Do you really have a stag (animal not Triumph) in the field off the lane?
Ah that's actually a metal cut out silhouette type thing that my neighbour has on their lawn - so nope - no stags but just about everything else - plenty of rabbits, quite a few chickens between the neighbours, lots of birds which include 2 pairs of red kites, woodpeckers, owls etc - a pair of stoats in my neighbours hay loft, all my neighbours have dogs along with an abundance of dogwalkers that use the lane, sheep in the field across the road from the chapel & cattle later in the year gets accommodated in the same field and the deer tend to roam through now & again - That just leaves a few very unwelcome animals with the one unfavourable neighbour opposite us - they insist on keeping cockerels 10 meters from our property - its something that I'm working on with the local authority - along with the vermin in the shape of rats that the cockerel feed attracts
And i thought we had it bad with gulls squawking their balls off at 4am.... mind you hosing their acid ridden excretia off the cars 3 or 4 times a day gets particularly tedious at this time of year!
A quick question, if I may. I'm replacing the bottom half of the rear quarter panel on my project, you can see the brown section on this photo:
I'm at a point now where I've removed the old primer and surface rust, and am ready to start trimming it to fit. But, in removing the primer it turns out that there are quite a few dents and prangs on it, from being stored for 40-odd years. Now, I can't knock all of these out properly, but I can make them better.
The question is, should I do that before it goes on, or after? If I do it before, I can get to both sides easily but the panel is really unwieldy and difficult to control, especially as the section above the centre of the wheelarch is quite narrow. If I put it on the car, I still have reasonable access as most of the damage is towards the top end, and with the advantage that it'll be held in place.
Any thoughts, anyone? Or is this one of those where there isn't a correct answer?
A quick question, if I may. I'm replacing the bottom half of the rear quarter panel on my project, you can see the brown section on this photo:
I'm at a point now where I've removed the old primer and surface rust, and am ready to start trimming it to fit. But, in removing the primer it turns out that there are quite a few dents and prangs on it, from being stored for 40-odd years. Now, I can't knock all of these out properly, but I can make them better.
The question is, should I do that before it goes on, or after? If I do it before, I can get to both sides easily but the panel is really unwieldy and difficult to control, especially as the section above the centre of the wheelarch is quite narrow. If I put it on the car, I still have reasonable access as most of the damage is towards the top end, and with the advantage that it'll be held in place.
Any thoughts, anyone? Or is this one of those where there isn't a correct answer?
Has you state the loose panel can be quite unwieldy - in fact in the wrong hands I've seen more damage than good done using this method - from experience my preferred method is to fit the panel then sort the minor dents / scrapes afterwards as the panel is much more rigid by the time its welded in situ - obviously if the damage is in a place that you cant access afterwards then you have little choice but to sort it whilst the panel is loose
I'd like to try my hand at a little polishing by machine.
Got a good recommendation for an affordable polisher with mops?
Alex - Apologies for the slow response - let me do a little research and then get back to you - Chris
While Chris is researching, I'll chip in with something to give you an overview of just how many options there are Alex - probably why you are asking.
Back in my old detailing days of earning some pocket money on a weekend (ahhh the simple life), rather than a rotary I used to stick to a DA, less aggressive and so arguably safer on some paints (more on that in a bit), but also in the hands of the non-pro as you are less likely to burn through. Chris may well advise that things have come on since, but worth considering depending on paint thickness and what you want to achieve.
cleanyourcar.co.uk were just starting up at the time and so only really offered one machine and a couple of pad/compound options that came in from the states - judging by today's offering that has changed a fair bit!
Anyway a couple of examples, because well, we all like pics:
E36 M3 GTII - bought for peanuts by the owner at that time, think c£6k. Think I spent a couple of days on it slowly working my way round the interior and exterior.
Came up very well for a car with well 128k on the clock. Last I saw it was for sale for £21k.
Another fun one - hence my comment of using a DA carefully above, was this - paint so thin that if you shone a light on it you could see the fibreglass below
Anyway, forgive my minor divergence down memory lane. As you were.
Has you state the loose panel can be quite unwieldy - in fact in the wrong hands I've seen more damage than good done using this method - from experience my preferred method is to fit the panel then sort the minor dents / scrapes afterwards as the panel is much more rigid by the time its welded in situ - obviously if the damage is in a place that you cant access afterwards then you have little choice but to sort it whilst the panel is loose
Thanks, I was heading towards that thought. I can always do the same as I've done with the sill - just put a few of the holding welds in place until I am absolutely certain that things line up and I don't need to get anything off again.
(Sorry, can't get rid of the original quote, so it looks a bit weird now).
Thanks for the pics and the polishing stuff - do we have a separate thread for polishing? I have a DA and pads and even polish of some description and have been thinking about going at the Midget and Mrs. JP's Mini for about 5 years now - still working up the nerve.
