Sticky ? Paint ,panel repair thread? Can we do bodywork experts please???

I know this is a question a few of us ask and get great replies so can we build a definitive guide into general spraying and panel repair guide / patch spray/ touch up

Can one or two of you paint heroes start a new thread and we the get it made sticky at top of this section

 

im a painter if you have questions

would be a bit of a saga to write it all out to cover all jobs

theres some good youtube vids to give you an idea too

 

I thought you were but you've seen Niges thread club gti is all about knowledge and love manlol
When your bored or got some time share a bit of your knowledge and love
I won't be all down to you we get plenty of experts on here to help us wiling divs
Your help is great and just thinking we can make a great guide with the help of guys like you

The same goes for anyone else reading this please contribute then we can edit it into a top club gti guide

The thing is with the age of our classics we all need a bit of bodywork owners as well as carslol

 

prep
first off wash down the panels with some soapy water and rinse well , then wipe with panel wipe and clean rags

rub down your old paint /scratches etc with 180-240 on a block ...take your time its all in the prep , never prime or paint over shiney paint

rust

remove as much rust as possible with wire wheels , sand blaster , dremel etc ..i dont really like rust lotions and potions they dont work well , but bilt hamber deox gel is a rust remover that works with repeated applications

primers

any bare metal will need etch primer or epoxy so that the primer sticks to the metal , then in most cases 2-3 coats of high build primer on top to level the surface ..once dry mist on some matt black , this will act as a guide coat to reveal any chips or deep scratches , sand with 800 wet until its dead smooth with no blemishes , it may be that you need to add more primer and sand again

further prep

if it was a local scratch /rust repair then the rest of the panel needs prep, a grey scotch pad with water can be used to key the remaining clear coat , or if you wish to colour the whole panel 800 wet is fine too

paint

okay so now you have a panel with no remaining shine, all trims and handles are best taken off so no masking edges

panel wipe again..wet the panel with a wet cloth and immediatley dry it with another , do not let it dry on its own

tack cloth the panel to remove any dust /lint

solid colours like a direct gloss red /white etc -apply 3 coats approx 15 mins apart

metalics - apply colour over the repaired area until covered , once covered flick away into the scoth padded area so that it fades away , after 15 mins or so it will be dull , carefully tickle over the panel with a tac cloth to remove any overspray on the blend area

DO NOT SAND THE BASE COAT - MOST COMMON MISTAKE

straight away on with the clear coat - 3 coats 15 mins or so apart ( never leave the car in base coat , clear needs to go on asap )

polishing

if the paint job isnt mega shiney or has dust specs etc you can carefully tickle it with 1500-2000 wet paper , then buff up with farecla g3 or a polish that you like- do this a week or more after painting

 

Good write up.

 

some other thoughts and tips

masking tape - cheap stuff will ruin your day , clipper or 3m brand is good stuff

metalflake.com can have some bargains and is free postage

upol branded acid etch #8 and high build are avail at halfords and are a reasonble trusty brand for the diyer

sandpaper ..try and use a good brand like 3m , poundland stuff isnt great

once the car is in primer it really needs to be kept dry and painted asap , dont be driving around for weeks in the rain and wonder why it failed

rattle cans always work better if stood in a bucket of hot water first

theres a recent new thing that is 2k /2 pack aerosols ...so similar quality to what a bodyshop would use and far more durable , they have a button underneath to activate the mixture , theyre harder to find and a little dearer but worth considering if you want it to last - make sure they have the button underneath as some dodgy sellers include 2k in the description when its not

terminolgy /paint types on mk2 era cars

plain colours like red , white ,black were whats called direct gloss - so like it sounds the paint goes on and is shinney with no need for clear coat

the mettalic ones where whats called base and clear ...so a mettalic base coat that goes on dull then clear laquer to make the shine

for underbody /unseen area - the best affordable product i have found is jotun jotamastic from ebay , their grey is a good match to the orig grey used and its tough as old boots over cleaned up scabs or welded repairs , apply 3 coats by brush , then if required brush on some upol grey strip sealer with a 1/2" brush that youve cut the bristles short on

 

T-cut > nuff said.

I'm no expert but whenever I see pictures of damaged bodywork I hear people say that T-cut will fix it

Hope that helps lol lol

 

What do you do if you get some runs in the paint when using metallic basecoat? Also, is it safe to use the 2K spray cans, ie do they have isocyanate?

