Nick DV
"That's the only name they ever gave me."
- Messages
- 1,673
- Location
- "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...."
Excellent
He certainly shows how easy it can be, even with basic tools.
- Thread starter conor1n
- Start date
He certainly shows how easy it can be, even with basic tools.
conor1n
Member
- Messages
- 559
- Location
- London/Ireland
Excellent
Exactly. A bit more achievable for me, I think, with a little practice.
I will say that Trev's Blog is amazing too, but it feels nearly exotic how goes about it and not something I could probably achieve without investing in tooling.
conor1n
Member
- Messages
- 559
- Location
- London/Ireland
Ok, so I know I said I wouldn't update on this - but I ended up taking pics, so here goes.
First job was to close up an area that had rusted between two seems. Here are some pictures from before, to jog memory.. Cleanup with with wire wheel and treated with Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80..
Then just went about welding it back together.. A tall order, given a lot of the stuff had been rusty, which lightened it up really.. I got there in the end though..
Following that was the "last welding job" to be done!!
Fill in the little hole in roof, where the aerial went.. I wanted to weld it for a good permanent solution. I welded it from the inside, so the end result wasn't proud on the outside. I think it turned out ok, as there are a few small little gaps that will help the filler bite into..
Fits like a glove....
End result, on outside...
First job was to close up an area that had rusted between two seems. Here are some pictures from before, to jog memory.. Cleanup with with wire wheel and treated with Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80..
Then just went about welding it back together.. A tall order, given a lot of the stuff had been rusty, which lightened it up really.. I got there in the end though..
Following that was the "last welding job" to be done!!
Fill in the little hole in roof, where the aerial went.. I wanted to weld it for a good permanent solution. I welded it from the inside, so the end result wasn't proud on the outside. I think it turned out ok, as there are a few small little gaps that will help the filler bite into..
Fits like a glove....
End result, on outside...
conor1n
Member
- Messages
- 559
- Location
- London/Ireland
...And that's a wrap on the welding side of things...
Next logical step is paint but it's too cold for that. Over the next month, I plan on doing all the other things that can be done separate to paint..
If I was to make a list it would be.
* Engine - Service belt/pulley, clean up block rust, paint. Paint inlet manifold etc
* Exhaust - This post outlines my plan for the exhaust - make it a bit stealthy - may or may not happen to be honest, but I'd like to hide the asbo looking twin tips..
* Brake calipers - Front and back need to be rebuilt with new seals. Fronts need painting. More Hammerite smooth black for them.
* Drive shafts / Gearbox - Inspect, refurb any parts that need them.
Once the above are done, the weather should be less harsh for paint.. at which point I can start doing smaller bits of trim / doors / bonnet etc, and see how things go.
Next logical step is paint but it's too cold for that. Over the next month, I plan on doing all the other things that can be done separate to paint..
If I was to make a list it would be.
* Engine - Service belt/pulley, clean up block rust, paint. Paint inlet manifold etc
* Exhaust - This post outlines my plan for the exhaust - make it a bit stealthy - may or may not happen to be honest, but I'd like to hide the asbo looking twin tips..
* Brake calipers - Front and back need to be rebuilt with new seals. Fronts need painting. More Hammerite smooth black for them.
* Drive shafts / Gearbox - Inspect, refurb any parts that need them.
Once the above are done, the weather should be less harsh for paint.. at which point I can start doing smaller bits of trim / doors / bonnet etc, and see how things go.
conor1n
Member
- Messages
- 559
- Location
- London/Ireland
Quick update after the weekend.. The weekend was kinda slow :grimace.
I have been taking stock of the break situation and also the driveshafts, along with other bits and bobs I need to collect in the UK next week.
* The driveshafts actually look good. I tried out my paraffin blaster with some brake cleaner and it did a really good job. All I need do now is clean up the rust, paint, then re-add grease and reseal the boots. :+1
* Brakes. A little bit sorry looking. Front caliper pistons are shot along with the locking pins and brackets. Thankfully these all come in a set, so these have been ordered.
* The rear calipers are all there... every last piece of the puzzle. There are a lot of pieces to it, but I know what most of the parts do and where they go, so once I start rebuilding, should be good.
* The engine isn't in bad shape. Next time i'm out, i'm going to lock up the cams, remove the cambelt, clean up the rust using BH Deox gel and cling film + heater. Once the rust is off, I'm going to blast down with the brake cleaner, heat the block and paint it with black enamel.
I was able to crack off the ABS rings and don't need to replace as there is no ABS on this car :OMG
Did I say the pistons were shot...!
These need paint.. Hammerite smooth black will do.. cheap and cheerful!!
Do I need them all... ?
Never mind the braided line that is chopped. These are being discarded and be replaced with a fully braided line coming from chassis somewhere.
I have been taking stock of the break situation and also the driveshafts, along with other bits and bobs I need to collect in the UK next week.
* The driveshafts actually look good. I tried out my paraffin blaster with some brake cleaner and it did a really good job. All I need do now is clean up the rust, paint, then re-add grease and reseal the boots. :+1
* Brakes. A little bit sorry looking. Front caliper pistons are shot along with the locking pins and brackets. Thankfully these all come in a set, so these have been ordered.
* The rear calipers are all there... every last piece of the puzzle. There are a lot of pieces to it, but I know what most of the parts do and where they go, so once I start rebuilding, should be good.
* The engine isn't in bad shape. Next time i'm out, i'm going to lock up the cams, remove the cambelt, clean up the rust using BH Deox gel and cling film + heater. Once the rust is off, I'm going to blast down with the brake cleaner, heat the block and paint it with black enamel.
I was able to crack off the ABS rings and don't need to replace as there is no ABS on this car :OMG
Did I say the pistons were shot...!
These need paint.. Hammerite smooth black will do.. cheap and cheerful!!
Do I need them all... ?
Never mind the braided line that is chopped. These are being discarded and be replaced with a fully braided line coming from chassis somewhere.
conor1n
Member
- Messages
- 559
- Location
- London/Ireland
Hi Mate, for some reason just noticing this post here now..! Hope the multi process unit is working well for you.
Many thanks for your offer, I might very well take you up on that some day
conor1n
Member
- Messages
- 559
- Location
- London/Ireland
So guys, i've become fairly bad at updating this build.. which is also similar to the overall progress.
Things have been tough the last few months.. only being able to attend my workshop unit at weekends really has taken it's toll... to the point that I have found a new place which will make things a mega amount easier (closer to home, 24/7 access)..
Things should really pick up now.. and i'm going to get this done
Anyway..
Current update involves:
* Driveshaft tidy up and paint. Need to grease up and get new straps for the covers, possibly new covers for CV joint.
* Rebuild the brake calipers. Rear was a pain as it has incorporated parking brake..
Things have been tough the last few months.. only being able to attend my workshop unit at weekends really has taken it's toll... to the point that I have found a new place which will make things a mega amount easier (closer to home, 24/7 access)..
Things should really pick up now.. and i'm going to get this done
Anyway..
Current update involves:
* Driveshaft tidy up and paint. Need to grease up and get new straps for the covers, possibly new covers for CV joint.
* Rebuild the brake calipers. Rear was a pain as it has incorporated parking brake..
conor1n
Member
- Messages
- 559
- Location
- London/Ireland
(Crap finish on the front calipers I know... I messed them up with touching up as the original coat was nice and glossy.. I might try and fix them up a little later, but they are fine for now.)
The learning I have taken from this caliper refurb is that painting by hand is a major pain really. Next time around i'll have my spray setup all good and I will do etch + base + 2k clear..
The learning I have taken from this caliper refurb is that painting by hand is a major pain really. Next time around i'll have my spray setup all good and I will do etch + base + 2k clear..
conor1n
Member
- Messages
- 559
- Location
- London/Ireland
Hi all..
Are you still there? I am, anyway!
Apologies for the delay in responding .. I basically took the entire summer off from work to work on this and get it progressed somewhat. I have hardly been on a computer but did manage to snag some pics along the way.
Over the four months I managed to complete the following tasks. Initially I thought I had done a lot less (and was hard on myself for that..) but from my photo log it looks like I got a lot more done.. Hurrah!
Here is a quick overview.. in the coming days i'll post the photos and more detail.
* Prep and paint the underside of the car with Epoxy 2K mastic.
* Built a makeshift paint booth - which has turned out to be quite good at keeping the dust out!
* Prep and paint engine bay
* Prep and paint [ spoiler, doors, bonnet, boot, bumper front+back, side skirts, mirrors ] inside and out. This included a lot of guide coated block sanding HB primer and filling etc.
* Prep and paint inside of the car -- major PITA!
* Install front + rear subframes and wheels, to allow the car to roll again - easier to paint when not on jig.
* Various other bits along the way, such as cleaning up bits of trim etc.
Phew, that's a lot more than I thought I had done. I don't feel as bad now. I didn't think I would ever be finished with block sanding the panels if I am honest.. that took a lot of mental energy.
Before I go any further I would like to warn you if you are ever thinking about it.... Properly changing the colour of a car is a massive amount of work. Not only are you painting 2x the surface area of the exterior but prepping the intricate bits (inside) such as doors, bonnet, engine bay, cabin etc.. is a massive time sink. I suppose I went overboard as I really didn't want to see any blue once the job was done.. because my OCD would highlight it every time I look at the car.
Are you still there? I am, anyway!
Apologies for the delay in responding .. I basically took the entire summer off from work to work on this and get it progressed somewhat. I have hardly been on a computer but did manage to snag some pics along the way.
Over the four months I managed to complete the following tasks. Initially I thought I had done a lot less (and was hard on myself for that..) but from my photo log it looks like I got a lot more done.. Hurrah!
Here is a quick overview.. in the coming days i'll post the photos and more detail.
* Prep and paint the underside of the car with Epoxy 2K mastic.
* Built a makeshift paint booth - which has turned out to be quite good at keeping the dust out!
* Prep and paint engine bay
* Prep and paint [ spoiler, doors, bonnet, boot, bumper front+back, side skirts, mirrors ] inside and out. This included a lot of guide coated block sanding HB primer and filling etc.
* Prep and paint inside of the car -- major PITA!
* Install front + rear subframes and wheels, to allow the car to roll again - easier to paint when not on jig.
* Various other bits along the way, such as cleaning up bits of trim etc.
Phew, that's a lot more than I thought I had done. I don't feel as bad now. I didn't think I would ever be finished with block sanding the panels if I am honest.. that took a lot of mental energy.
Before I go any further I would like to warn you if you are ever thinking about it.... Properly changing the colour of a car is a massive amount of work. Not only are you painting 2x the surface area of the exterior but prepping the intricate bits (inside) such as doors, bonnet, engine bay, cabin etc.. is a massive time sink. I suppose I went overboard as I really didn't want to see any blue once the job was done.. because my OCD would highlight it every time I look at the car.
conor1n
Member
- Messages
- 559
- Location
- London/Ireland
Following the chronological order of my photo log.. next up I went pulling at the engine to see what was what. My intention was to time it up and have it ready, but it turns out the timing was either a) nicely off .. or b) the engine had aftermarket cams fitted. I'm still not entirely sure how to determine which case it is, so this job is still outstanding.
Anyway, I pulled a few more bits, gaskets etc and had a look. Nothing major to report, but I took the pics .. so here you are
I never realised the sheer amount of gaskets on an engine even this basic. I priced them all up and gaskets can get expensive. I am going to re-install most of these and see how I get on. But I do have some already purchase which will be replace, such as water pump etc.
I have new plugs too.
Here is the timing setup. I have new pulleys (mostly) and the belt. I just can't figure out what's what with the timing. I wonder am I better safe than sorry and just open the rocker cover to check for any hints.
To make matters more confusing.. I have a dyno printout for 192 BHP on the car.. (stock about 172), leading me to believe it has been cam'd and mapped.. but supposedly stock engines can actually put out this power. :/
You can also see the block is kinda clean.. In around the water pump was quite rusty but now it's clean. When I have the timing gear et al off, I am going to give the block a lick of black engine paint.. just because.
I think that is the solenoid to advance the timing when the revs get high.. yea it's like Honda VTEC and it is fun! I also dropped some engine oil in each cylinder and turned the engine.
Anyway, I pulled a few more bits, gaskets etc and had a look. Nothing major to report, but I took the pics .. so here you are
I never realised the sheer amount of gaskets on an engine even this basic. I priced them all up and gaskets can get expensive. I am going to re-install most of these and see how I get on. But I do have some already purchase which will be replace, such as water pump etc.
