12 replies to this topic

[Deathrow]

I'm going to be starting my project, again, in a few weeks time but once again a garage has proved to be impossible to find. As a result of this I'm probably going to be carrying out all the work in my back garden. Now my question is whats the best way to minimise the work of the red devil?

I was planning to sand back the current surface for any work I need to do, lets say to remove some surface rust, then I was going to etch prime and paint with red oxide. How does that sound and how much protection will that give the metal?

Secondly, if I'm going to use a rust converter to be safe, such as Kurust, do I apply that before or after an etch primer?

Lastly, to minimize the effects of the weather outside I was planning on getting a double bed fitted sheet, soaking it in oil and letting it drip dry, leaving the sheet nice and oiled but not dripping. This would cover the car and then a waterproof tarpauling would cover that. I can't think of anything else that would help except maybe a tray of cat litter inside the car to absorb airborn moisture.

Any help or suggestion are taken in to account, no matter how bizare.

Thankyou.

[T.Harper]

gazebo?

I'm doing this in July as our garage is far too small, even for a mini, so I'm thinking of making a temporary lean-to at the side of the house. Maybe something to consider. Need to check with neighbours first though, but should be pretty cheap to make with a few bits of timber and corrugated plastic - doesn't have to be air tight, just to keep rain off.

[Deathrow]

gazebo?

I'm doing this in July as our garage is far too small, even for a mini, so I'm thinking of making a temporary lean-to at the side of the house. Maybe something to consider. Need to check with neighbours first though, but should be pretty cheap to make with a few bits of timber and corrugated plastic - doesn't have to be air tight, just to keep rain off.

Thats a very good idea, i'd need to get a full 4 walled gig though as none of my houses sides are particularly exposed like that. I'd suggest to you the oily rag trick aswell, my dad swears by it. Its a shame they don't make big plastic skips, could just throw that over the top of it, haha.

[panelbeaterpeter]

No need to apply rust killer unless you have rust! if you do, apply it straight to the rust. Alot of rust killers etch the metal as well, thus eradicating the need for etch primer, read the label. Etch primer then an aerosol paint would be fine, but not primer as it's porous and soaks up moisture, so it will start rusting again in no time. Make sure whatever you use, is sprayed as opposed to brushed, to make prepping easier later on down the line. the sheet soaked in oil is a terrible idea. Oil causes serious chemical reactions with paint, it would make it an absolute nightmare to paint the car later on. Don't use a car cover, as they sweat, which will cause the paint to micro blister if there is anywhere for moisture to creep under. The best thing would be to leave it in the open so it's ventilated, but with some shelter around it.

[Deathrow]

No need to apply rust killer unless you have rust! if you do, apply it straight to the rust. Alot of rust killers etch the metal as well, thus eradicating the need for etch primer, read the label. Etch primer then an aerosol paint would be fine, but not primer as it's porous and soaks up moisture, so it will start rusting again in no time. Make sure whatever you use, is sprayed as opposed to brushed, to make prepping easier later on down the line. the sheet soaked in oil is a terrible idea. Oil causes serious chemical reactions with paint, it would make it an absolute nightmare to paint the car later on. Don't use a car cover, as they sweat, which will cause the paint to micro blister if there is anywhere for moisture to creep under. The best thing would be to leave it in the open so it's ventilated, but with some shelter around it.

So if I have some surface rust and I grind back to bright metal, is there anz need for rust killer? I was thinking just in case there was one little spot lurking that I'd missed with the grinder.

If I were to intending to use one of those nice paint/rust stripping discs from Frost to prep before painting would i be ok to brush the paint on? Just I'm thinking it might be cheaper that way, especially since effectively all this paint will be waste. And I'm to put paint straight over the etch as a temporary measure until I'm ready to paint the whole car?

For shelter I'm thinking a gazebo might be the best idea now, if I got one that was a little bit bigger than the car and made sure it was nicely weighed down, this should be sufficient?

[Retro_10s]

Seriously, The cost of paint equipment saved when brushing is tiny, especially when you realise you need VERY good quality brushes. You can get the paint and an HVLP electric spray station (so it doesn't need a compressor) (Earlex, Silverline or Apollo) all in for about £80 if you keep an eye on prices.

My 'leccy HVLP cost £30 and the paint for my car will be £52... if i was using 1k paint it's be even cheaper. So.. it's up to you really... but not only will spraying be quicker... but it'll look better with less work,.. and of course.. you get more paint on the car to protect it, nice uniform finish, and learn a valuable skill too.

