It looks like new, wouldn't you agree?! Now that the grand reveal is out of the way I will back up a bit and explain the painting process. This was a steep learning curve for me and I would be lying if I said that I wasn't a touch nervous entering into it! For some considerable time I have been mulling over the best method and almost gone down the foam roller and brush route (I kept my receipt, so I can take all those particular items back to the shop). Foam rollers would have been straight forward and simple, but that is not what this project is about! Having asked for advise on the Volkszone forum I opted to spray using a HVLP gravity fed gun with a 2.2mm nozzle. I opted for a cheapo Sealey SSG501 that I picked up off eBay and I also added an additional water trap which mounted to the inlet (I already had the regulator laying around):
My painting paraphernalia:
Thanks to Dangerman who loaned me the use of the adjoining garage to spray in, it would have been near impossible to do it without this space! I thoroughly cleaned the area out so that there was no trace of dust that could be disturbed by the spray gun and end up in my fresh paint! To get the paint to the right consistency for spraying it needed to be thinned by about 20%. For the first layer I mixed up far more than I needed as I had no clue how far the stuff would go, but for the additional coats I only mixed up 720ml (300ml comp A, 300ml comp B and 120ml of No 17 thinners):
A little time-lapse of the first layer going on (unfortunately the camera didn't capture the very beginning):
The best inter-layer adhesion occurs before the previous layer fully cures, so I waited 3 days before adding the 2nd coat and a further 3 days before the final coat. The 2nd and 3rd coats were more challenging to apply as it is obviously not as easy to see the areas that have been freshly sprayed versus those that have not. Requires a bit more focus and strategy, but in on reflection I think I did a pretty good job for my first time! ...and relax!
Spent an eternity stripping the temporary primer and grime off of the chassis in preparation for the top coat of Mastic 121. It is hard to stress in words just how time consuming this was - the big flatter areas obviously get stripped relatively fast, but that can be deceiving as it is all the nooks & crannies that become the vortex of time! Here is a breakdown of my pre-paint bare metal process:
stripped what I could easily get at with the drill-mounted wire brush and an angle-grinder mounted poly abrasive disc (< this was a true godsend!)
masked up the all the chassis orifices and shot blast the hard to reach areas
keyed everything with 80 grit sandpaper to create a suitable roughened surface for the paint to bond to
Tack clothed the entire area to remove debris particles
Thoroughly panel wiped the chassis to clean and degrease
Applied FE-123 into any pitted areas of steel to neutralise any lurking residual rust
Once the FE-123 had hardened/blackened I sanded back those localised areas to remove excess
Blew entire area over with compressed air (including inside the chassis tunnel for good measure)
Final tack cloth & panel wipe all over until no trace of dirt was detectable on the rag
So here is the naked result of my boundless endeavour (NB: these were taken just before I applied the FE-123 because, despite being necessary, it made the chassis look less shiny and presentable);
The next post is going to be epic. The chassis will finally get a lick of sumptuous semi-gloss black (truth be told, I have already sprayed the first layer and it looks pretty damn sweet - but that is a story for another post)...
Recently took an epic detour to pick up a new set of 62-67 Klassic Fab heater channels. Far from cheap, but the pressings are crisp and the detailing is top notch (finished by hand I am told). The closest thing to brand new period correct channels that are currently produced anywhere in the world:
Threw them on the pan for a quick test fit:
All the bolt holes line up wonderfully, but I think that the passengers side pan might be slightly out - hoping I can resolve this further down the line when I am aligning the body. I hope...