I have new plugs too.
Here is the timing setup. I have new pulleys (mostly) and the belt. I just can't figure out what's what with the timing. I wonder am I better safe than sorry and just open the rocker cover to check for any hints.
To make matters more confusing.. I have a dyno printout for 192 BHP on the car.. (stock about 172), leading me to believe it has been cam'd and mapped.. but supposedly stock engines can actually put out this power. :/
You can also see the block is kinda clean.. In around the water pump was quite rusty but now it's clean. When I have the timing gear et al off, I am going to give the block a lick of black engine paint.. just because.
I think that is the solenoid to advance the timing when the revs get high.. yea it's like Honda VTEC and it is fun! I also dropped some engine oil in each cylinder and turned the engine.
conor1n
Member
- Messages
- 559
- Location
- London/Ireland
Prepping the underside for paint. Quick photo dump, self explanatory.
I used this product, also from Rust.co.uk. It's quite good I think. I rinsed down with clean water. And then prior to applying the mastic I wiped the underside down with brake cleaner, to remove any possibly crystals that might prevent adhesion.
Now, for the Epoxy Mastic .. I wanted to apply to it to metal as much as possible, except the factory underseal, which was still in impeccable condition and probably better than anything I could achieve.
So I used a woven wheel to remove the paint from the sill area of the car as I planned on covering that with the mastic, as it would be more resilient than paint, and will be covered by the sills.
All paint areas cleaned up.
Not going to lie, this part was all very therapeutic for the first 20 minutes anyway.. the following 2 hours got a bit monotonous...
Quick before / after .. the underseal harboured dirt and grease..
Scrubbed up well, eh!?
I also have some Bilt Hamber cavity wax that I will use once the car is fully painted. I will then close off any holes (previously closed) with 3M foil tape.
I also went around the car with Upol grey stripe seam sealer and sealed up any areas that had been exposed or had the OE sealer lifted due to rust or whatever. I thought I messed up by putting this direct to metal.. but thankfully the tech sheet says that is fine.
I used nearly a whole tin!..
I used this product, also from Rust.co.uk. It's quite good I think. I rinsed down with clean water. And then prior to applying the mastic I wiped the underside down with brake cleaner, to remove any possibly crystals that might prevent adhesion.
Now, for the Epoxy Mastic .. I wanted to apply to it to metal as much as possible, except the factory underseal, which was still in impeccable condition and probably better than anything I could achieve.
So I used a woven wheel to remove the paint from the sill area of the car as I planned on covering that with the mastic, as it would be more resilient than paint, and will be covered by the sills.
All paint areas cleaned up.
Not going to lie, this part was all very therapeutic for the first 20 minutes anyway.. the following 2 hours got a bit monotonous...
Quick before / after .. the underseal harboured dirt and grease..
Scrubbed up well, eh!?
I also have some Bilt Hamber cavity wax that I will use once the car is fully painted. I will then close off any holes (previously closed) with 3M foil tape.
I also went around the car with Upol grey stripe seam sealer and sealed up any areas that had been exposed or had the OE sealer lifted due to rust or whatever. I thought I messed up by putting this direct to metal.. but thankfully the tech sheet says that is fine.
I used nearly a whole tin!..
conor1n
Member
- Messages
- 559
- Location
- London/Ireland
... Once cleaned up, I needed to mask up the car and any areas I didn't want painted.. that included all the wholes in the shell. Took a while!!
Then I got to apply some paint! First time ever using a spray gun!
I really like the finish, if I am honest!
Then I got to apply some paint! First time ever using a spray gun!
I really like the finish, if I am honest!
conor1n
Member
- Messages
- 559
- Location
- London/Ireland
I built a paint booth! I kind of had to.. the factory unit I was using really is dusty and I was certain to get a garbage finish if I didn't make some attempt to prevent dust settling on the fresh paint.
Future me: This worked really well and was extremely good at keeping the dust off. I painted some stuff one Thursday and the following Monday I ran my finger over a panel and no dust came off.
So in the factory there was some structural steel fittings that I used to fix some rope to, to create a support that I could use to drape some builders film onto.
