Cheers Tatty. I used a roller apart from awkward areas, like the vents and engine bay. I'm still not getting the perfect finish I want but that might only come with flatting back and polishing at the end. Which I don't know if I can face doing as today was a 'I can't sand another thing' day.
Chrome? Too much vino my dear? It's old filler and rust. With some cool striping which could have been on the original bus, as it came out the factory white.
Ha ha! That's not as silly as it sounds. At a certain distance it looks like landscape mural. The neighbour was convinced I'd painted mountains and hills on there. The rust and mould added some nice colour.
When you see the shine starting to come through whilst flatting and polishing it really lifts the spirit
That's the thing, I've read a bit about it but I just don't get it. It seems simple and I know it must work but I don't understand how. It's one of those things that I think I need to see someone else do before I can grasp it. Out of interest, what affect would T cut have instead of flatting and polishing?
Tcutting will have some effect but it's an abrasive paste applied with a soft cloth so will remove paint from the peaks and troughs in the surface of the paint. Flatting with very fine paper removes more of the peaks left in the surface by the brush or roller creating more surface area that's actually flat so helping to get more shine when the polish goes on.
Crackin' resto thread, and huge admiration for just having a go and learning on the fly. Will enjoy following this one
I rewired the back lights as the earths looked a bit worn. And the bus had started to not like me using too many electrical things at once, as I found out when I needed headlights, window wipers and then used the brakes one night. The rear seams needed a bit of filler so I decided to fill it in all the way, as I think it looks nicer. Bought new rear light seals. Driver's side fitted fine. Passenger side, not a chance! I thought it just must be because I'd bought some cheap ones. So I decided to refit the old least split seal. Nope that didn't fit either. What was I doing wrong?! Luckily I'd kept the really split seal that came off the awkward one. Refitted to see if I could work out why the new one wouldn't fit, and it started to become clear. Someone had welded a piece of metal at the bottom of the light cut out. Which not only made it too thick for the seal to fit over but it also made the hole too small. Hence why they'd split the seal open all around the bottom to fit. So I started to grind it back millimetre by millimetre, fit seal, remove seal, grind some more etc etc. You can see how thick the middle and right hand side were compared to the left.
Yep, that makes sense, why T cutting wouldn't be as effective as flatting and polishing, thanks. I think I'm going to have to ask a mate just to show me how it's done, because I just can't picture in my head why it works. And as just the thought of yet more flatting back makes me shudder, I want to do it right the first time.
Filling the seams isn't your best idea Millie. The filler is likely to crack. This is why you would normally keep the seam clear of filler then apply flexible seam sealer to seal the join just before painting. Just saying before you get carried away and de-seam the whole bus.
Cheers Scrooge! I've done a fair bit of decorating so I thought the principles must be the same-ish. And I've painted a scooter with a pot of gloss from B&Q so I'm virtually over qualified.
Yeah I realised that after I'd done it. So I won't do anymore, which is a shame as it does look better de-seamed. Thanks for the heads up anyway.
Ace job! I've only just discovered this thread, you'll be able to publish your own Haynes Manual when you're done. With regards to polishing, I have always used this paste for polishing, it's good by hand or polishing machine. Smells nice too...
I've just hand painted the front of my bus with rustoleum and it looks 1000% better than it did. I had a quick go at flattening the paint with Zed's polishing machine and merrily polished my way down to the undercoat so I slapped another couple of coats of paint on, refitted the lights etc and went camping. I suppose I'll have to have another go at colour sanding and polishing eventually but it can wait till the weathers warmed up a bit first. Make sure you take plenty of pictures when you do yours so I'll have something to copy.
The roof looks great, quite in your face purple but, I like it and all the time and effort has paid off!
I'll be able to publish a manual on what NOT to do! But thank you. I'll have a google of that paste, cheers. Is there much difference between hand and machine polishing? I could probably borrow a machine, if it was recommended... and easier.
