Hi guys i have just finished welding in both fron seat belt repair panels, front jacking points and nearby panels. I have gave them a coat of rust inhibitor and was wondering what paints and where from to apply now? Thanks for any help and advice.
This is like 'which oil' to use, - a big fuss will entail however from my 10p's worth. What sort of Rust Inhibitor have you put on there? Normally I treat surface rust etc with wire brush etc clean it all up, then I use Bonda rust + Zinc primer http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/3312...1=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108&ff19=0 A lot depends where it is? If the metal is basically good around your welding and you have gone back to metal use 2PK etch primer , otherwise a normal Grey primer spray (2 coats), then a few top coats of your choice? I personally dont use 2pack top coat but Cellulose (you are not supposed to spray 2pack anyway until you wear a full kit for it), but either way I am old fashioned and prefer celly as its easier to touch in , blow in etc , but 2 pack is supposed to be tougher (yeah right, water based 2pack is soft as aftermarket alloy parts!) If its all bodywork underneath the chassis then you can use all sorts of over priced expensive (bilt Hamber and all the other products advertised on Practical Classics magazine etc) but honestly a few good coats of primer, 2-3 coats of Smoothrite (or Aldi cheaper version) then waxoyl or similar over the top, should protect it against our Winters. Keep checking it on a regular basis. Hope this helps - others will go on about all sorts of wonderful products but everything comes down to cost and how good a finish you want? If you want to win shows and put mirrors under your floorpan to show it off then you will spend about 60% of your time sanding and flatting everything down , in which case you need high build primers etc and umpteen top coats of high gloss 2 pack? So keep it simple and to budget , good luck with it and dont worry too much about which product read a few reviews online. Autopaints Brighton are pretty good at mixing up paint for you btw and they dont skimp on pigment like some others do. http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/ (online shop) Just an example - this is the floorpan from my Beetle with 1 coat of Smoothrite I painted in 1990 - no primer, been outside and inside garages all those years and never touched since! As you can see just only small surface rust creeping in here and there! Not bad for 25 years eh?
Main thing is to clean all the crap up so the paint sticks and not to have holes in your welding, then prime, seam seal and topcoat in that order.
Hi steve Is your van going to be going for a respray after you have finished all the the work or is it a diy keep it alive type bus? I only ask as this does determine the use of certain paints or not