I then used some timber to roll the plastic around at the bottom in order to hold the sheets in place. The seams are also taped up with silage tape!
Also in this picture, you can see the front section can be rolled up and supported on the 2x1 fixed to the steel beams. A makeshift door.
Here is how the booth looks today. Here you can see the taped seams, and also where I fitted some filters (for intake) which are filtering the intake from a custom made fan box using household fans. Honestly the fans are fine on their own but not strong enough to push through the filter. I borrowed another fan from somebody else which sucks everything from the booth and is very effective. That does mean negative air pressure which is undesirable, but I have still had good results.
I also added some lights. The light is still crap in there.
Also, I pour soapy water on the floor prior to each paint session to reduce dust and sweep it around and into all the corners etc. The soap in the water breaks the surface tension and helps the water flow and absorb the dust.
In the early days, this was how I extracted fumes and it worked quite well. In hindsight this would have been totally fine going forward. Especially since I would put the fan box on the ground, and roll the door down to sit on the box.
It does get a little cloudy sometimes when spraying clearcoat, so the extraction can be better.
Future me: This worked really well and was extremely good at keeping the dust off. I painted some stuff one Thursday and the following Monday I ran my finger over a panel and no dust came off.
So in the factory there was some structural steel fittings that I used to fix some rope to, to create a support that I could use to drape some builders film onto.
I then used some timber to roll the plastic around at the bottom in order to hold the sheets in place. The seams are also taped up with silage tape!
Also in this picture, you can see the front section can be rolled up and supported on the 2x1 fixed to the steel beams. A makeshift door.
Here is how the booth looks today. Here you can see the taped seams, and also where I fitted some filters (for intake) which are filtering the intake from a custom made fan box using household fans. Honestly the fans are fine on their own but not strong enough to push through the filter. I borrowed another fan from somebody else which sucks everything from the booth and is very effective. That does mean negative air pressure which is undesirable, but I have still had good results.
I also added some lights. The light is still crap in there.
Also, I pour soapy water on the floor prior to each paint session to reduce dust and sweep it around and into all the corners etc. The soap in the water breaks the surface tension and helps the water flow and absorb the dust.
In the early days, this was how I extracted fumes and it worked quite well. In hindsight this would have been totally fine going forward. Especially since I would put the fan box on the ground, and roll the door down to sit on the box.
It does get a little cloudy sometimes when spraying clearcoat, so the extraction can be better.
conor1n
Member
- Messages
- 559
- Location
- London/Ireland
Ok so next up is painting the engine bay. I honestly cannot show you any pics of my sanding or prep work, because honestly it was so mentally challenging to do initially, that I don't want to re-live it by posting pictures and explaining. Just know that I was OCD about it. I scuffed and sanded about 90% of the painted surface, with most of the surfaces gone back to metal.. just because. There were some very intricate places that I could not get into. If those areas flake, I am fine with that.. by the time everything is installed you won't be able to see.. not mention that I couldn't even see when the bay was bare and couldn't get my hands in.
I painted with Epoxy Mastic (acts as a prime) .. then base coat, followed by 2K clear.
Following that I went and painted the interior of the boot lid. I wanted to try my hand at painting an actual panel.
All nicely scuffed. I don't recall priming this panel. I don't think it needed it really. The main reason I am priming all the exterior panels is that some needed priming and I didn't want any colour mismatch. This panel is on it's own, so it's fine. The panel was scuffed with a maroon pad and I wanted to see how it came out with just that scuffing. It was fine for the most part, I was happy with it. But later on I went to much higher grades for the exterior panels.
I painted with Epoxy Mastic (acts as a prime) .. then base coat, followed by 2K clear.
Following that I went and painted the interior of the boot lid. I wanted to try my hand at painting an actual panel.
All nicely scuffed. I don't recall priming this panel. I don't think it needed it really. The main reason I am priming all the exterior panels is that some needed priming and I didn't want any colour mismatch. This panel is on it's own, so it's fine. The panel was scuffed with a maroon pad and I wanted to see how it came out with just that scuffing. It was fine for the most part, I was happy with it. But later on I went to much higher grades for the exterior panels.
pedrobedro
Man at Matalan
- Messages
- 12,937
- Location
- CX near Chesterfield
Cracking on with it, looks good
