Paul H Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 10 minutes ago, Badwolf said: So after a little while, the bonnet was flipped over. .. and a sorry looking state it was in. Thankfully it doesn't appear to have suffered too much while I had it upside down to work on the inside. Three days later having gone through two stripping discs, and making the dust extractor, which is attached to the garage (well now in the shed) vacuum cleaner... and we now have this.... .. the DeLorean style Spitfire bonnet. Amazingly short on rust after being stored for oh so long in the shed. You can clearly see where the repairs were done prior to the first paint job. most of the filler was still solid, but, just to be on the safe side I will take as much of it out as I can, if only to check the state of the metal underneath (if any), repair and treat as needed. Next job is to wipe it over and treat with Bilthamber Hydrate 80 to get the rust pits that are around in some places. Mostly where the top coat had flaked off leaving just the primer. I will then leave it for a couple of days before flashing over with the sander and then treating it to two coats of 2K primer applied by roller. What 2k primer are you using . I’ve just purchased HB Body 989 2k Epoxy Primer based on recommendation from the mig welding forum , are you top coating with 2k or Cellulose. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted July 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Paul - I am using Mipa EP-Grundierfiller which was recommened to me by Gilbert Michaelson, Automotive Restorers, at a trade show. Steve, who was on the demo stand (not actually selling the paint) gave me a 20 minute tutorial on preparation, painting etc. Absolutely invaluable. As you are using HB989 (which I know nothing about), you might want to look here..... https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/196771/body-paint-thread?page=34 ..as BMW2101 is having some problems with the way he is mixing/applying his. There is also something on the previous page. I am top coating with Celly from the club shop, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Thanks for the link ,looks like I’ve purchased the correct 2k thinners , also using cellulose from the club shop Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted July 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Paul - I'm sure that you are aware, but just in case, take great care when using 2k products. If spraying you MUST have an air fed mask to prevent you from breathing atomised 2k particles which are highly injurious to lungs and general health. If applying with a roller, then a good quality vapour mask should suffice. I will be using one of the 3M range with vapour filters fitted. Remember, if you can smell it when wearing the mask, it's dangerous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Yes I’ve got an air-fed pressurised full face mask and the air is fed from the outside the workshop and piped in ( can’t smell a thing 🤗) i use a CPAP machine for Sleep Apnea and was supplied with a new machine last year and they didn’t want the old one back 🤗 so that’s what I use together with extra plumbing . Paul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted August 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2020 Things are moving on quite nicely and for those of you who have nothing better to do, I will post the next installment shortly. However, I now need your experience as to how much paint to make up for a single coat on a Spitfire bonnet and also a factory hard top. Obviously I don't want to mix too much, but then again, I don't want to run out with a few inches still to do and have to fiddle around mixing up an egg cup full. Any thoughts please?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted August 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2020 I have decided to try to do the work on the hardtop in tandem with the bonnet. Unfortunately the hardtop has sustained considerably more damage over the years than the bonnet... .. the back rail and back corners in particular.. But I have made a start on stripping the paint off the top and treated the stripped part with Hydrate 80 to protect it a little... .. while I consider the best plan of action to try to save the rest. I will continue stripping in the morning but not sure that I really want to find what I will find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted August 3, 2020 Report Share Posted August 3, 2020 Crusty! That looks very Triumph! Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted August 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2020 Karl - You are not wrong there. I have just been out to make cardboard templates as I don't think that the back 'fins' will survive the stripping pad. I know that one of them (probably the one with the crack across it) was almost totally rebuilt with fibre-glass and filler but that was an awful long time ago. I have more technical plans for it this time as long as there is some decent metal left in there somewhere, otherwise, its simply the soft top. I have no idea how to get rust killer inside the back rail. I do have my left over Frost/POR-15 metal prep which I could spray inside or even submerge. I think something of a waste to use Hydrate 80. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted August 3, 2020 Report Share Posted August 3, 2020 Could you use some steel box section to replace the sloping verticals, and similarly for the horizontal portion below the rear window? Given that it’s not structural would be a good candidate for bonding as I can’t imagine that the roof would take much heat to distort if welded. