whs is totally right , fill large areas, then run a flexible plastic number plate along the filled area. it will smooth it and level it in 1 go . it will level and find low spots , the areas where the high spots show will be dragged with the number ;late , take the excess filler of board and put it in low ares and repeat ,less work less filler less wastage ,keep up the good work owen
Thanks both. I did one big cover the first time then added bits piece by piece on the low patches but I think you’re right that I’m just making more work for myself. I’ll try the number plate trick tomorrow and see how that goes. I have spare plastic plates which I can use without worry of messing them up! Thanks! Keep the suggestions coming! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This is yesterday’s post but it failed when the forum crashed. I hope it wasn’t my fault! Things I hate. Shotblasting, filler and doors! I’m taking heed of the advice on here. Filling a full panel in one rather than small pieces and using a number plate to smooth it off. Ive also switched from upon easy (for deep repairs which is really thick and half set already) to fantastic (which is more like honey and so much easier to work!) Anyway. Several days of solid sanding and this is what we have The O/S I did with a single big skim of filler and touch ups after The N/S was the one I started with so it’s covered in very thin layers. It’s been likened to pop art, tea stains, but I think it’s like contour lines on a map (though hopefully without the hills) After worrying about what to do with the seams which were getting spalatted with filler (and which had been filled during the previous repairs) my neighbour had the bright idea of filling the lot of them and cutting them back out with a multi tool the results are far better than I expected The doors have been on and off like yo-yos fettling, hammering and bending until they fit. I didn’t take many photos but nothing lined up. We’ve ended up reshaping the door steps, welding beads onto the front panel and reshaping the central ‘bulge’ to line up properly Today though I spent nearly my whole day on the sliding door. Both sides were about a inch proud of the body panels. What started as some gentle persuasion quickly led on to supporting it with bricks and violently jumping on it trying to get it to bend. Some of you would have cringed at the sight! Towards 7pm even the crowbar wasn’t doing enough and the scaffold bars came out It’s still about 3 or 4 mm proud front and back but not looking too bad after all that, it probably took the best part of 6 hours to get to this Still looking positive though, Managed to line up the engine bay lid with only two captive nuts failing on me Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
So our two weeks dedicated to the build are up. Back to work tomorrow but I need a real holiday now! So I had in my mind that I wanted it in paint by the end of the fortnight but filling took something like 6/7 days instead of the 4 I was planning on. Anyway, the last push to the finish line! Step 1 sand filler until we’re happy or just losing the will to live Step 2. Move van Step 3. Make snow angels in the dust Step 4 clean house and drive then build a cheep marquee from China which doesn’t have enough sides Step 5. Sand clean sand clean sand clean and get into a fight with an air fed mask, filters, extra hoses, two compressors, cheap spray guns etc. eventually spray primer Step 6. Sand clean sand clean sand clean and mask up ready for paint and buy very expensive paint gun. Step 7. Paint! It may not be a complete paint job but I can say I successfully applied paint just in time. Now I’m off to bed!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
A week’s worth of evenings and a bank holiday weekend sees our doors and other bits into primer I’m now thinking how I’m going to support the doors when I spray colour as I don’t think I have anything strong enough to mount them upright to. Possibly two stepladders and a plank of wood to put through the window gaps... more thinking required. More importantly though. We cracked open our second paint tin! After a couple of coats the gun started spitting orange peel lumps (I don’t think I put enough thinners through the gun between refills allowing it to bing a little). So we had a go at sanding before another coat. 48 hours after spraying the paint was dry to the touch but when sanding it seemed to clump into patches which left a horrible finish. (I’m told a drop of washing up liquid on the sandpaper should fix this but any other suggestions welcome) So this evening saw another coat which went on luuurvly! So, time for the grand reveal. My plan is to sort out the doors over the next few weekends (extra layers of high build primer and paint) then once I’m certain the paint on the van has set, I’ll then have a go at sanding it back with some 2,500 grit paper and a drop of washing up liquid. Painting is so satisfying but it’s interspersed with hours and hours of sanding. I never realised how much sanding there was to do urrgh! Anyway, for now we’re chuffed with the colour, bought on a bit of a whim but I think it works well. (Saturn yellow and pastel white). At least we’ll never lose the bus in a car park! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
If the paint is clumping up on the paper then it’s not fully cured fella. I bet your glad to get some paint on at last Pair of you will be knackered by your wedding day lol
Yeah I suspected it hadn’t set fully. If I sort the doors over the next week then the van should have cured by the time I get to it (I hope). Strangely I’m not normally a fan of yellow on modern cars but on something like this i think it just works doesn’t it Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
When ours was a pale blue we just felt like it was a bit too plain and simple. I was keen on the brilliant Jaffa original but yellow was just too tempting! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I’ll get a photo tomorrow. Just some stuff which was mixed at the local paint shop to L 13 M. John Davey Paints. I don’t think the paint itself is 2K but the primer and lacquer are. I’ll get a photo tomorrow Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks. Yeah definitely. I can finally sleep happy, although Sanding has been the only thing I can think about for the last month, it’s worth it! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk