1844 replies to this topic

[mini 4o]

hi Pete
and well done on the rebuild,

just to make you laugh,
this is the reply from mini about the lack of paint on my new mini .. and a quote from the rover garage to repaint the underside,

straight from the show room to my local paint shop ,
now all these years later its still rust free, with paint on the primmer and the help of plastic under wheel arches.

carry on the good work

john

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[Ben_O]

hi Pete
and well done on the rebuild,

just to make you laugh,
this is the reply from mini about the lack of paint on my new mini .. and a quote from the rover garage to repaint the underside,

straight from the show room to my local paint shop ,
now all these years later its still rust free, with paint on the primmer and the help of plastic under wheel arches.

carry on the good work

john

That is unbelievable! so according to that letter, Rovers specification at the time was to make a car that WILL rust quickly rather than trying to build one that won't!

It's a shame that Pete didn't work for Austin Rover, we might not need to be restoring our mini's now!

 

Shame on Rover

[puggered]

Excellent build thread mate :)

[zony]

Pete, this thread is awesome. Super job. Need to get out there and do mine. Oh bugger - its raining again. Cant wait to see the front end going on. Are you still going to use Magnum panels.

[joezone2001]

Hi pete.
What a great thread. Your attention to detail is admirable. I found your description of different types of paint really useful too. I plan on using an epoxy mastic on the floors and underside of my mini as I've seen it done in practical classics where they rated it highly. The stuff I've seen is from www.rust.co.uk .
Keep up the great work. I love thihiti blue minis! Haha
Joe

[Petrol]

hi Pete
and well done on the rebuild,

just to make you laugh,
this is the reply from mini about the lack of paint on my new mini .. and a quote from the rover garage to repaint the underside,

straight from the show room to my local paint shop ,
now all these years later its still rust free, with paint on the primmer and the help of plastic under wheel arches.

carry on the good work

john

 

Thanks very much for posting this, that pic explains a lot. I can't believe the lack of protection!

 

hi Pete
and well done on the rebuild,

just to make you laugh,
this is the reply from mini about the lack of paint on my new mini .. and a quote from the rover garage to repaint the underside,

straight from the show room to my local paint shop ,
now all these years later its still rust free, with paint on the primmer and the help of plastic under wheel arches.

carry on the good work

john

That is unbelievable! so according to that letter, Rovers specification at the time was to make a car that WILL rust quickly rather than trying to build one that won't!

It's a shame that Pete didn't work for Austin Rover, we might not need to be restoring our mini's now!

 

Shame on Rover

 

 

Shame on Rover indeed! Anyone could look at that and know it wouldn't last. I guess the writing was on the wall in the late 90's.

 

Excellent build thread mate :)

 

Thanks

 

Pete, this thread is awesome. Super job. Need to get out there and do mine. Oh bugger - its raining again. Cant wait to see the front end going on. Are you still going to use Magnum panels.

 

Not sure about a Magnum front end. Might borrow one to see how it fits. I bought a Magnum scuttle and there's no way it will fit properly. Gonna get a Heritage one. The rain is a pain, you can't prep and paint unless the forecast is good.

Hi pete.
What a great thread. Your attention to detail is admirable. I found your description of different types of paint really useful too. I plan on using an epoxy mastic on the floors and underside of my mini as I've seen it done in practical classics where they rated it highly. The stuff I've seen is from www.rust.co.uk .
Keep up the great work. I love thihiti blue minis! Haha
Joe

 

 

Thanks Joe,

Might be worth a mention that the epoxy mastic from rust.co.uk is not a full gloss, more of a satin and it's a very dark brown. Also don't forget you will need a proper 2K mask to spray it.

 

 

Sprayed the arches today

 

 

 

 

Pete

 

[Ben_O]

Pete, I still am in awe of how you get that sort of paint finish at home. Those Arches look superb! I resprayed my old 190E in a marquee on the driveway and taking every precaution still wasn't as lovely as that although it was clean and shiny just didn't have quite that depth.

Just out of interest, where do you paint your bits?

[Petrol]

I spray stuff outside. The depth is due to the amount of paint. Spraying 2K is easy once you get the knack, next time I spray something I will post some pics up and explain how I do it.

 

This is the biggest paint job I have done - on the drive

 

 

 

 

Pete

 

[Ben_O]

Wow!

I really enjoyed reading your Nissan projects. such a top job!

 

Ben

[Carvell]

Awesome. I might ask the body shop who refurb my mini to read this.

[Petrol]

Thanks.

 

One of the arches had a scuff in it that the paint didn't fill so I flatted it back and resprayed it.

 

I usually add about 10% thinners to spray 2K paint. The key to a good finish is even coats and timing.

 

As you can see the first coat is a very light dust coat. The reason I do this is to reduce the chance of fish eyes.

 

 

After about 5 mins the paint starts to go tacky (double the times in winter) The second coat is a bit thicker but still the finish is poor. It's easy to rush at this stage and get too much on.

 

 

With 2 coats on, the drying time increases so after about 10 mins, I spray the third coat on

 

 

What starts to happen is the last coat starts to melt into the previous coats. This causes the paint to start to flow out. It's not yet there though.

 

Fourth coat going on. To the left of the line is the right amount of paint allowing it to flow out. To the right, not enough and it's orange peel effect. This is known as going on dry

 

 

The paint flows out for some time, this is the result

 

 

This is where I spray stuff. If you get 2K on the patio it won't come off. I know from experience

 

 

 

Hope that was helpful

 

Pete

 

 

 

 

[jackgreen91]

Sweet. Your info is always top notch and very helpful.

Your work is very thorough and admirable also. I hope to do a similar job of mine when I get the chance to do it!

Just one question, when I paint (with 1k/rattle cans) I find that my work always has to be completely suspended for it not to mess up on the edges or where it contacts the mount or stand I'm using. For example, it looks like you use a tub as a stand for your work, how do you avoid the paint flowing out onto the paint on the plastic tub when you have things rested on it or are they suspended also. I feel that I always create weak spots in the finish and have to touch up.

Cheers, Jack

[Petrol]

Hi Jack,

 

The arch was not in contact with the tub, the studs gave it a small clearance. Your right, parts need to be completely suspended

.

Pete

[philmire]

just read this from page one fantastic job you have been doing i'm doing up my 99 mini at the the moment and this has given me great ideas my floor is in bad enough shape from poorly jacking up the car sills need replacing but is fairly solid

 

Phil

[Petrol]

Just one question, when I paint (with 1k/rattle cans) I find that my work always has to be completely suspended for it not to mess up on the edges or where it contacts the mount or stand I'm using.

 

Just to add, 1K rattle can paint is really thin and will flow onto the mount or stand. 2K is a lot thicker and more forgiving. You can for example, spray one side, leave it for 20 mins and turn it over to spray the other side.

 

just read this from page one fantastic job you have been doing i'm doing up my 99 mini at the the moment and this has given me great ideas my floor is in bad enough shape from poorly jacking up the car sills need replacing but is fairly solid

 

Phil

 

Thanks Phil, I have a problem on the OS floor on mine, probably due to poor jacking.

Minis are not easy to refurb as I am finding out