| Painting Your Mini 1 |
| A
guide to the basics. (pictures coming later)
Always bear a thought before you use a car as a 'Donor'. As time goes by now, all MINIs will start reducing in number.-, - how many Cortinas have you seen recently? Could a little bit more effort not save two MINIs? Make sure you have everything ready before you even contemplate starting to paint. The most important tool you will need is self-discipline. |
| Basically, car painting can be done either by hand or by spraying. While excellent finishes can be achieved by hand, we nowadays more generally use some form of spraying. Done well, it can represent the very best in car finishes, but done badly it represents the very worst. |
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There are mechanical spray guns available but please do not expect good results. Using a mechanical (electric) gun means a great deal of rubbing and cutting and polishing will be necessary to achieve good results. ********************************* This is the basic equipment needed to spray well:-
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The main prerequisites in obtaining a good finish are to:- |
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| a. | have everything ready in advance |
| b. | work cleanly like in an operating theatre |
| c. | make a campaign plan - write it down, allow for things that could go wrong - as they probably will. |
| d. | make notices telling people what is happening and warning against smoking - remember during spraying the air is highly charged and can ignite, also you want no interruptions, or anything causing draught or dust. |
| e. | have strict self-discipline. Don't accept anything less than perfect. |
| f. | have high expectations. |
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Each of the following subjects will be gone into in more depth in time |
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| Preparation |
| The final paint work will be what people judge your restoration by no matter how wonderful you have done the metal-work. Surface preparation is at the very least just as important as the painting. Whenever possible, it is preferable to go back to bare metal unless the existing paint is first class, because new paint on top of old can hide many future problems. |
| Masking |
| Masking is THE
most important part of preparation. A good job done here reflects in the
final look of the car. Many a good paint job has been ruined by skimpy
masking. Remove everything from the car that you possibly can. The more
the better. Things like repeater flashers, bumpers, wipers etc being the
main things which spoil a car, as forever, there will be an edge where the
paint doesn't quite match up to the fitting and/or there is a gap which
flakes, lets in water and destroys your finish. A good example of
this is the little windscreen washer valve which is too tiny to mask
properly and usually sits in the middle of a panel (sometimes the
bonnet.) It only takes a few seconds to remove. Stick masking tape under
the hole it comes out of.
Once everything has been removed get a lump of newspaper and screw it into a ball and push it through the hole from the inside, just proud of the hole this ensures the over-spray does not go through and make a mess. With a good spray gun. Do this with all openings like headlamps etc. You will be amazed how much over-spray does go through a tiny hole. Stick a piece of masking tape on the inside of bolt and screw holes. In the big areas, such as the boot and the bonnet, place a length of masking tape just under the edge of each opening, then take two or three sheets of folded newspaper and press it against the free half of the tape. Build up the newspaper by sticking more sheets to each other with masking tape, (remember to seal it so there are no gaps) until you have built up a mosaic which covers the whole area. This means you can spray, getting all the channels covered neatly without covering the inside of the compartment. Don't skimp by trying to use bigger sheets of paper - it doesn't work properly. The fact that you have bulit it up does use a lot of tape but by the time you have done all the spraying and rubbing down it will have been soaked with paint over-spray and water and will have formed a good strong barrier. In the case of the doors, open the doors and mask all the inner and outer glass and the interior trim, in this same way. Then remove the rubber seals around the doorframe and again put masking tape right around the opening and fill it in as you did with the boot and engine bay. You should still be able to open and shut (not close) the door. If you are spraying a MINI and want the roof a different colour, then treat them as two separate jobs. Do the roof first. Stick masking tape to the outside of the guttering leaving about half of it to stick the newspaper to. Again make sure that each piece overlaps and is taped to its neighbour. When you come to paint the rest of the car the roof should have dried. Then cover the roof with papers gently and roll up some paper and tuck it gently into the roof guttering to secure it. It is not necessary to use masking tape now which could possibly mark the new paint.
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| Fillers |
| Fillers get a bad
press, but used properly there is definitely a need for fillers. Don't
however use filler as a repair. It doesn't repair. It just fills! -
after you have removed the dent. There are many
different types of fillers to get the surface perfectly smooth before
the application of paint.
Ensure that whatever you decide to use is compatible with the type of paint you intend to use e.g., cellulose and enamels do not mix, in fact they react quite markedly. It is vital to ensure that the filler you use is applied smoothly without tidal marks and each application should be rubbed down with P100 to P150 grade wet and dry paper then sanded with P180 to P240 grade, using either a sander or by hand. If you use your hand obtain a rubber block to wrap the paper round otherwise your fingers will just follow the dent. You may need to go through this laborious procedure time after time to get it right. But any time spent now is more than paid for in the final result. In car painting nothing is gained by using heavy quantities of anything. Always remember less is best except with thinners. |
| "Lead" Loading |
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The solder you can buy now contains NO LEAD but the method carries the old title. The material used in my Volvo example is 'Tinman's Solder' and is 60% lead and 40% tin. You can get it in other mixes, 50/50 or 'Body Solder' which is 70% lead and 30% tin. This is my favourite way of filling. It is a very old method used by the coachbuilders to get their beautiful finishes and is well worth trying.
I have seen an old coach builder at work and although it was excellent work, he still needed to sand it afterwards. So will you. But be careful to treat is a poison which it is. I have no experience of the latest 'unleaded' version although I have some to try. I am told though that it is very similar to work with. I use my spraying mask, as it is very effective. Even though you have sanded you may find that there are be some imperfections, then use a high - build primer filler. Although with practice you WILL get better. To see this operation look at the Volvo restoration, |
| Etching Primers |
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These are similar to ordinary primers except that they contain an acid which helps to cure surface rust and also gives a key to the paint. |
| Primer Surfacers |
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Primers are the first coat to be applied in the build up up of coats for the finishing of the paintwork. It is usually grey, but it is a good idea to tint each coat so that you can tell one from another and for the inexperienced it gives you a better steady coating of paint without getting it all on one place. You should rub down each coat applied with 200 to 300 grade wet and dry. By doing each coat a slightly different shade as you rub you will see the various colours shewing through. |
| Hints & Tips |
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