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted August 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2020 Thanks Karl, I will have a look at what I have around. I do have some .9mm galvanised steel sheet off cuts, which were left over from roofing the sheds. It might just be thick enough for repairs here, or there is always the lengths of box section that I did the adhesive tests with. On with today's worries... Stripping off most of the remaining paint reveals some interesting things... .. a fair bit of filler and some 'lacework' in various places. The back rail is more solid than I thought but I think that I will end up cutting out some of the sections to see what is going on inside. I can also treat/skim some of the rust that way. The worst thing was the quarter lights.... .. both sides, which were both 80% filler, along with, as I expected the tail fin thingies. They will probably get chopped out and re-fabricated in clean metal as best that I can. However, a coat of Hydrate 80 to give a little protection for the time being changed this... into this... .. which actually looks much better than it really is!! Tomorrow, I think, a slitting disc on the bottom left section to see just what is in there. In the meantime can I ask any one with the same hardtop, if they could post a photo here of one of the quarter lights, doesn't matter which side, so that I can see what the profile should look like. There are several photos on the net but nothing that is reasonably close up. Thanks in advance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted August 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2020 Not much to report althought I have not been idle. I have cut out a section of the back rail to find more solid metal I had hoped. Its badly pitted but solid in most places. The main job has been cutting out the aluminium mesh, fibre-glass and filler from the back fin thingie but retaining enough shape to keep some sort of pattern for the moment. The metal that I though that I could use turned out to be too thin, so I await the delivery of new sheet. The other fun thing has been clearing out the filler that I had filled the gutters with. Don't ask me why I did it, probably a good idea(!!???) at the time. It has taken ages to get out without causing damage using a narrow wood chisel. I can now sharpen chisels... something that I have always had a problem with. The gutters are actually in mostly good condition. Nothing that some hydrate 80 and good high build primer won't sort out. Photos to follow later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted August 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2020 These are the photos I mentioned previously. On this one... ..you can see that the gutter is filled with filler. Why I did it, I don't know... goes under the usual heading of 'thought it was a good idea at the time'.. it wasn't. So I have now spent ages undoing all that work so we have this... .. mostly cleaned out gutters and an awful mess at the corners, although, as I have mentioned, the back rail does appear more solid than I thought and a good going over with a wire brush and several coats of Hydrate 80 should hopefully sort that out. I am now waiting for my sheet of Zintec to arrive along with a new pair of aviation snips to form the new panels. I have given up with my old pair of snips, it was more a case of chewing the metal rather than cutting it. Now some questions while I wait for the deliveries. What is the best way of bending the metal to shape when you only have a 3" metal workers vice and a hammer? and... what is the favoured range of D/A sanding discs for bodywork? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted August 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2020 As a slight aside, just in case it is of interest to anyone. I recently bought from Lidl (where else??) one of their stainless steel vacuum cleaners, similar to this one.... ..it has a plug on the front to take a power tool. I also have my Makita DA sander along with an extraction tube .... Now the beauty of this is that when the DA sander is connected to the vac power socket, when you turn on the sander the vac comes on as well. There is a 10 sec over-run between the sander being turned off and the vac turning itself off. With the cost of the vac at about £70.00 from Lidl (more expensive via the usual other sources), around £20 for the tube and £110 for the DA sander, you have a very useful piece of garage kit for less than £200 with some careful shopping around. The equivalent Mirka outfit costs around £400. A reasonably cheap set-up for 'dustless' sanding'. There are other vacs with the same feature, but the Lidl one is very good and can also be used as a blower, if you need that sort of thing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted August 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2020 I came to have a look at the various seals and finishers for the hardtop, and what a sorry mess they are. I would be grateful for any advice on obtaining replacements (top, window, door, rear deck) seals and furry finishings. I have gone through the R*mmers lists and much of it would appear to be somewhat 'generic' and that it could be bought by the yard/metre from the likes of Woolies. I know from other posts that aftermarket seals etc can be a problem, but I would prefer to buy by the metre and cut and glue to length. The rear glass seal looks particularly expensive but then if that's all that is available?? If anyone has replaced theirs a reference/stock number for the supplier would be great. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted September 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2020 Just bumping this in case anyone can help with the seals/rubbers/finishers etc enquiry in my previous post, before I put an order through to JPs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted September 5, 2020 Report Share Posted September 5, 2020 if you have some idea of the profile/extrusion have alook at the vast available stuff at CO Baines https://coh-baines.co.uk/ always very helpful Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted September 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2020 Thanks Pete. I had a look at Baines and Woolies. I am still suffering the 'legacy' effect of the original car restoration. In this case, the rubbers etc off the hardtop were thrown in a box, unmarked, along with the old trim off the body and other rubbers from who/what knows, where they have been disintegrating (un)happily in the shed for 30 odd