spraying a panel!!

[rowlers]

I've just bought acouple of cans of atlas grey to respray the lower half of my drivers door. It is a temporary fix until I can afford a respray

It says on the little instruction leaflet that I don't need to prime - that the colour is the base coat and you build up with the laquer! Is this right? I intend to rub down to bare metal on some of it, fill it where the rust is and respray from there.

So do I need a primer - if so what colour is best under atlas grey - GREY???


cheers

[golfpro]

id just pay someone else to do it tbh, not much help i know. soz

[Rain]

i agree if its the lower part of the door take it to a shop and get it done right, but if you intent on doing it yourself the get a primer that help stop rust coming through if thats the problem or a regular one if its just bad paintwork, shouldnt matter as its not going to effect the colour or the outcome of the grey but check out the halfords site for a how to might help you do a fairy decent job(dont expect miracles though).

[rowlers]

I am gonna do it myself !!

I aint got the cash at the mo to pay for someone - it is going to get a proper full re-spray when I win the lottery though!!

It is just a temporary measure so I will get some grey primer and filler 2moro - I can't make it any worse than it is

[Lewy]

If the Atlas Grey is a light grey, get a white primer, along with some 1200/1500 grit wet & dry.

If the dent is below the swage line in the door, this job should be a doddle. Remove the bump strip and place a piece of masking tape along the part you DON'T want to paint, as this will give you a 'datum' line in which you can work from.

If you intend on going all the way down to bare metal on all of the door, start rubbing it down with 60 grit, but don't apply loads of pressure as you'll put deep scratches in the metal, and you'll be putting more filler in than you first thought.

Once you've got it back to the metal remove all the grease and dirt with some thinners making sure you don't touch it with bare hands as the grease in you skin will react with the primer.

Start applying the primer, dont worry if you get runs in the primer as it's a piece of cake to remove them. Apply about 3-4 coats of primer and once it's dry start to flatten it back with 1200/1500 grit and water. Also don't worry if the paint reacts with the prepared surface, it's only primer, and once you've got enough coats on it'll flatten back easily.

Once this is flat, then prepare the surface again with thinners, and wait to dry off, and then comes the best bit - Top Coat!

Apply about 4-5 caots again, but remember not to go over the top with the first coat, just give it a light once-over, as the consecutive coats will cover up any slight blemishes.

Once you've got the last coat on there, leave it for 24 hours, unless you've got access to some heat lamps.

Next step is to flat the top coat with some fresh 1200/1500, again don't go too mad as you'll go down too far exposing the primer, this is just to make the surface completely even, otherwise when you apply the lacquer, it'll look uneven.

Now comes the fun part, it's now time to polish out the marks left by the wet & dry with something like t-cut, or Autoglyms super resin polish, as it has abrasive particles helping to get rid of marks.

When it comes to the lacquer prep like before, and again apply about 3-4 coats, and if you get any runs again do as before, rub it back (once dry) and polish back up.

Phew........a bit long, but Hope that helps

Lewy

[rowlers]

Thanks for the cracking reply lewy!
I only intend to go to bare metal on the areas that I really need to - i.e. the rusty bits on the very bottom edge.
The rest I intend to just flatten back and hopefully build up the area to an even finish!
is this OK or is it better to go to bare metal on the full panel? (bottom of driver door under bump trim.)

Cheers

[Lewy]

You only wanna go bare metal if there is a serious amount of corrosion there, but if you have a lot of corrosion in one place get the panel as close to bare as you can, and then you can build that up with a small skim of filler, like you said to an even finish.

Lewy

[Deefadog]

Nice one lewy, this is something i have to do also

I also was told by a proffesional sprayer, to put the spary cans in some warm water for about 10 minutes, this will help the flow and remove any bits coming out! not sure if it works but worth a shot

Also i just bought a hammer right primer kit from halfords, it comes with rust remover, rust proof primer (grey) and a brush and wire brush - £7.99 - not bad


Don't mean to hijack, but saves another thread, my first sparying is going to be beihind the rear number plate, the numbre plates is stuck on and when i removed it, the plastic lugs where the original plate was screwed into have huge rust patches around them, so bad, that one side has left a hole like a 10 pence piece!

Not so bad as this will nevr be seen, but i know it there now

So how can you fill in a hole? do i need strips of mesh or something?

Sorry never done this before

[Mr Blue]

To fill a rust hole i would cut out the corroded area then weld a bit of sheet metal behind and then filler over the front. I dont trust filler

[Deefadog]

I don't have access to cut the hole and welding gear

It's something i want to do in house, as it were I know what you mean that would be the proper job!

But if i am to do this on my own, is it mesh or something you put behind the hole and then fill it?

And which filler? any ones better than others?