TR2/3/3A painted my tr3

[sp53]

Well I went ahead and painted my tr3 with my limit experience because the weather is dropping below 65 in day, and I am tired of primer and putty. I used acrylic enamel and put down 2+ coats. At least now, I have questions about how to fix my mistakes.


I am thinking I could now put the body back on the frame and then mask off areas of the engine and such when I go to fix the spotty dull spots on the cowling and rear section. Putting the tub on the frame will also clear up a lot of the shop area. The wheel wells and engine bay will probably work as they are, and perhaps I can start putting stuff back on the tub?

 

[DavidApp]

I am a little behind you on my rebuild. How did you paint the underside? Tub turned over or lifted up so you could get under it?

Wet sanding of the parts that show would be the way I would probable go. Then masking up and blowing on some more paint.
How did the acrylic enamel work?

Don't see any disadvantage in remounting it on the frame.

David

 

[sp53]

Thanks for the input Dave. I lifted the car up about 3 feet and was able to paint the under rockers and up under the motor bay, and up under the back, but did not get to the actual center underneath. I did however re-prime the floor pans with epoxy primer before I installed them, but I forgot to paint the backside off the inner-sill blue. They do have some factory paint.

Yes wet sanding reveals a lot and I wish I would have done more of it. I just do not know if I could use a compound and rub everything out or not, so yes it will probably be very fine sanding. The cars I had painted in the past, I could see were rubbed out because they left a bunch of white residue everywhere.

I probably should have painted the car with more of a plan on where to start and finish. I think I shot over spray over areas that were open to each other, and made more work for myself. Like from inside the Car out through the pedal bay and back to the front cowling and engine bay. Perhaps I should have done the highly exposed areas like the front cowling then that cure and tape it off and then do the engine bay.

For now I am going let things sit and harden, because I guess that is what people do with the acrylic enamel. I went with the acrylic enamel because I did not want to clear coat for lack of experience, and yes it was very easy to work.

 

[DavidApp]

Did you sand blast the tub before you primed?

I have a support frame on wheels that holds the tub on it's side. I am thinking of positioning it on that to paint the under side.

The paint store talked about using single stage paint on the underside and inside the tub and two stage for the outside of the body.

David

 

[Marvin Gruber]

David,
Thats what I normally do, paint tub, inside doors, under fenders and hood with single stage, then finisg oitside with base clear.

Marv

 

[sp53]

Yes I sandblasted everything. I use fine sand, paint remover on some spots, and a small torch on heavy bondo. It takes me a long time because my compressor is only 3 horse, but I got it done. I was not too worried about under the car because the floors and sills are new plus finding help to move the car around is a problem, so I chose to put the tub on homemade sawhorses. Your plan will work fine for painting the underside. Take your time and it will be fine if there is a mistake it is fixable. I have some friends coming over sometime soon to help me put the body on the frame.

 

[DavidApp]

I am going to upgrade my compressor as I feel my 25 year old Sears compressor will not last long at %100 operation. It get really hot and in Georgia that means lots of water in the compressed air.

I use an engine hoist to move the body tub when I am by myself. SHMBO draws the line at lifting car bodies.

Have some more work to do on the body before I get to spraying stage.

David

 

[gbtr6]

Yes I sandblasted everything. I use fine sand, paint remover on some spots, and a small torch on heavy bondo. It takes me a long time because my compressor is only 3 horse, but I got it done. I was not too worried about under the car because the floors and sills are new plus finding help to move the car around is a problem, so I chose to put the tub on homemade sawhorses. Your plan will work fine for painting the underside. Take your time and it will be fine if there is a mistake it is fixable. I have some friends coming over sometime soon to help me put the body on the frame.

Remember to get ALL the sand out of everywhere. I had my TR6 sandblasted and there was a beach in between the inner and outer body panels in the rear. As a result, the sand held a lot of moisture against the outer rear valance, and it rusted. I had it replaced no real harm, but an expense.

Perry

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

+ 1 on what Perry says. I found a lot of sand at the bottom of the b post....bit of a pocket there on the inside...

Cheers
Tush

 

[PatGalvin]

+2 on sand. And I learned something else too. Just try and MIG weld on a bracket that has some sand tucked down inside, where you want the weld to penetrate! The puddle pops and crackles and makes a holy mess as the sand melts (I assume that's what is happening). So drill some little holes or put a small hose on your shop vac and get the sand out of all the cracks and crevices.

pat

 

[sp53]

I thought I got all the sand out, but there was some in the trunk and the B post like you guys maintained. What a mess- makes me disappointed, but at least I got started. I kinda figured the primer would hold everything down. I did find some pin holes in the glazing right when I wanted to start painting, so I did quick fix there, and must have left some dust there also.

I should have asked for suggestions before I started painting. Sometimes I amaze myself how stubborn I can be. Moreover, the pantry has a powder blue glow on some stuff and the laundry room is feeling blue also. She actually took it pretty good. I am still kinda amazed at that. Anyways I am kinda pouting over the paint job, but it does look like something that can be fixed and I should learn more and improve. What is kinda surprising is my body work looks Ok. The back was pushed in and one of the windshield posts had been hit solid.