years. Trying to indentify what they are and where they came from (from the remains) is no easy task. That is assuming that everything is actually there and that what is in the box came off this car!! Trying to compare the profiles from the parts lists is nie on impossible. That along with other postings about door seals being too thick etc is what has promoted the enquiry. In a way, I was hoping that someone may have renewed their seals and be able to say that 'product code' from Baines fits the doorseal or furry finisher etc etc. Looks like I will have to take a chance with JP (who appear to have the most comprehensive list of available trim) in the hope that what they list/sell is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted September 6, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 I have not been totally idle during the past few weeks. Much work has been done on the hard top, which I will share with you shortly, but I have done some work on the bonnet. I must stress that this was not how I was planning to do the work by any stretch of the imagination but after a discussion on another thread about the problems with condensation under metal roofs, I made the decision to do this... ..and gave the top 3 coats of 2k primer after rubbing over the Hydrate 80. I intended to go over the top and fill all the problem areas and then prime it but, even though I may have to sand some of it clean to add any filler, at least it will be fairly safe from rusting as the weather is now colder and a great deal wetter (hence the decision to prime it). Even in this coat of primer, it does look so much better than it did in the original pictures and, hopefully, as work progresses further, it will get even better. I must say that I am very pleased with the way things are looking at the moment, more than I can say for the hard top, more of which later. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathew Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 Looks nice. The primer you have used, does it absorb moisture? I know the 2k epoxy ones are ok but standard ones do. Also filling on top of primer will need a sealer as you could get patches in your paint due to it leaching under the filler. Don't want you to do a lot of hard work only to have to do it again. Been there got the tee shirt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted September 6, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 Thanks Matthew. The primer is 2k and waterproof. I have rubbed back in some places already, to bare metal in order to fill the major dents and dings. It is like armour plate. I plan to deal with each area with various grades of filler, then re-prime the damage that I have done. The main thing is that the decent parts of the bonnet are now protected from the wet and I have more than enough primer to do what it takes. I didn't intend to do 3 coats but mixed far to much primer, approx 400ml, so thought that I would just keep going until it was gone. 250ml would have done me for starters. I used a 4" gloss roller and small brush for the fiddly curves. It went on really well, a lot thinner than I was expecting and had set to a really nice if rough(ish) finish. Very hard to sand through even with a P80 disc. When I have got it reasonably correct it should rub back nicely with P180 or finer. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted September 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2020 This is my 2000th post, according to Kevin's handy counter. When I first started here, I never expected it to be such a voyage of discovery. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has carried me along, laughed with me (at me), advised me and in some cases even followed my limited advice (for what it was worth). To all of you, a most heartfelt thank you. I have learned so much here and although I have never met you, you are all very special people, very much, an on-line family. This is somewhere that I turn to when it all goes wrong and there is always someone to help out and lift spirits (stand by for my next set of disaster posts!!). So I am off to celebrate, (any excuse) with small drink, with which I will raise as a toast to you all. Thank you and best wishes, keep safe in these strange times.... BW 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted September 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2020 Can someone please expain why the 'pot time' for the 2k primer that I am using (10hrs @ 20c) is so much greater than the flash off/setting time which is about 10 minutes. Does this really mean that after mixing. I have quite a long time before I need to apply or am I mis-reading the mipa grundierfiller ep data sheet. It seems a very long pot time which I don't want to test out if I am wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted September 15, 2020 Report Share Posted September 15, 2020 36 minutes ago, Badwolf said: Can someone please expain why the 'pot time' for the 2k primer that I am using (10hrs @ 20c) is so much greater than the flash off/setting time which is about 10 minutes. Does this really mean that after mixing. I have quite a long time before I need to apply or am I mis-reading the mipa grundierfiller ep data sheet. It seems a very long pot time which I don't want to test out if I am wrong. Im no expert as only used 2k primer for the last month . Flash time is the time before you can apply a second coat of 2k primer Pot time is the length of the time the mixed primer will last . Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted September 16, 2020 Report Share Posted September 16, 2020 On 19/08/2020 at 11:48, Badwolf said: I also have my Makita DA sander I must look at one of those; I've been struggling with an air-powered SIP DA sander and all it has done is dig into the paint leaving semi-circular marks. Not a great problem as all of that paint is coming off anyway but it's not as easy or efficient as I had hoped. The compressor is certainly big enough for the job, so I'm blaming the sander. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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