 

if you get runs or whatver let it dry off and sand them smooth then re base coat it - really you shouldnt be lashing on basecoat so heavy that it runs just nice even meduim coats , remember it wont shine thats the clear coats job

maybe i should re word as - dont sand the final coats of basecoat

isocyanates..yes some of the cans will have it , have a read and make your own mind up , lots of people including the smart repair vans will be using stuff like that with a good mask , id be inclined to say yeah painting a small diy job once in a blue moon will be okay in a vented area , but again make up your own mind on that ...shouldnt really be using any paints in the middle of a housing estate either but hey ho

 

If I was going to paint my whole car do you think it would be best/easier to do it panel by panel eg mask off the front wings etc and then spray the bonnet, or could/should I do all the panels at once?

 

how are you doing it ? cans or do you have a decent sized compressor ?

rattle cans you wont be able to do the whole car at once so yeah i guess you would have to mask bits off one a time

only concern is mettalics can look differant if you spray one panel wetter than another , differant temps , distances etc so far from ideal

 

I've got a small compressor(2.5hp, 24ltr tank, 8cfm IIRC) and a Sealey gravity feed spray gun. I've already used it to respray my Mk3 Golf but it didn't go to well ie I made DIYer mistakes like getting runs in the basecoat, letting the basecoat dry before clear coating, sanding the basecoat to get the runs out then not recoating before putting on the clear coat. Now the clear coat has cracked/crazed, but I think that was an issue with heat cold in my garage. Anyway I'm keen to redo my Mk3 and also the front wings on my Mk4 need replaced due to rust, common fault, plus other paint faults so looking to do a complete respray on that to. Hence the questions.

 

hmm yeah okay , not really big enough to get round a whole repaint

if i had to make do , i would prob split it up into roof , bonnet , tailgate , then do a whole at a time

anything thats cracked will need sanding right off ...possibly cheapo clearcoat thats caused it

 

Yeah the poor little compressor was running near enough constant. LOL.

I think the problem with the clear coat was the temperature in my garage and that I didn't leave enough time between coats. It wasn't cheap stuff, it was Upol, but 1K clear, maybe not ideal for full respray, just SMART repairs. I didn't want to use 2K, thought it too dodgy as I couldn't get enough ventilation. Anyway thanks for the info/advice.

 

blending

you may have seen cars where theyve had a new wing and it looks terrible , spraying mettalics can vary the colour /shade by air temps , spraying distance and so on

so to make the new wing match the door you need to blend the door

strip the trims off the door and use a grey scotch pad to key the door ..make sure its dull all over

prepare the wing as per other posts

now either paint the wing on a stand (in its orig upright position) or fit to the car and mask off the already masked door so that you just base coat the wing , carry on basecoating until its fully covered

once the new panel is covered unmask the door and tac cloth it ...apply a coat of base coat along just the front edge only , then once thats dry mist another light coat over the front edge flicking the colour towards the rear of the door , the idea is so that you will have fresh colour at the front fading into the original , stand back and check its not streaky or patchy , mist some on if need be

let that dry for 10-15 and then carefully tac cloth it and apply clear coat to the door and wing

 

fade out /spot repair /smart repair

ok lets say you want to only paint the corner of a bumper

prepare and prime the bumper corner as per the other threads , decide where you want the clear coat to end lets say in the middle of the bumper

take some farecla g3 and polish and clean the bumper beyond that area , then grey scotch up to the middle area

base coat the end of the bumper as normal , then clear coat just the end for the first coat , 2nd coat go a bit further , 3rd coat go up to almost the middle where the scotch brite area ends , then immediatly take some fade out /blending thinners and mist over the end of the clear coat , with practice the thinners will melt the rough paint edge into the polished area

heres a video that shows what i say ...and those standox spray max are ace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlYmVel74fk

[video=youtube;JlYmVel74fk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlYmVel74fk[/video]

 

Excellent info, much appreciated, and yes those spraymax cans look superb. Video was good as well, even though I can't speak german. LOL.

 

Just a thought PB - what do you think of using the Jotun top coats, solid colours of course. I mean if its good enough to protect the steel hull of a boat, then why not a car. I recently used some of their deck paint, and it went on beautifully, and was as tough as old boots.

 

yeah best watch with the sound off lol

 

ive never used thier top coats , i bet its ideal for suspension parts and stuff , not sure if its workable for sorting out runs and orange peel etc on the bodywork