1090 replies to this topic

[sonikk4]

Is there nothing on mk3 doors to hold in position, just I have only had sliding window cars and the nylon buffer locates the height of door near lock pretty solid,
Also as I am at a similar stage, what compound and pads are you finding works on 2k gloss, I am sanding down to p6000, but am not very experienced with the rotary polisher, I may even buy a da polisher to minimise problems due to my lack of experience. Argos have a very cheap one that may be up to it
Thanks

At the end of the day wth tighter panel gaps than the factory it's the final staging of closing that is the issue. Yes there is a door latch as per normal but no ramp up to it. Building the door taking into consideration the weight of the mechanisms within is a must otherwise you will make contact.

Now as to the polishing side of things, I have been 2000 wet and dry with plenty of soapy water then 2500 again with plenty of soapy water.

I then do several passes with G3 on my mop using 3M waffle pads followed by Scholl Concepts S17+. No wax yet.

[Daz1968]

Thanks, I will try some of the Scholl Concepts, your project is looking good though, all the effort is worth it

[73MkIII]

Good to catch up on this thread, looking very very good,
Will be following along.

[sonikk4]

Door off and colour sanded followed by a thorough mopping. I might actually repaint this door again as there are a few pin pricks although i might use a touch up brush then flat these back. Something to ponder on.

 

And back in the hole again.

[sonikk4]

New cap screws finally arrived yesterday and they fit the bill nicely

 

The remainder i will use for P clipping the loom in place when i finally get around to ordering a new one.

Then it was on to using up the last of my Dinitrol in the sills

 

Off with the bonnet to sort some runs out and make a couple of mods to the rear of the bonnet by the hinge mounts. Need a bit more clearance for the articulated hinges

[Ben_O]

You will get an acceptable finish by touching in those pin pricks and then flatting and polishing but they will always show, usually as a darker blob.

 

Only to you mind. I can't see that anyone would notice

[sonikk4]

You will get an acceptable finish by touching in those pin pricks and then flatting and polishing but they will always show, usually as a darker blob.

 

Only to you mind. I can't see that anyone would notice

 

To be honest Ben i need to stop fretting about it. I have learnt some valuable lessons from this paint job and not just the tips you have passed onto me. I think i would do things a little different next time, more in the way of prep work. But for the moment this will do. I might have a go at the pin pricks later in the year but for now he is shiny enough. 

 

Its not perfect and for only a second full paint job i have ever done it will do the job. Maybe in a few years i will get him into a paint booth and do things properly.

[Daz1968]

Problem is you get very fussy when learning and working on your own car, always feel i can do it a little better next time, I have found knowing when to admit that it’s good enough is one of the hardest decisions to make, but if you don’t then car never gets finished.

[minimissions]

Wow just caught up with this, there has been some awesome work and that paint finish looks ace. I bet you can wait to be getting the shiny bits on it :)

[sonikk4]

Problem is you get very fussy when learning and working on your own car, always feel i can do it a little better next time, I have found knowing when to admit that it’s good enough is one of the hardest decisions to make, but if you don’t then car never gets finished.

 

Thats the problem with being a fussy bugger, almost OCD. It was today, i though i would deal with a few issues on the underside of the bonnet. Nothing major, a couple of minor runs easily dealt with and a small blemish i did when i first painted it. The paint on the underside is not perfect at all, orange peel and a couple of dry areas. I was going to colour sand but there are so many awkward spots on the underside of a clubby bonnet i decided to give it a thorough mopping instead.

 

Doing this highlighted the dry areas of paint which quickly went back to primer. *******!!!!! I have a handy little bit of kit for doing small area of paintwork which means you can use the original paint. Problem is the little gas cylinder has developed an internal fault not allowing any paint to be drawn up. Spare one later and all was good...ish.

 

More mopping to do now. Oh well. thats life. I must invest in a small gravity fed spraygun as that will give a far better finish than the nozzle on the other thing i have.

[Daz1968]

A small gun would be useful, dependant how much use you will get from it maybe a good quality one. I bought a devilbiss sri pro with 1.2 tip and use that with farecla disposable cups it produces a superb finish uses very little air and less overspray. Think I paid about £150 for it. Due to the size of fan when fully opened I easily painted full panels including the roof without any problems.
I have a few cheaper touch up guns but they don’t compare quality wise at all. I don’t think you would regret buying a quality spraygun.

Here is a pic of finish straight out of gun for info. I am no painter but find it much easier with this gun.

20A413D0-E80D-4205-866A-766CF0647702 by darren carr, on Flickr


Just for info though the disposable cups ensure you can clean the gun with very little thinners (I use a hand trigger sprayer to push thinners through the gun and to clean air cap.) and the cup can be put back on later for another coat.

[sonikk4]

Now that the silly heat thing has cooled down the workshop is again workable, so today i thought i would try the replacement dampers i bought for the articulated hinges.

 

So on they went and bugger they wont hold the bonnet up. Mmm ok so i thought lets see how the bonnet sits at the back and yup it still kicks up but a light press and it sits down.

Right so some stronger dampers needed so off came the replacement and i refitted the old 150 Dn ones. Hold on now the bloody bonnet is cocked. Turns out one of the locking pins has sheared off *******!!! not happy.

 

So that basically curtailed anything else today. Got home ordered some slightly stronger dampers (90Dn) and then contacted Minivation via FB to see if they can supply a new pin. Nope they can't Bugger again, however they will send me a free replacement arm so big thumbs up there. I will have a play with some Monel rivets once i get the replacement arm to see if i can come up with a fix.

 

They did say they do an alternative hinge now but i thought i will see how this pans out first before i splash anymore wedge on a another set of hinges. 

[alex-95]

Thats annoying about the pin coming out, For the price you pay I do expect a little better... . Whats the diameter of the pin (for a push fit) and length? I could turn you up one with a top hat so that it pushes through from the back?

[sonikk4]

Thats annoying about the pin coming out, For the price you pay I do expect a little better... . Whats the diameter of the pin (for a push fit) and length? I could turn you up one with a top hat so that it pushes through from the back?

 

Rough guess its 3/32 but did not take a vernier with me Alex. The hole appears damaged as well now which wont help which may or may not have contributed to the failure. For sure i think it needs to be bigger in diameter for added strength.

 

As they are replacing it for free i will go as it is but even if you turned down a replacement pin i think the issue would be ensuring a tight fit.

 

Thankyou for the offer though.

[Ben_O]

Standard hinges = better