Hopefully the first coats can be smoothed down with 400 or something maybe a compound, and then repainted. I asked the guys at the paint store what they thought, and they thought I was smart enough to have sample Haaaaa, and then said bring in the truck lid or something so they can see it. I might be able to if the weather does not get too cold

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

Regardless of the fact of how you think it looks, you should be proud of the fact that you tried! It's a huge effort and learning curve when painting a car. I should know, I painted mine twice

Cheers
Tush

 

[sp53]

Thanks Tush that means a lot to me. There is just so much information that needs to come together creating the desired product by spray painting a car that I am starting think of it as dynamic Art form. One part of the learning experience I am noticing now is how the paint did not cover small pitted areas like I thought it would. Perhaps my painting or priming is too thin or the equipment I have not adequate,(that is for sure) or I had the out gun of adjustment, but I figured the paint would lay down heaver. Did you have that experience Tush ?

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

Painting isn't really the hard part, its all the prep that goes into it before you lay down the paint. The foundation is the most important. Any flaws in your metal work/filler work/sanding will show like a spotlight is shining on it....You really can't skimp on the prep or on materials used if you want a good end product. I used more products that I could ever have imagined including Self Etching Primer, Epoxy Primer, High Build Primer and Polyester Primer to get me to a point where I was ready to paint. Even then, I repainted panels as need be. There is nothing more frustrating to go through the entire process and clean everything impeccably to have your first coat of basecoat fisheye all over the place....been there, done that and I am sure that it will happen down to road again sometime....even the best painters who have been doing it for years still run into issues now and then....
When they say "practice make perfect" I think they were talking about painting a car. :highly_amused:

Cheers
Tush

 

[CJD]

My first job at age 15 was prepping for paint. My job was to take a primed model airplane and wet sand the surfaces using a high powered light. ANY imperfection had to be filled with a glazing compound. My boss would continue to spray primer and have me spend DAYS wet sanding with a block until there were absolutely no pits, low spots, or imperfections of any kind.

So I guess the answer is that you absolutely cannot count on top coats of paint to fill any pitting or low spots. That is what high solid primer is designed to do.

The problem with the little pits is that they trap oil, dirt, or even air. Either way, the paint cannot get in the pit to displace the air, and that leaves a little air bubble that waits for a hot day to expand and bubble the paint like a tiny ballon. Or, oil in the pits from even your own hands can cause fish-eyes, where the oil prevents the paint from laying down even near the pit.

Especially with the price of modern paint, I don't even take the top coat paint off the shelf until the last primer coat looks as good as a finish coat. It's not hard...it's all a matter of patience.

 

[DavidApp]

I remember wet sanding an Aston Martin DB5 with a friend/Boss. Days sounds right. He wanted it perfect. Dish detergent in the water seemed to help stop buildup on the paper.
No clear coat back then.

David

 

[CJD]

When I get to the primer phase on the TR2, I plan to try one of those long block air power sanders Northern has. They show them all the time on the reality car shows, like Counting Cars, and they're down to about $50. If it would save time or joints, it would be worth the price. When ever I paint a car I end up with sore wrists and no skin on my fingers!

 

[sp53]

Thanks you guys I need the input. I think my weakest point is that build up primer. The gun tip I used was a 1.4 for primer and it never went on all that thick. I would put some primmer on over the ding I had put glazing on and worked down from 150 to 400 and the find the area of the ding was bigger than I thought or there was a low spot between the dings then I would repeat glaze and primer and try again.

In one conversation at the paint store, one of the guys talked about people using too much primer and coming back and complaining about paint sagging or something like that. I see now I was nowhere close to using too much; now I see I needed more heavy primer.

I did spend a lot of time on front valance and the rear section and the rear section came out the best, and those sections looked more like a smooth stone than car panel before I painted them. I need to get another camera to help explain--- mine does not have the pixels. The pits I have are where the front fender laps the body tub that 2 inch strip running the length of the fender where the bolts attach the fender to the tub and mostly at the bottom. The fenders are pitted there also. I see know I need to fix that with some glazing or I will see that after I paint them.

The last couple of years, I have spent some time in general being less of a perfectionist, but now I can see it is time to travel back down that road for car painting.

Thanks you guys, Steve

 

[CJD]

Priming is one of those jobs that you can't predict how it will go. You may have one panel that is straight and smooth, and a single layer of primer gets it done. I've had others that just don't go right, so 4-5 layers later I'm praying that "this one will be it"...only to have a spot break through to metal and have to spray again.

Spraying my son's fender last spring we layed the primer down after the pot-life expired, because I was spending too much time instructing him as we worked. I had to scrape the entire layer off and start from scratch. It looked fine, but did not bond right.

It's all about patience. When you're tired, and sore and completely fed up...you have to fight the natural tendency to say "that's close enough".