Day 1 (T) - Dec 2008

So this is the dilemma…

Credit crisis is upon us and not enough cash to paint the car however some “surface rust” has started to appear and I have until 5th Jan off…

The pix below show my issues…


So how is it done….

After much research this is the process I am undergoing;

1. Use 3m Paint/Rust Disks to clean up the engine grill, front spoiler, rocker panels and windscreen wipers before giving them a coat of the Roll & Bull Bar Satin Paint.
2. Using the engine compartment lid as well as the head lamp covers as the test environments (easily removed and not over large) follow the process below;
   
   1. Paint stripper to remove existing paint;
   2. 3m Paint/Rust Disks to clean up any rust and remaining paint
   3. Wax & Grease Remover to remove any oils, etc
   4. Cover in Etch Primer and allow to dry
   5. Mix Brightside Polyurethane, Penetrol & Mineral Turpentine at a ratio of 70:17:13 (or roughly 100ml to 25ml to 19ml) so the paint is of the same constancy of water.
      1. Don’t shake the paint – stir it otherwise you'll have bubbles in the paint for a week!
   6. Apply paint using professional FOAM rollers
      1. After painting the surface I will go over with a clean roller really lightly using the weight of the roller only to remove any lines bubbles, etc and then after a minute or two I should see it "self level".
      2. The wet sand will be done with a spray bottle with a water and detergent mix and will be applied liberally to ensure it is kept wet.
      3. After sanding I will wash the surface done with water and a shammy
   7. After completing 2 coats wet sand with 800 Grit Wet & Dry
   8. Repeat with another 2 coats and then , wet sand with 1000 Grit Wet & Dry
   9. Repeat with another 2 coats and then , wet sand with 1200 Grit Wet & Dry
   10. Finish with a high speed polisher and turtle wax polishing compound.
   11. Painting the hard to get areas is done with the Foam Brush Set
3. Once the above has been completed and I am happy with the results I will then follow the process on the;
   
   1. Doors – will remove them to do
   2. Front bonnet – again will remove
   3. Boot – will remove
   4. Front and back fenders – will remove lights, bumpers and fittings to complete
   5. Roof – there isn’t one – thank god for Targa’s

Next Step - Preparation….

Day 2 (T+1) - Dec 2008

What can I say - Paint Stripper sucks but 3M Rust and Paint wheels Rock !!!!

Gave up on the stripping to bare metal with the chemicals and went straight for the rust with the 3M disks...and lucky enough only found rust one spot that eaten through to the other side of the door panel....but there was quite a bit a surface rust that I am pretty happy I managed to get down to bare metal and treat...



So it was back off to Auto Barn to get some Body Filler....plus got a Speed Glaze Polish and a Foam Polishing Pad as well as some more Wax & Grease Remover - so we need to add another $79.97 to the total..(..which now sits at $357.72)

So after completing the fill job it was back to the prep work....

1. Grinded all the rust away to bare metal with the 3M disks
2. Sanded all panels with wet & dry 400 grit and water with detergent
3. Washed panels down with water
4. Cleaned all panels with Wax & Grease remover
5. Neutralised rust spots with Rust Disolver
6. Cleaned all panels with Wax & Grease remover AGAIN

Results below




Next Step - First Coat...

Day Three (T+2) - Dec 2008

Pix of the first coat are below....

Learnt that the smaller roller is the better way to go plus the paint dries very quickly so you have to get it on pretty evenly pretty quickly (which I didn't...)

....but as you can see after one coat only it's already got a bit of a gloss happening and the self leveling is amazing....




All was going well - I left the car to dry in direct sunlight for our 8 hours and decided to do another coat during twilight that night...also may do a slightly thicker coat (not so watery) to try and get a good layer down as some of the grey is still showing from the original coat...

Day Four (T+3) - Dec 2008

NOOOOOOOOO........trouble.....

Have gone to sand the car and it appears that not all of the paint had dried or "cured" on the car even though it had been left overnight. Strips are being ripped off even though I am using wet and dry with a spray bottle containing detergent and water and soaking the car as I sand....

Best leave it for the week and try again next weekend.

Also think that I may have gone to think with the paint so will go back to my original formula...

T+9 - January 2009
Ahhhh.....learnt some very valuable secrets....

First - let the car dry for a week or so before sanding.....

Secondly - When I started I found the best way is not to use a block, but to use your hands as it allows you toe "feel" all of the bumps and imperfects and you can target them while spraying the water/detergent mixture on.

Finally - Considering all of the drips and "orange peel" that I have ended up with I am going to the original watered down formula most definitely as that was a pain in the arse...

Sanding was done with a 240 grit paper for all of the large lumps and bumps due to the ticker formula and then a 400 grit on the orange peel to get an nice smooth surface...

Photo's after two coats plus the sanding job are below....




Aspi914