My First rebuild - 110 station wagon

Windscreen frame with 2k laquer



Boot floor. I put some rubber matting in to protect the pain from all that was stored in the back. Pulled it up the other day and the oaint came up with it. This was the final nail in the coffin for the cellulose paint.


Both inner wheel arches now refinished in 2k laquer. Still the floor to do but not a priority at the minute. That's rain btw, not runs in the laquer!

Also fitted the windscreen, no pics of the process but found it quite easy. Tbh I do have the frame removed and reckon that is definitley worthwhile. I went for the 'seal on the glass THEN into the frame' method. Turn frame/glass upside-down, sit rubber over lip on frame, work it in with a plastic pushbike tyre lever. Don't like soapy water or fairy liquid anywhere near my rubbery bits. Instead I smothered it all with tyre soap which I thought a lot better. It seems to condition the rubber and not damage it.

Wow after all that work and the end result you achieved it must have broke your heart to sand it all off!. Hats off for tearing back into it and never give up on it, the first drive in it makes it worth all you put in. Good luck for the respray and look forward to seeing the end result.

Thanks, it was easier ripping into it than I thought. I'd pondered it for a couple of months, thinking I was less than halfway through so there was still a good reason to start again, it was better than doing the whole thing THEN starting again.

Can you tell us about the cellulose paint? What brand, or anything else written on the tin? Just so I can avoid it in future! Doesn't sound suitable for exterior use on a vehicle.

I don't like to rubbish companies on the net so I'll pm you. It may well have been my application techniques but I did my research, used a reputable supplier, spoke to them over the phone with my exact requirements and expectations and trusted that the product they supplied was appropriate for the job. I may be an experienced painter but I've very little experience of using cellulose so I do take some responsibility for the outcome. That said, if you scroll back through this thread to when I painted the roof, I acheived a good result in poor conditions with cellulose from my local supplier, and I did also paint the bulkhead at one point in cellulose RAL3001 from another local(ish) supplier and good a good result although that was an industrial purpose paint, just not the colour I was hoping for. You live and learn and the most important thing is - I'm so happy with the new finish its completely made up for my doubt in the whole project over the last few months and even catapulted my enthusiasm to finish it.
I've also had a very unexpected kick up the arse from my little brother aswell who took away the pain of sanding the old paint off by doing most of it for me. That's part of a long blurry family tale I won't bore you all with though!

It should set harder than that for use on cars though. Whether you spray it or wipe it on with your fingers! It's the chemical reaction that hasn't happened the way you want it.
Unless it's the sort of thing that needs baking in a kiln harden it off perhaps? But then they wouldn't market it as car paint, surely?

Well done, mate. It's looking superb. I think what you have gone through is very natural and to be expected. I know I had wobbles when restoring mine. Unless you are very lucky or just a perfect engineer, electrician, mechanic, painter, welder, etc you are going to hit snags and set backs. In a job that's possibly going to take a few years these can hit you hard. The light at the end of the tunnel can seem a canny long way away and when you hit a snag it can start to fade. Good on you for sticking with it. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished vehicle standing in the sunshine, with some good luck maybe next summer.

I've been thinking about what I can do about the paint on mine. It looks OK from a distance but close up you can see the scratches and it's starting to lift on the roof around the seams and gutters. The thought of having to strip it all off if and start again if I'm not satisfied with the finish has put me off starting in the first place! A full professional job can cost thousands and I'm not quite ready to give up and go for a brush or roller finish.

It really is easier than you might think, unless you have no idea about anything whatsoever. From reading some of your posts on other subjects I think you will be fine.

The reason people DIY with cellulose is because of the cost of the proper PPE/equipment for doing 2K I always thought. If 2K was not lethal then everyone would use that, as it's a much better and more durable finish.

I think I'm going to go down the road of having local spray shop do the panels in 2k as I go which will A spread the cost, B avoid me having to spend out on all the expensive gear and C save time. Only snag is ensuring they all come out the same colour, but hopefully the controlled conditions in a spray booth should see to that.

If you were doing a lot then it would probably be worth investing in the kit, but by the time you've got a second compressor (unless yours is a monster you won't run a spray gun and air-fed mask off one), extra filtration, and the masks you've spent a pretty penny so for one-off jobs it makes it unviable in my opinion.

That said, if people have found cost effective ways of doing it (properly) I'm all ears!

unfortunatley, that's the sticking point. There are non-ISO 2k laquers out there but I've never tried them. I never spray inside, always outside in the garden in the week when all the neighbours are out. I've had a good ingestion of this evil sh1t before and it really does get to you.

I've sprayed with 2k a couple of times, only small things and had plenty of ventilation but still not happy doing it. I had a 3m mask on so couldn't smell anything but I'm not sure that matters. Wish I could spray half as good as you mind, I usually end up with terrible orange peel. Nearly as bad as new Nissan cars.

I've had the practice but you will probably live 10 years longer than me . I thought only I noticed that. Seen a very nice Audi yesterday that was like it all over.

Don't know about living long, I've pretty dodgy genes. I blame my parents.
As for modern cars, I sprayed the bonnet of my old MGF and wasn't happy with it because of the orange peel but in reality it wasn't much worse than most new cars these days. Not sure why but they're terrible.

Probably dolphin / polar bear / penguin/ snow leopard / great crested newt friendly paint.

Well, all I managed today was a bit if sanding down on the rear panel and fitted the fly screens for what I think was the fourth time. Tomorrow brings another day off work so hopefully some primer will go on the remaining part of the rear tub and the n/s b-pillar.

Fingers crossed you get dry weather.

Cheers Al, it was dry when I woke up and it lasted a good while but all I could muster the energy for today was this

Still, better than nothing. Off to London tomorrow but hopefully there will be chance when i get back to flat it off and get some colour on it.

Are you going to paint it, rivet the cappings on and the bottom of the quarter panel to the rear body member and then put another coat or two over the lot?