5 replies to this topic

[joedaud]

hi all, I'm about to embark on a repaint and resto of my mpi. Unfortunately I dont have a garage so will be doing all the work under a car port . With this in mind I'l be doing a panel at a time so as not to leave metal exposed for longer then necessary. I'l be using rattle cans, the u-pol gear from halfords. I'd love if someone could clarify for me the priming steps, I'm mad confused with all the reading I've done on the topic!
After I have the panel back to bare metal do I ,
1. use metal ready or another type of metal conditioner, then etch primer, then high build
2. not bother with metal conditioner as etch will do the trick
and also I've read conficting views on when filler should be used, some say onto bare metal others say over the high build as there is no metal protection when its used on bare metal? I'd really appreciate if someone could clear this up for me,
cheer folks,
David

[jonny d]

hi there right I used the upol stuff expensive but very good paint, start off with bare metal fill onto that sand and keep it dry (no water) spray a light coat of acid etch onto all bare metal and filler let dry and then cover with the high build giving it plenty of coats so that you can flat sand any imperfections out get it as smooth as pos but not polished as you have to have a key for the top coat thats how I did mine and it came out pretty good the high build is very good for sanding and if you rub through just etch and high build again ok hope this helps

[joedaud]

hi jonny cheers for the reply, I know that a lot of folk say to put the filler on to bare metal but whats protecting the metal under the filler then? is it possible to put any filler needed on top of the high build? if its jsut a light coat of etch i presume 1 can will do the whole exterior but how many high build can do you reckon I'd go through?
David

hi there right I used the upol stuff expensive but very good paint, start off with bare metal fill onto that sand and keep it dry (no water) spray a light coat of acid etch onto all bare metal and filler let dry and then cover with the high build giving it plenty of coats so that you can flat sand any imperfections out get it as smooth as pos but not polished as you have to have a key for the top coat thats how I did mine and it came out pretty good the high build is very good for sanding and if you rub through just etch and high build again ok hope this helps

[devilpaint]

put the filler directly onto the bare metal, if you put filler over primer & use rattle cans, the paint is so thin (so it can be propelled through the nozzle) it runs the risk of soaking under the filler & reacting with the primer.

as a pro painter(retired) i wouldnt want to embark on a full respray using aerosols-but i can see why people do it.
i'm about to paint my shell & have ordered 2 litres of 2-pack top coat. i would say 1 litre (mixed 2-to-1 with activator) is normally just enough to paint the outer shell of a mini. i have not used halfrauds cans, so dont know what the coverage is like, but i would imagine you're going to need at least half a dozen cans of top coat alone to cover the outer shell. the key is to take your time, prep is everything-get that right and the painting is the easy bit. if you do get runs leave them for a day to dry out properly then flat them back with a rubbing block & fine wet & dry, then repaint.

feel free to pm me if you get stuck.

[Shifty]

Are you planning on bare metaling the entire shell before painting it?

If so then then theres usually no need, as long as the paint is in good condition then it should just need a flat back and blend in smooth.

Its possible to get a fairly good finish with rattle cans as I know people who've done it..

Any bare metal needs to be treated with etch primer and if you're buying this in rattle cans then its gonna get expensive!

Also etch primer really shouldn't be used over filler either. A little overspray isn't anything to worry about but don't use it as primer over the filler.

As already said the rattle can paint is thin and will show up poor prep work, Use some primer filler to help blend and smooth the repairs.

[joedaud]

thanks folks, I wasnt sure weather I had to take it back to bare metal at first, but there is tiny bubbling everywhere in the existing paintwork along with rusted areas and some cracking of paint along the a pillars. the interior seems fine bar some small rust ares on the roof so i wasnt going to bare metal the interior where possible. its the original paint job but the car was under a car cover for a couple of months , I dont remember the tiny bubbling there before that ?
I'm not planning on taking the whole car to bare metal in one go as I dont want to leave it exposed , so I reckon I could do sections at a time. the top coat is going to be rustoleum combicolor applied with a roller! I can see the shaking heads now haha. Now I'm investigating wether primer can be applied with a roller also ?

Edited by joedaud, 14 March 2011 - 08:48 PM.