4 replies to this topic

[liam_italian]

Hi
As some of you way be aware i am in the middle of repairing my mini sportpack, and before i arrive at the spraying stage i thought id better do a little research first!

So what is the best way to spray / treat my panels to help guard again rust in the future? ive heard some people mention zinc primer, POR15 etc etc

[minivanman]

Dont know what other people do, but heres how I do it. If the panel is bare then por15 it. If its not bare and the paint is good (ie new panels) I CBA to strip them so I give it a couple of coats of red oxide, seam seal any welds, spray it with stonechip, then paint it in gloss black. The underside is where you need to pay most attention to because thats where it gets most abuse. I havent got round to painting any panels topside yet, so I'll let somebody else comment on that.

[clubminiflip]

for the underside & interiour i'd do this! i dont know how far your along with your resto but any panels that are to be welded make sure the weld joint surfaces are bare metal'd, use a wire brush on a drill & scotchbrite pads, then coat the joints with weld-through-primer & weld away,

once you've welded her up, clean the welded joints again with a wire brush on a drill, or by hand, be super-meticulous,
then be sure to coat bare metal areas with etch primer then once dry go over that with a rust preventing primer such as hammerite number1 rustbeater or davids zinc rich primer (black & yellow tin)

use seam sealer now on any welded joints and panel seams, cracks n crevice's, coat over the seam sealer once dry withsome more rust preventing primer

over that put a decent quality anti-stonechip paint like gravi-tex or hammerite anti-stonechip, put a couple of coats of this on

paint over that with either 2-pack topcoat if you have the facilites, or hammerite in a colour as close to what your car is or just do it black gloss or satin/matt black

por15 chassis black is a good topcoat too!

once the top coat is dry spray clear waxoyl in all the seams, panel joints, nooks & crannies & over the hole surface

hope this helps a little, if you want to know a bit for the exteriour i'll put some of that up but i think there is an article about that on here somewhere

Edited by clubminiflip, 07 February 2007 - 01:47 AM.

[cooper_shaz]

Hi Honey..

I'm Back.....!!!

Basically as above....

For a new body panel I take off the black delivery paint on the new panels..

POR 15 them then prime with a zinc based primer..

and areas to be welded use a weld through primer.. these are the bits that are most likely
to rust..

A good quality seam sealer applied carefully to any joins etc seals tem up ready to paint..

pay particular attention to the back of the wings and the joins, and also the join of the A panel to the pillar.. Use the seam sealer here too and this is the rust hotspot.
stones get thrown up and water gets in..

Dont go over board with the undercoats either, too much is not good either as it can crack and peel trapping water underneath.

paint guide above covers most of this..

I am just about to put a new front end on my cooper sports pack..
should complete it for next week, will take pics and stick them up here..

[liam_italian]

Chhers for all the advice so far guy's, and yeah progress pics would be good!