi...ay-painting.htm

 

 

That says to wet sand with 1200 before clear coat  

[fezzasus]

 

 

On my phone, just seen your post about ebay for the paint. So there is no sanding in between colour coats or before clear coat then?

 

Nope, no sanding, unless you get a large drip of paint. This is worth a read: http://www.mig-weldi...ay-painting.htm

 

 

That says to wet sand with 1200 before clear coat  

 

 

With solid colours yes, with metallics no, you'll take off the metal flake.

[TazN]

That'd be helpfull, thanks

 

I've been thinking about doing a super fine skim layer to remove any pinholes etc. Kart, there is a link somewhere for autopaintbrighton or some such.

 

If metallic then do not sand between coats as Tom says. When I get a chance I'll put up a guide as I progress on mine. Got last 2 weeks of March off and looking at getting my first panel done for then if the weather clears up. Sorely tempted to get as much prep done for the whole thing before then, if I did and the rain continues is it likely to cause problems?