Respray

[csjcarolyn]

I am seriously thinking about respraying my Berlinetta [probably spring.ish next year] and would appreciate as much advice as possible. For example, what type of paint to use[cellolose/two pack/....] and any little problems I might encounter before I start, forwarned is forarmed. How to prevent the ek coat lifting in heavy sun light [do you remember that?].

Can anyone suggest a good manual which includes spraying and glass fibre repair techniques?

The aluminium panels are generally so poor I intend stripping to the metal and spraying with self etching primer, any thoughts here?

As with all Berlinettas, I presume, the door panels are breaking up where the forward window channel meets the door panel, I was thinking of introducing a gusset at these weak areas, any thoughts?

The build manual mentions to leaving a 2mm gap between the bonnet panel and the hinge to prevent paint to paint contact when the bonnet is opened BUT it still makes contact. I have fitted 3 socket cap bolts exactly opposite a flange socket bolt on the other panel, one at each end and one in the middle, now the bonnet rests on these three socket caps and all appears fine. However, has anyone made bonnet stands for the Berlinetta?

My side lights are in the headlights. I would like to get my indicators in the existing side light pods, does anyone have any information on how this might be achieved [how about diodes?]?

Hope you can help.

[gaddbrose]

Re: Respray

Hi Roger.According to the painting man who gives me advice, he reckons it is a waste of time and money to d.i.y. Nowadays ,paints seem to change their spec. quite often. It used to be 2 pack done in a ventilated bay with a heated period at the end to harden off the paint, which would be very difficult to produce this envirament in the back garage. We have an excellent chap near us , and I could not hope to match his work, so although, it will be expensive,I have to go to the expert everytime.
Regarding your cracking doors,check the condition of the hinges. They hold the only grease points on the car, and they do need regular sevicing, otherwise the hinge seizes up, and everytime you open the door, the locked up hinge transfers all rotation to the metal work in the door, and eventually the metal fatiques and cracks. Just a suggestion.. regards Brian.

[macdonald.dm]

Re: Respray

Hi Roger.

Paint types - I understand cellulose is pretty much redundant these days, due to - I'm guessing - the solvent used. Most paints now are acrylic, especially DIY stuff. 2-pack is VERY toxic (cyanide...) and you'll need full face mask with air supply.

If you do 90% of the prep work, you'll save a lot of money. It might then be worth getting a pro to actually apply the paint, as suggested above. 2-pack is certainly the superior product, setting by chemical reaction to form a very tough finish. It is also 'thicker', and should cover any SLIGHT marks below such as from less-than-perfect wet 'n' drying!

I personally don't think there's any particular advantage in going back to the bare metal, unless the marks/scratches actually penetrate to the metal in the first place. Just do what's least work to get to a perfectly smooth finish!



As for your indicators, there are a few things to consider. Firstly, do you have side repeaters fitted? If not, then I think you'll find that the existing lenses on the wing lamps are too 'flat' and won't provide enough of a SIDE view for an indicator lamp. So, you'd either have to replace these lenses, or else fit side repeaters.

Then there is the actual wattage of the lamps used. I understand the existing side lamps are 5 watt, but an indicator needs to be 21w or similar. A standard filament lamp of this rating gives out a lot of heat, and this would certainly cause problems IF kept on for any length of time. However, as you know, indicator lamps are only 'on' for around half a second at a time, with an equal 'cooling off' period in between, so you might get away with this! But, you'd have to actually trial this to see if it gets too hot. IF you find you can get away with using this type of filament bulb, and IF you have side repeaters, then I guess you could simply fit readily-available orange-coloured indicator lamps straight into the side lamps.

LEDs are a good idea as they don't produce significant heat and last much longer. However, the problems with side-view is still there, and you'd also have to add 'shunt' resistors so's the indicators flash at an acceptable rate (without them, due to the much lower current consumption of LEDs, your indicators would flash very slowly - if at all).


Where is this 'breaking' of the door panel? Do you mean where the actual window FRAME joins the door? If so, I understand this IS a common problem. However, once fixed (welded) it should last a good number of years again without problems. If you can fit an unobtrusive gusset, then fair enough - it's bound to help!

[andy4]

Re: Respray

Spotted this on a rare visit from the Roadster part of the Forum ....

You can still get cellulose - have a look on e-bay - theres a company who will supply you 5 litres of paint and thinners for £60 - find me a pro who will paint your car for that :-) I did my roadster panel by panel in my back garden - the finish is not bad if you are prepared to spend the time cutting it back. Rubbed everything down to bare metal + fibreglass, sprayed it all with etch primer, then normal primer and finally a nice thick couple of coats of cellulose. You won't beat DIY for price, but count on a couple of weeks worth of solid hard work full time. If you have the time it will save you a fortune, but allow for the cost of primer, paper etc etc I used an orbital sander £20 from machine mart to take the old paint off ( the sanding papers cost more than the tool in the end ). For spraying I used a £20 clark gun from machine mart and a small compressor from B&Q - about £50 if I remember. Get a decent mask - about £20. So you can see you can easily paint the car for £300-£400 even if you buy all the tools - you will still have them for the next job or you could e-bay them ....

Of course it helps if you are stipping the car down, but I reckon I could remove all the panels from my roadster in a weekend and put them back on in another weekend ....

[andy4]

Re: Respray

Regarding your manual question there is a Haynes Bodywork manual by Lindsay Porter I think - again you will find it on e-bay ....

[csjcarolyn]

Re: Respray

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Roger