842 replies to this topic

[miniallsort]

Looking good buddy

[sonikk4]

I think you need to draw a line in the sand here Luke as to how far you want to go. Chemical dipping would be ideal but as well as removing rust it will remove any paint they may be in there as well so where do you go from there??

As we all know when rust gets into a seam then other than chemical dipping the only way to remove it is take off a panel etc. Without going back through your thread was it only the front l/h wing that was not changed?? if so then maybe it might be worth changing the wing rather than trying to remove the headlight ring??

The other big factor here is cost. None of this is going to be cheap or quick so this will play a big factor in how far you want to go.

None of it is good news i'm afraid.

[camp freddy]

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.

Fair enough , that's the problem with 'ready prepped ,ready to paint ' cars . As I always say ' the paint finish is only as good as the prep work' .. Unfortunatey although Luke does his best , obviously this was an unfortunate oversite. As you state you were asked to paint only , say no more.

[Petrol]

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?

Dipping is the right way to do it but unfortunately a bit beyond our budgets at around £2.5K. Fine if you're restoring an old Aston but not on a low value car. On a sidenote the right way to do it is to dip, then do all the welding / panel replacement then dip again followed by E coat (also known as electrocoat)
It's not about creating a barrier between the atmosphere and sealed seams. If there is corrosion in the seams then no amount of sealing will stop it. When mild steel rusts it expands and will eventually breach the seal.

In your case I would open up a seam where the rust is more prominent. I'm not talking about hammering in chisels here, just scrape the paint out of the seam and have a look, maybe lift the seam a bit. PM me a pic if you want. You need to scrape back far enough to get to clean metal though. This will give you a good indication to the extent of the problem.
Assuming the problem is only on a few areas, this could be treated with Deox gel and primed with Electrox. Google will reveal all about these products.
For areas that have rusted due to a lack of paint as Artful dodger mentioned, that's just lack of attention to detail. The doors, bonnet and boot should be sprayed off the car to ensure full coverage.

Just a couple of other things, I was absolutely gutted when I saw the wide angle pictures, yep I saw the rust stains and was so so sorry for you.
There are many products on the market these days that can help with restoration projects. Red lead is a thing of the past. I see a few on here are using it but it's useless, as is Waxoyl. New technology has introduced much better products that offer much better results.

My offer still stands if you want to PM me your landline...

Best

Pete

[analogue_radio]

Thank you for all your help & pointers.

I'll give it all a proper read through later as I'm in the studio.

Looking at the photos of the rust, is that headlight seam the only cause for real concern? The rest looks like surface rust that hasn't spread from a specific area.

[Petrol]

If most of the problem areas are due to lack of paint, then that's an easy fix. Get rid of the rust and repaint. As far as the headlight seam goes you need to split it to see whats going on.

[F1L8EY]

finally reached the end of this mammoth build !! and im gutted for you... fantastic attention to detail and great engineering practices!!

youll fix the rusty patch... and after christmas youll have it finished all in time for the show season!! i cant wait... keep pushing!!

[tedmcedd]

Luke!

Cant believe the next time I look at your project its coming apart again!!

I feel for you matey, but you cant sell up! Its all there! You nearly had it all together! Just think of it as a dry run... you know it all fits and got everything where you want it! It is such a shame that the shell is starting to rust, just goes to show, these previous owners.... shifty by name, shifty by nature....

Hell, I've just found my newest purchase is full of filler and newspaper.... I didn't think people bodged stuff like that anymore!!


You'll get it sorted I'm sure!

Just a shame its been painted, looks so nice in paint!!

Ed

[rally515]

Luke!

shifty by name, shifty by nature....

[1275 SPRITE]

Not been on the forum for a while, only just catching up on your thread. I know its been said by lots of people already, but try and keep your chin up and don't lose faith... it will be worth it when we're all rolling in to the shows together... And as your post earlier, I am more than happy to come and help you. I'll come and take you for another spin when your free, running a lot more boost now

As for the rust, I think its a bit extreme blasting the shell back down to bare metal again, wouldn't it be better to replace the one wing, and rub down the light rust on the bulkhead etc and repaint?

[camp freddy]

Not been on the forum for a while, only just catching up on your thread. I know its been said by lots of people already, but try and keep your chin up and don't lose faith... it will be worth it when we're all rolling in to the shows together... And as your post earlier, I am more than happy to come and help you. I'll come and take you for another spin when your free, running a lot more boost now

As for the rust, I think its a bit extreme blasting the shell back down to bare metal again, wouldn't it be better to replace the one wing, and rub down the light rust on the bulkhead etc and repaint?

We need a three Mini 'Italian job ' style run out.......

[1275 SPRITE]

Definitely :)

[thebluepotato]

Curious to see if there has been any updates. Quite honestly, this is one of the best build threads I have ever seen.

[analogue_radio]

Oh you lot, you kill me with all this support & kind words.

At the moment she's tucked up & safe for winter.. I'm working hard to get myself out of my overdrafts & pay back any money I owe as I need to get myself in the clear, as soon as possible.

I do have every intention of returning and getting her back on track, but for now I'm taking a little break.

Ta for all the support & kind words, really appreciated.

[conlad]

Hows this going?

I hope she will be finished