Edited by Retro_10s, 15 May 2008 - 08:12 AM.

[Deathrow]

Seriously, The cost of paint equipment saved when brushing is tiny, especially when you realise you need VERY good quality brushes. You can get the paint and an HVLP electric spray station (so it doesn't need a compressor) (Earlex, Silverline or Apollo) all in for about £80 if you keep an eye on prices.

My 'leccy HVLP cost £30 and the paint for my car will be £52... if i was using 1k paint it's be even cheaper. So.. it's up to you really... but not only will spraying be quicker... but it'll look better with less work,.. and of course.. you get more paint on the car to protect it, nice uniform finish, and learn a valuable skill too.

Retro, I think you may have misunderstood but I value your input highly after reading your various threads on painting. This paint is not for the final finish, it's just to protect it while it's outside and I'm still working on it as opposed to leaving it bare metal and coming back to find fresh rust every morning.

However, I already have an air compressor and a paint gun, so may aswell just throw some cheap paint in that at the end of each day and give any bare metal a coating. I suppose the good thing about that is it will allow me plenty of practice with the paint gun so that I can get a better finish when I do the final painting.

What type of paint are you using Retro? I'm wanting to do my final spray in Imperial Blue but I'm not sure what types are availiable in this colour.

Edited by Deathrow, 15 May 2008 - 09:05 AM.

[stormduck]

Ideally i'd want a meter extra all the way around the car, with adjustable legs. That way if the weather turns horendous you can lower the thing to stop water coming at the sides, and the extra cover allows you to be under there in the rain as well. Do they do one with adjustable legs?

[Deathrow]

Ideally i'd want a meter extra all the way around the car, with adjustable legs. That way if the weather turns horendous you can lower the thing to stop water coming at the sides, and the extra cover allows you to be under there in the rain as well. Do they do one with adjustable legs?

Even if they don't, it wouldn't be so hard to cut the bottoms of the legs off, get some more pipe of the same size, cut a slit in it long ways and use it as a join with a clamp or the like.

Sounds like this is whats going to happen then unless my dad has found a garage out of thin air by the time I'm back in the UK. I don't think it'll affect the end product though, which is all I'm worried about. I want some nice bodywork that I can look after and not have to tear down to bare metal every few weeks.

[MiniDick]

I've had to do most of my stuff outside and I went down the gazebo route and the wind destroyed the thing. No matter how much you try to strap it or weigh it down a gust will pull it out the ground.

[Deathrow]

I've had to do most of my stuff outside and I went down the gazebo route and the wind destroyed the thing. No matter how much you try to strap it or weigh it down a gust will pull it out the ground.

So what have you come up with as an alternative?

I might see how much it would cost me to build a metal framed hut with a plastic sheet roof or something.

[panelbeaterpeter]

No need to apply rust killer unless you have rust! if you do, apply it straight to the rust. Alot of rust killers etch the metal as well, thus eradicating the need for etch primer, read the label. Etch primer then an aerosol paint would be fine, but not primer as it's porous and soaks up moisture, so it will start rusting again in no time. Make sure whatever you use, is sprayed as opposed to brushed, to make prepping easier later on down the line. the sheet soaked in oil is a terrible idea. Oil causes serious chemical reactions with paint, it would make it an absolute nightmare to paint the car later on. Don't use a car cover, as they sweat, which will cause the paint to micro blister if there is anywhere for moisture to creep under. The best thing would be to leave it in the open so it's ventilated, but with some shelter around it.

So if I have some surface rust and I grind back to bright metal, is there anz need for rust killer? I was thinking just in case there was one little spot lurking that I'd missed with the grinder.

If I were to intending to use one of those nice paint/rust stripping discs from Frost to prep before painting would i be ok to brush the paint on? Just I'm thinking it might be cheaper that way, especially since effectively all this paint will be waste. And I'm to put paint straight over the etch as a temporary measure until I'm ready to paint the whole car?

For shelter I'm thinking a gazebo might be the best idea now, if I got one that was a little bit bigger than the car and made sure it was nicely weighed down, this should be sufficient?

You could apply rust killer if you're worried there might be a little spot left, wouldn't do any harm.

In answer to the other questions, yes, and yes.

[Deathrow]

Thankyou Peter and everyone else .