AE86 booter project

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

As regards the epoxy primer, I’m not 100% sure

I've been using a 1 part (aerosol) epoxy rust converter on the bare steel prior to putting on the epoxy final paint coat (this is something I just made up myself!)....then I scotch pad the epoxy converter lightly and I put the final epoxy over that. So far I'm happy with the results (first car I did this way was back in 2015 and still looks good underneath).

My logic was I just could not get the panel 100% prepped with a wire wheel in my garage....and even 90% wasn't going to be good enough. If you can get it blasted then I think it should work 100%.

With the converter underneath the logic is that it's got some protection on the bare steel....the converter is designed to be over paintable. Pretty sure epoxy will have no problem sticking to epoxy!

 

[conor1n]

Hi @conor1n , it’s an Sgs sc100v, which supposedly outputs 14.6cfm, which is not enough; blast for two minutes and then wait for two minutes to give the compressor a chance to catch up . But yes, it is satisfying!

As regards the epoxy primer, I’m not 100% sure. I think some areas were down to a lack of tooth in the surface. It chipped off inside the strut towers where there was still some of the original finish. It also came off the fresh steel that went onto the drivers footwell. That was one of my first repair patches and I didn’t DA the steel before I formed it. Generally it seemed to come of from inside the ends of the ridges where they may not have been as thoroughly keyed due to access:

View attachment 345107

I’m gonna have the underside blasted by a local blasting firm and try again. The stuff stuck to the sills like sh1t to a blanket, so I’m not concerned about the flatter panels.

I believe the em121 is more surface tolerant, but even still, I’d be paying a lot of attention to the troughs and valleys

Interesting.. I have just laid down my first coat so we shall see, in time... I can tell you though.. it's final, I won't be re-doing it. Fingers crossed eh.

That compressor looks good similar to what I have. A 14CFM displacement compressor will give out about 9.5 CFM Free Air Delivery, which is the main metric. I have the same.. i'm gonna get a blaster and see how I get on.

Are you using a pot that uses the venturi effect or a pressurised pot?

 

[Dcal]

Are you using a pot that uses the venturi effect or a pressurised pot?

Pressure pot is the way to go.
If you use a proper 3mm tungsten carbide nozzle you will be able to do a fair ampount of blasting before having to wait for the compressor to catch up.
The ceramic nozzles wear very quickly and as they wear they use more air so reduces the amount of blasting you can get done

 

[Myles1970]

Are you using a pot that uses the venturi effect or a pressurised pot?

It’s a blast cabinet that uses the Venturi effect. Not ideal for larger pieces or the likes of cast pieces that are heavily corroded. But I intend plating the nuts and bolts, so it’s perfect for that.

Good luck

 

[Myles1970]

Well I’ve not been idle…. Used up the last of my em121 on a few bits like the clutch, throttle and brake pedals and the handbrake lever….



Also paid a trip to Eagle Electro Plating in Glengormley…





These are mostly from a bucket of bolts that I bought from a guy who was stripping an ae86, as there were very few bolts/fasteners with the car/project that I had.



Above is a second hand strut bar after some cleaning up and painting…





I’ve tried to sort them into some kind of order…also sorted the top mounts with new bushes and some new hardware



Above is the coil overs after a clean-up and a splash of em121. I’d recommend it for the hard satin finish… it does tend to go off in the gun though, requiring a full clean-out in-between coats, but most of the parts I used it for will be underneath so finish isn’t paramount. That said, I’m happy with the finish for the most part

 

[Cosantoir]

DUDE!!!!! The electro plating is the job!!!!1 I've really struggled with getting anywhere to do it down here.

How much did it cost you to get that done can I ask?

 

[Myles1970]

How much did it cost you to get that done can I ask?

Yep, I know! £70 for the half bucket of bolts etc., the two pedal boxes, and a couple of inner dash supports. Well worth it imo. Ask for Stewart

 

[conor1n]

Yep, I know! £70 for the half bucket of bolts etc., the two pedal boxes, and a couple of inner dash supports. Well worth it imo. Ask for Stewart

That's a solid price.

Now.. the only thing stopping me would be the fact that I have everything in separate sandwich bags and if I ended up mixing them up I'm not sure I'd be able to put the car back together.

I have considered getting a kit to DIY but not sure.

 

[atomant48]

That's a solid price.

Now.. the only thing stopping me would be the fact that I have everything in separate sandwich bags and if I ended up mixing them up I'm not sure I'd be able to put the car back together.

I have considered getting a kit to DIY but not sure.

I played with the diy kits for a while but just couldn’t get a repeatable result. Added benefit from the “professionals” is they have some way of properly cleaning everything as part of the process.

 

[conor1n]

I played with the diy kits for a while but just couldn’t get a repeatable result. Added benefit from the “professionals” is they have some way of properly cleaning everything as part of the process.

That's fair.. I believe it is a bit of a knack to get it good alright.

 

[Ruffian]

DUDE!!!!! The electro plating is the job!!!!1 I've really struggled with getting anywhere to do it down here.

How much did it cost you to get that done can I ask?

There is a company also in Plymouth which does this.

£1 per kilo, miminum spend £50 though.
We ended up chucking all sorts of random crap in there to make up 50kg. Some came out really pretty.

But now have 5 lockers full of all sorts of subaru bolts refurbished and trays of every engine bolt ready to go on rebuilds.

 

[Myles1970]

The only downside is the half dozen bits that I found afterwards
...... I've decided to hold off for a few weeks before I go back, if I don't have enough to make it worth the trip I might try diy

 

[Myles1970]

Organise this! This, believe it or not, is me trying to get the project into some sort of order...

I got some shelves from Screwfix and put them together tonight. Hopefully over the weekend if the weather dries up a bit, I can pull everything out, slot the shelves in somewhere, and get stuff up off of the floor....wish me luck

 

[pint]

good luck takes ages sorting sheds out in my experience but worth it cos more shelves, more room for junk no shed/barn/hanger is big enough

 

[Myles1970]

..... it's an improvement, I've got some floor space again and I've wrapped and stored all the bits I've painted.

 

[Myles1970]

At last, got a lick of paint all over the underside. I decided to hunt down any places where the paint hadn’t adhered and remove it. I then treated each of these spots as well as degreasing and keying the area from the axle back.



I intend to stone-chip it tomorrow as I understand that will still be within the 24-48hr wet-on-wet window.

I’m wondering if I should seam-seal, or will the Gravitex do the same thing? I’m reluctant to add another product (Tiger-seal) into the mix if I don’t need to…..?

 

[conor1n]

At last, got a lick of paint all over the underside. I decided to hunt down any places where the paint hadn’t adhered and remove it. I then treated each of these spots as well as degreasing and keying the area from the axle back.

View attachment 354363

I intend to stone-chip it tomorrow as I understand that will still be within the 24-48hr wet-on-wet window.

I’m wondering if I should seam-seal, or will the Gravitex do the same thing? I’m reluctant to add another product (Tiger-seal) into the mix if I don’t need to…..?

View attachment 354364

Not that i'm an expert, but i'd be inclined to use some seam sealer. They say gravitex can hold water, so i'd be inclined to want something between it and the seams.

EDIT: Looking goood! It must have been soul destroying to redo parts of the coating, but well worth it in the long run.

 

[Dcal]

Definitely seamseal it.
The gravitex will go hard so won't be able to take up any movement.

I don't like brush on seam sealer (or I haven't found a brush on I like) so I use pu sealer out of tubes.
Don't be tempted to make it all nice and invisible, you need a certain thickness of seamsealer so the panels can move without tearing the sealer.

 

[Myles1970]

Thanks lads, I was probably being lazy
Hopefully with temperatures in the shed still hovering around 15’c mark I’ll be operating in the ‘wet-on-wet-overcoating-without-having-to-scotch’ window

 

[Dcal]

Get the sealer on and then on with the gravitex, you will be fine.

The sealer absorbed moisture to cure so you can mist a bit of water to speed it up but I'd be cautious about doing that, a few hours and it will start to skin anyway..

If you are worried, give it another coat of epoxy.
Epoxy to uncured epoxy will stick better than a sticky thing.