Thanks for the pics and the polishing stuff - do we have a separate thread for polishing? I have a DA and pads and even polish of some description and have been thinking about going at the Midget and Mrs. JP's Mini for about 5 years now - still working up the nerve.
JP - In this thread should be fine - let me gather some pics together and I'll post a basic guide over the next few days
Thanks for the pics and the polishing stuff - do we have a separate thread for polishing? I have a DA and pads and even polish of some description and have been thinking about going at the Midget and Mrs. JP's Mini for about 5 years now - still working up the nerve.
JP - In this thread should be fine - let me gather some pics together and I'll post a basic guide over the next few days
I'm hoping someone can help with this. It's the front nearside inner wing on my Mk1 Jaguar. The shell is going off to be dipped/stripped at some point this year, but I'm trying to get an idea of what's going to be needed. Things like this seam worry me. It's triple skinned (chassis leg, inner wing and chassis leg top) and they've started swelling as you can see. What's the fix for areas like this?
All I could think of to do on my last project was to cut the worst part off, and see how bad the section underneath is. I had several parts where I'd cut the top part off and underneath was OK after a lot of scraping, and some where the section underneath needed repair, too.
It'll be interesting to see what it looks like after it's been stripped, whichever method you choose.
Post by grumpynorthener on May 4, 2021 19:17:38 GMT
From experience you are going to have to drill the spotwelds out of the upper most / top section and cut it back - it all then depends on what state the centre layer is in but you may well end up cutting that back and letting fresh steel in too - again until its opened up its hard to say what state the bottom layer will be in but you could end up making 3 repair sections up and welding them back in - should be pretty straight forward although I appreciate it may look a little daunting in its current condition - Any issues / brick walls you come up against just take some pics - post them up here and I'll get back to you (along with others) with help / assistance / guidance
Chris - I am, at long last about to bond in the repair panels to my Spitfire hardtop. All has been treated with Hydrate80 where possible and will be gently rubbed down with steel wool (more flexible in the confines than wet & dry paper) to give a key. Now some areas as mentioned, are very awkward tight areas which will eventually form a small box section. This is not a problem to key, but getting panel wipe in there to clean will be. So, the question, is aerosol brake/carb cleaner a substitute for panel wipe to get rid of any oil/grease etc, that I may have left as a residue from my hands/gloves or spread about on the steel wool? It may be better soaking the steel wool in panel wipe where practical and using that.
Chris - I am, at long last about to bond in the repair panels to my Spitfire hardtop. All has been treated with Hydrate80 where possible and will be gently rubbed down with steel wool (more flexible in the confines than wet & dry paper) to give a key. Now some areas as mentioned, are very awkward tight areas which will eventually form a small box section. This is not a problem to key, but getting panel wipe in there to clean will be. So, the question, is aerosol brake/carb cleaner a substitute for panel wipe to get rid of any oil/grease etc, that I may have left as a residue from my hands/gloves or spread about on the steel wool? It may be better soaking the steel wool in panel wipe where practical and using that.
Should be fine it's a degreaser / cleaner after all - however I would avoid using steel wool - leave any strands or steel wool dust trapped in there and it will rust very, very quickly - much better to use scotchbrite pads which is what the trade use for abrading tight confines / awkward areas
Random thought but how about this? Is anyone thinking of getting any epoxy primer? Jawel Paints are selling a 4Lt kit (3LT epoxy primer and 1 Lt hardener) for £67 plus £10 post. Their trade branch is selling 3 x 4Lt kits for £99 plus £10 post. Looks the same but has their Trade Paints own label on it. I am up for it of 2 others are and would also want the mixing cups. Just need to sort out the post in addition. Any thoughts?
Question for Chris as I am getting confused. I was going to use epoxy primer on the old 304 to protect each panel as I work my way round the car. But, I have now read that epoxy primer is actually a sealer and that you can not sand it. Will be ok for the floor pans and under the wings prior to using Dinitrol but now not sure about the external bodywork which will be open to the elements for months. Help please.
Question for Chris as I am getting confused. I was going to use epoxy primer on the old 304 to protect each panel as I work my way round the car. But, I have now read that epoxy primer is actually a sealer and that you can not sand it. Will be ok for the floor pans and under the wings prior to using Dinitrol but now not sure about the external bodywork which will be open to the elements for months. Help please.
Never surprised at the amount of myth's / old wives tales etc that arise in the use of products - Epoxy primer can be fully sanded without issue - its the best product that you can use for protection on bare metal especially on bare metal areas / panels that are going to be left for long durations / periods of time which is why the shotblasting industry tends to favour it for bodyshells & panels - Its also non moisture absorbent unlike many other automotive primers