OK so in part 3
here I have really started to get stuck right in to the project. The
trolley is working out to be a god send. The only thing I can say
is with all the parts coming off you need to make sure you know where
they all go when you come to put the car back together. So over a
period of time I have been collecting small seal able plastic bags
for just this. Or you can just go and buy them from some where like
RS or the Supermarket. I only collected them as I use them at work
every day + they are Free.
All the parts coming off the
car must be bagged with a bit of paper in the bag to say what they
are. You might know what the part is now but in say 3 years time will
you remember what it is? or where it came from. It only takes a short
time to be tidy. I have 3 boxes all laid out. 1 for carpet bits rolled
up and the other for the parts as they come off and the last box is
parts I can clean while I sit in front of the TV in the winter. Mainly
chrome bits. This way it's all sorted.
The parts once you really start
to get in the mood to strip the car come off fast. Take as many photo's
as you go. The Digital camera is great for this as the pic's are free
so you can take 100's. Tip here when I did my 912 resto I took photo's
but only one of each item. When I came to put the car back together
I found that some photo's could have been taken at different angles
to help you. One or two photo's I took I just needed to see around
the oil can or some other thing that was just in the way. So take
more photo's
I am using the chemical stripper
to get the most off the car. A very messy job but it works I find
that the best way to get the best from the chemical is to really lay
it on thick. This is best as it really gets into the paint nice and
deep. When you do it thin it only does the top layer and not deep
down. Some people have said that cling film over the top helps well
it doesn't seam to work. Take the time to get every last bit of paint
off. It shows at the end result. I used wire wool with the last bits
and it worked well. Once the paint is almost off I use a grinder and
a carbon wheel to get the last bits off.
With these
if you hit an edge it just wears out the wheel very quickly. So keep
it away from edges and you will be fine. They cost about £7
each not cheap but very good. They really get the last bits out and
back to nice clean metal. Tip make sure you keep the grinder flat.
DO NOT try and use the tip of the wheel to get that last bit out as
it will leave a mark in the metal which you may if not filled right
show up after the paint is on.
When I take the cars right back
to metal I never like to leave the metal open to the elements for
too long so I use a product called rust cure and I wipe a coat on
that to seal it. I have bought a small portable compressor I do have
a proper compressor but it's pain to set up and clean etc etc this
little unit is ideal for small jobs where you can just load the paint
and paint away in the small area's you have got back to metal. It
is a B & Q Product that Hilka make on their behalf. It cost £48
and I went for this one as it was the only one with a metal gun. The
others had plastic guns.
It comes with 2 nozzles a 1.3
and a 3 the 3 puts the paint on like a bucket!!! so I used 1.3 It
is a HVLP unit and it really does cut out the over spray. I was very
happy to use the unit and it painted the 1/4 of the car in about 7-8
mins with about 1/2 pint of paint. I used a 1 pack etch primer. this
primer is high build and ok as a base for 2 pk paints. The best bit
about it is that you can cover the bare metal and it's not going to
rust. As long as you keep it in the dry and damp free conditions.
So now we have the dust coat
on half the roof and the rear quarter of the car. I also started
to strip the inside of the car as well. This has shown some rust
in area's where the padding from the factory has keep the damp in
and the metal is showing this. Lucky I have caught it in time. The
floors are looking OK but in some area's they look weak so I am
thinking of replacing the floors more on that later. Here are some
of the tools I used to strip the car back and the paint and compressor.
See Part 4 when I paint the rest of the
car as one whole job.
