Ouch! Sorry to hear that. Only now have I discovered how much sanding needs to be done at this stage so I feel your pain. Hopefully the gym shield does the trick for you! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hi James, clenched teeth; know that feeling well. Its difficult to know when and where to stop with panel prep and I expect the majority of finished repaired panels will show some imperfections if you happen to catch them at the wrong angle and light. I am told light colours are more forgiving in this respect. As mine is a slow burn project I am working on the premise that it is better to get the exposed metal epoxied early and accept that there will be some more filling and flatting after primer/guide coat, which should show the contours better. Your roof and gutters are looking good and what a great workshop with lots of height for working overhead.
Cheers Martin. Yeah I’m just after a van we can make good use of hopefully next summer so would rather see it on the road than aiming for perfect panels. Any imperfections I can see on the doors are only really visible if you look directly along the panel. They’re miles better than what we previously had anyhow. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
A busy weekend saw the cab doors and sliding doors into high build primer. That’s everything primed now and I can start rubbing the primer down! No doubt some bits will need further work but I think that’s to be expected.
The paint prep continues! I’ve been making my way round the van with 240 grit to see where we’re at. Rear corners and rear end are fine bar a small area to the right of the N/S light aperture which needs some fine filler to bring the level up a bit: Front end, front arches and B pillar are good to go over again with 400 grit as they look bob on (apologies for the back lit pic): The large side panel has some lows which need further filler work and a re-prime but it’s not far off at all (the epoxy primer under the high build is a slightly different colour which makes it easy to know when to stop): Similarly the N/S rear quarter has some lows that need filler and a reprime but isn’t far off. I’ve been using Proworx Silk as my fine filler. Lots of people rave about Dolphin glaze, but I’ve found it a nightmare to work with as it doesn’t sand very well, the silk stuff still goes on very smoothly but sands sooo much nicer. Cab doors and sliding door tonight!
I’ll know for the next project! This whole thing has been a massive learning curve but it feels like I’m close. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Both cab doors and the sliding door rubbed down with 240 grit tonight. The O/S cab door needs a dab more filler in one spot, the N/S rubbed down ok but is a little thin in areas where I’ve rubbed down to the epoxy so I’ll re-prime both doors. The sliding door doesn’t look so great, I’m not sure why I primed it as it needs further filler work in a lot of areas. I’ll re-fill and re-prime this too. Tomorrow’s job will be to rub down the roof and the remaining rear quarter and then that’s everything initially rubbed back. Slowly Slowly.
level to detail is all yours , if its not right in your eyes its not right , that is why restorers are so good its all in the details
Extremely diligent James, and I am super impressed that you can even mention the words "next project" when trudging through this tedious phase. Looking forward to seeing the colour coats when you are 100% happy with the prep and primer.
Hi James, another James here! Your restoration work is fantastically detailed - well done. Mine is coming on slowly but surely, it's currently totally stripped of nuts and bolts and sitting on my Jig while i work on replacing various panels. Iam at the stage where iam going to take it to my local 'Metal Finishers' for Glass bead blasting the underneath, engine bay and inside floor panels. I have already bought 2 Litres of Bilt Hamber Electrox Zinc Rich Primer and they will spray the areas that they blast. Once i get it back i will make sure no other rusty or holed bits exist before i seam-seal and hit it with Rustbusters Epoxy Mastic 121 - luckily they do a colour that uses the same RAL code as my van!. Then Raptor under the wheel-arches. So, you have obviously done tons of research as i have but would value your opinion about my plan? Also, would 2 Litres of Electrox be enough for this? Can you remember how much you used? Thanks James
Baja bug next for me! This stage is pretty mind numbing to be honest. I’ve got time booked off at the end of the month to hopefully get the colour on but I think I’m going to have some long nights before then! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sounds like a good plan to me. I’m glad I got the underside blasted as the thought of doing it by hand for weeks on end doesn’t appeal! That sounds reasonable to me quantity wise. I think I got away with 1 litre to do the underside with 2 coats on ours but it had no cargo floor pans or floor supports so less to paint. I think next time I’d just raptor over the entire underside as it looks like a great product. I’ll be underbody waxing ours anyway so it should have plenty of protection. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Another long weekend spend sanding sodding filler again! I’ve had to correct some minor imperfections on both cab doors, the rear hatch, the sliding door, the large side panel and both rear arches (so basically the whole van!). I’ve got some further work on the O/S rear arch to do tomorrow night then I’ll re-prime it all later in the week. I’ve got a day booked off either side of the last weekend of this month which is my target date for getting everything painted. If I’ve not got the filler and primer work perfect this time it’ll have to do as realistically I reckon that weekend will be my last chance to paint before it starts getting too cold. I’d rather have the van ready for next spring and have a few minor paint blemishes than spend another summer with the van stuck indoors!
There has to be a point where enough is enough mate otherwise you’ll never get it done and as you say it’s getting colder and damper quickly. With your attention to detail and the amount of time you have put into the prep it will be a far better finish than most vans out there. Also remember they weren’t spotlessly perfect when they left the factory They got pulled through a bath of primer then were blown over in top coat.
