5 replies to this topic

[DavesBluey]

I have got a fibreglass smooth single skin bootlid in a black gelcoat to fit soon. How do i go about rubbing down, and what primer and paint should i use on it?

Also, does anyone know where i can get some MG Trophy Blue paint from to colour match it. All i can find at the moment is some touch up pens on Ebay which are no good, i really need it in cans. Halfrauds dont seem to do it either. I am willing to bet one of my local garages would most likely charge a fortune to spray it for me, thats why i thought i would give it a go myself.

[minimadjonesy]

find your local paint supplier and they'll mix it for you! you can then have it in large spray cans or in a tin!

[DavesBluey]

have you ever had this done yourself? any idea (ball park) how much i would be looking at? Could they match it by paint code (dont know what it is) or a chip from my car? Ive got one kicking around because my era back bumper has a crack in it.

[THedooBZ]

i have had paint mixed before i had it done at halfords purely for conveinence.
just take your paint code and they can mix it, most paint supplier can do this aswell

when i purshaced my paint it was
£10 for rattle can
£15 for half litre
£25 for litre

these may have changed and to be honest a paint supplier would more than likely be cheaper but i dont know.

if you go to the place you wish to have the paint mixed you may not even need to paint code, the first time i had any done the guy in halfords looked on the computer for the colour i just had to tell him the make/model/year and name of colour and they found it, the same will aplly for other colours.

[DavesBluey]

when it comes to a paint code i may have problems. the car is a 1970 and was originally black. The guy i bought it from had it sprayed, which HE told me was, MG Trophy Blue? a few years ago. I have parked it next to a couple of newer MG's in Trophy Blue and mine looks a bit darker, unless its because it was sprayed over black and maybe not prepped properly?

So any ideas if they could match it without the paint code?

Anyone got any ideas on the prep work??

[cooper_shaz]

it is not really any different to painting metal

Key the surface of the fibreglass panels, use p600 wet and dry until you have no shiny surface left.

Clean the panel down with panel wipe, or similar

Then paint with etch primer

The secret to painting is patience. Don't try to cover the area in one coat. Spray on several light coats, perhaps six or more, to build up a drip free primer coat that completely covers the old surface. Follow the directions on the paint can, especially those about shaking and mixing the paint before and during use.

If you do get runs dont worry too much, leave it overnight to dry and then lightly sand them out with
p600 and use soapy water on the surface (stops the paper clogging)

You don't have to allow each coat to dry completely. You can recoat the primer as soon as the previous coat become tacky. If you spray light coats, you can recoat in ten minutes. After about an hour of this, you should have the primer coat done. It should completely cover all the surface, and it should have a uniform appearance.

This is when you find out how well your filling and sanding really worked. Any little imperfection in the surface will now be very visible. Now wait 24 hours for the primer to dry.

Give it a quick sand back with the 600 paper and lots of soapy water (washing up liquid is fine for this)

After that prime it using the same technique as above and a quick sand when it is all done
then clean the surface down and your ready for paint.

For metallics use similar technique as above for painting (just light coats) you dont want to get runs in it.

then clear laquer, keep the first 2 coats light as if they run it will show inthe metallic particles.
these 2 coats will seal the paint, then the subsequent coats you can apply the laquer a bit heavier so you just start to see a little bit of reflection in it.
Once you have several coats on it, leave it a week to dry, you can then flat it down (look at my guide for getting the shine on your paint) and polish
Click here

hope this helps