842 replies to this topic

[mini_surfari]

Like others have said, your being way to hard hard on yourself!

If he could tell you what the problems were then he new they were there and ignored them, that's a big fault on his part.

[analogue_radio]

I told him at that time he'd receive the shell in a stage where it's ready to prep & paint. It was largely covered in red oxide where I thought I had at that time cleared & treated the rust.

There was no visible rust at all, I made sure of that. But clearly it was in the seams and I hadn't treated the rust properly when I'd taken the paintwork back to bare metal.

I can't swindle a free repspray from him (I wish), so I'm best to crack on and set it straight.

I'll definitely hit back harder & stronger.

I think tonight I'll start by taking her apart again, the front end first as that's the most affected.

Although seeing that rust come through had now knocked my confidence with the rest of the shell and wether it'll start to rust through soon.

I'd love to be able to get it dipped / blasted & start from scratch & do a proper thorough job this time. We'll see.

Edited by analogue_radio, 23 November 2012 - 07:17 PM.

[Treacle91]

i know how you feel mate! i recently restored my 91 and made the same mistake of not paying close enough attention to rust spots..now they have started to show. never the less i was quick to blame the painter who was a close friend (oops) being naive and quickly realized it was me being an idiot . but i learnt not to be hasty and you can never be too anal about these things but only to learn from our mistakes! It's not the end of the world its only some rust which is treatable!

keep your head high mate you have a gorgeous mini!

[Artful Dodger]

I told at that time he'd receive the shell in a stage where it's ready to prep & paint. It was largely covered in red oxide where I thought I had at that time cleared & treated the rust.

There was no visible rust at all, I made sure of that. But clearly it was in the seams and I hadn't treated the rust properly when I'd taken the paintwork back to bare metal.

I can't swindle a free repspray from him (I wish), so I'm best to crack on and set it straight.

I'll definitely hit back harder & stronger.

I think tonight I'll start by taking her apart again, the front end first as that's the most affected.

Although seeing that rust come through had now knocked my confidence with the rest of the shell and wether it'll start to rust through soon.

I'd love to be able to get it dipped / blasted & start from scratch & do a proper thorough job this time. We'll see.

mate, that sucks.. but as everyone says, if he is such a good bodywork guy, then he should have made sure his 'canvas' was solid and ready for paint!

and i think unless you do take it right back and start afresh you will always doubt it, there will be that horrible feeling in the back of your mind..:/ it has happened with me, built my engine all up and am now doubting the STD con rods in it. just cant afford for one to break so i am pulling the whole thing apart to fit some steel H beam ones.

for a point of referance i got a good blasting job done for £250. so its not TOO dear..

[crazypainter]

Hello, I am the painter of Luke's mini shell,

I have been watching with interest the comments made by various contributers and now consider the time right to set the record straight.

Luke commissioned me to paint a self repaired mini saloon shell. In addition I was commissioned to replace recently poorly fiited A panels and to reskin the drivers door due to previous person doing it and seriously distorting it.

I was advised that all the corrosion had been correctly delt with by either metal replacement or effective chemical treatment. Luke had done this himself in order to minimise the costs and at the time believed he had done an effective job. I had no reason to question his work.

The shell was provided to me, unusually in a red oxide primer with no signs at all of corrosion or surface rust.

Presented in this state there was no way of knowing if this was so without stripping the shell back to bare metal which Luke did not want me to do.

On this basis the shell was prepared for painting in the normal way with hight build primer which itself was then prepped for top coat. The job was finished 18th December 2011.

Examination now of the photo's Luke took of the car when he first brought it indicate the corrosion was in evidence in most of the places minis tend to rust. Corrosion has now started to re-appear in those places, e.g under head lamps. There is no sign of rust or corrosion on any of the steel that i put on the shell and prepped completely myself.

I have every sympathy with Luke and as he has already indicated I have offered advise if he wants and assistance to rectify these corrosion issues effectively this time.

[analogue_radio]

Thank you George!





Starting to strip down the front.

[sonikk4]

Are you completely stripping him down Luke??

[analogue_radio]

Just the front end for now to make accessing the areas & treatment easier.

I'm still undecided on my best course of action but felt stripping the front end will have to be done anyway regardless.

[rally515]

Maybe you could:

1) paint stripper
2) rust eater
3) prime & paint

Dont forget to clean the rusteater off completly

[sonikk4]

Maybe you could:

1) paint stripper
2) rust eater
3) prime & paint

Dont forget to clean the rusteater off completly

I think the rust thats showing will need more than that unfortunately. If you are stripping the front then Luke then maybe its time to bite the bullet and get the affected areas media blasted. The internal head light ring will need to come off mate i think as whatever you do there will still be rust behind it. Not what you want to hear i know but being brutally honest here.

[analogue_radio]

I was messaged by a chap on here informing me of a great place that did his mates GT6 in the early 90s and apparently it's still perfect. Media blasting and then a zinc dip.

I'd need a new wing if I was to eradicate the rust completely?

[Petrol]

First of all, I take my hat off to the painter for posting on here. I would also like to say that looking at the pictures of the job he did, well it was top notch and I would be more than happy for him to paint my shell. I'm a bit fussy with stuff like that. Like I said in an earlier post it seems to me that your problem is rust inside the seams. The only way to sort this is to split them. No amount of media blasting will sort it as it won't get in. I am not a believer of rust convertors and tend to go for rust removal chemicals and I think this will be your best bet. Have a look on the Bilt Hamber website.

Hope that helps,


Pete

Edited by Petrol, 25 November 2012 - 12:53 AM.

[Artful Dodger]

The rust can't be coming from seams, there is light surface rust on flat pieces of steel.. It's just were rust is coming through:P


Also, looking through this thread from the start, the rust prevention that was done wasn't bad. Nothing that I wouldn't have done. But it wasn't done all over... Very open and shut case

[analogue_radio]

Maybe you could:

1) paint stripper
2) rust eater
3) prime & paint

Dont forget to clean the rusteater off completly

I think the rust thats showing will need more than that unfortunately. If you are stripping the front then Luke then maybe its time to bite the bullet and get the affected areas media blasted. The internal head light ring will need to come off mate i think as whatever you do there will still be rust behind it. Not what you want to hear i know but being brutally honest here.

I'd rather hear the honest truth mate! So I appreciate that. Determined not to do a half arsed job and be faced with the same issue later down the line.

First of all, I take my hat off to the painter for posting on here. I would also like to say that looking at the pictures of the job he did, well it was top notch and I would be more than happy for him to paint my shell. I'm a bit fussy with stuff like that. Like I said in an earlier post it seems to me that your problem is rust inside the seams. The only way to sort this is to split them. No amount of media blasting will sort it as it won't get in. I am not a believer of rust convertors and tend to go for rust removal chemicals and I think this will be your best bet. Have a look on the Bilt Hamber website.

Hope that helps,


Pete

Thank you Pete, I have no qualms about having the shell sprayed by him again in the future.

I can't split apart every seam though surely? & not everyone does that so how are their minis looking spotless?

If I create a strong enough barrier between the atmosphere & the inaccesible rust inside the seams then it won't have any access to moisture to spread, right?

What about acid dipping? Is that more thorough?

[charie t]

What about acid dipping? Is that more thorough?

Dipping the shell will be the best way, it will completely strip the paint and rust off. It seaps into all the seams though. Costs a fair bit, usually a waiting list and i'm not sure where around here can
Most of the cars looking shiney have new front panels (wings, front panel etc)