Jonny TR6 Posted February 28 Report Share Posted February 28 (edited) I’ve owned my TR6 for 20 months or so and one thing that’s always bothered me is the tired paintwork. I think it was painted approx 20yrs ago and as such, there’s scratches, sinkage, fish eyes, orange peel and various other issues from the Spotters Guide to Paint Blemishes. As it’s still technically winter and there’s lots of dark nights where I can lock myself away in the garage, I’ve decided to launch head first into the correction of the paint. I’ve had some rattle cans made up from a tin of the original 2K paint, so that I can add paint when needed, rather than taking it off. So far I’ve filled a small ding in the offside front wing, flatted it down and it’s awaiting priming and finishing when the weather warms up. I’ve also wet sanded the bonnet - mainly with 1000 grit, but 800 in one area at the top of the bonnet/wing join, where there was some rippling. Not sure if that’s poor paint prep initially, or ripples from the manufacturing process. It’s a lot better, but I’ll get the paint polished before deciding whether to re-visit it. Next step will be 1500, then 2000, then 3000 grits, before getting the DA out and compounding and polishing. Hopefully it’ll be a mirror finish, but we’ll see. Wet sanding is one of those things that shouldn’t be approached gung ho and I’ve not attempted this level of correction before, but I have sufficient wet&dry, time and motivation. We’ll see how long it lasts… Only one question for the paint experts - the last pic shows some fish eyes in the flatted paint. Should I leave these, or keep going with the 1000 grit ? Edit - or should I pop some paint in and then flat back ? Edited February 28 by Jonny TR6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted February 28 Report Share Posted February 28 HI Jon, I spent the whole of last September painting and polishing a 4A boot lid. I did every error imaginable. I produced every defect possible. But I was learning all the time. It was basically a 1 month apprenticeship. Think about where the paint is going - large flat areas take more effort the rub down than an edge so why not put a little more paint on the edges. And don't rub too hard on an edge. However if it goes wrong then repaint it. Rubbing down is tedious but simply get on and do it. Remember what ever grade you use it will leave scratches. You remove these scratches with a slightly finer grade Start with 1200, then 1500, 2000, 2500. 3000 may give that fractional edge. Rubbing compound and polish bring out that sheen. Do not take short cuts 1200 to 2000 doesn't work. Also look at the grade of W&D you are using BEFORE you use it. I used 240 instead of 1200 oops!!! That required a repaint. Good luck Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jonny TR6 Posted February 28 Author Report Share Posted February 28 Thanks Roger - glad to hear it’s not just me who isn’t an expert. One thing the chap I use for the daily drivers said is to always work your grades, I.e go through the grades, as you’ve said, without missing a grade. I find the sanding process quite therapeutic to be honest. I get to listen to some old school tunes with Greatest Hits Radio on in the background and finalise my plans in my head for putting the world to rights. Happy days. NB - do we get to see your 4A bootlid now it’s presumably finished ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mk2 Chopper Posted February 29 Report Share Posted February 29 This is great work Jonny, personally if I didn't paint the car I'd be a bit wary of how far I could go to keep working those last few blemishes, you don't want to end up with thinning the colour. I've seen some techniques where paint is introduced just into the blemish to build it up, never tried it myself, but might be possible. Can't wait to see it when you've polished it. Gareth Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mleadbeater Posted February 29 Report Share Posted February 29 (edited) Jonny Having been an amateur paint sprayer for around 50 years, I recently discovered a breakthrough in finishing systems whilst painting my TD, namely 3M Trizact finishing pads. Rather than wet flatting with 1200 grit or whatever, these pads on an orbital sander are the quickest route to a blemish free finish, coming in a full range of grits, including pads fine enough to produce a finished gloss. They only need a splash of water on a whole panel, one pad can do half a car or so, and you can see the finish being achieved as you go. Then a final buff with say Farecla G3 soon brings a great gloss. I suggest you check out Youtube,” Trev’s blog “for example, he shows how to use them, highly recommended and very rapid. Can’t remember which grits I used, but I can look in my store if you’re interested. They aren’t cheap, but you only need 3 to do a whole car. Last pic shows my polishing disc, with cheap speed control to slow it down, as 1200 rpm was a little fast. Mike Edited February 29 by mleadbeater Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trchris Posted February 29 Report Share Posted February 29 Hi Jonny Those fish eyes look like when the panel was painted there was some silicone present you may have to sand back a tad further and completely clean the area prior to painting. A tip l was shown many many years ago was to use 1500 grit with a bar of soap on the top coat to flatten before compound and polish good luck with the finish however you proceed Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jonny TR6 Posted February 29 Author Report Share Posted February 29 Thanks Chris. I've thoroughly cleaned the area with rubbing alcohol and popped a bit of paint on each spot. I'll give it 24hrs and some heat and then try flatting. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jonny TR6 Posted February 29 Author Report Share Posted February 29 2 hours ago, mleadbeater said: Jonny Having been an amateur paint sprayer for around 50 years, I recently discovered a breakthrough in finishing systems whilst painting my TD, namely 3M Trizact finishing pads. Rather than wet flatting with 1200 grit or whatever, these pads on an orbital sander are the quickest route to a blemish free finish, coming in a full range of grits, including pads fine enough to produce a finished gloss. They only need a splash of water on a whole panel, one pad can do half a car or so, and you can see the finish being achieved as you go. Then a final buff with say Farecla G3 soon brings a great gloss. I suggest you check out Youtube,” Trev’s blog “for example, he shows how to use them, highly recommended and very rapid. Can’t remember which grits I used, but I can look in my store if you’re interested. They aren’t cheap, but you only need 3 to do a whole car. Last pic shows my polishing disc, with cheap speed control to slow it down, as 1200 rpm was a little fast. Mike Got some Trizact discs, but never used them. Also got loads of hook and loop discs in various grades and an interface pad, so will report back as I proceed to thoroughly cock things up... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PodOne Posted February 29 Report Share Posted February 29 Hi Jonny My first car needed plenty of attention to deal with lots of rust apart from the roof and using rattle cans left it looking like a bit of a patch work no matter what I tried. She wasn't worth paying for a respray so why not? I flatted the paint bought a cheap spay gun, borrowed a compressor and laid on lots of paint to a orange peel look and then wet sanded her flat as above and after 5L of Teecut and a polish she looked well even when I traded her in 5 years later. Point is that you may run out of top colour especially on the edges/swage lines before you get rid of the defects and your rattle cans may not give you a match on a large panel like the bonnet so putting a thicker layer of a consistent colour may give you a better result given the effort your putting in. Coach enamel can be made to look like glass if its applied well and polished as its possible to lay down a "thick" base layer but needs a few weeks to fully dry. Enjoy look forward to seeing your progress. Andy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jonny TR6 Posted February 29 Author Report Share Posted February 29 Thanks for the advice Andy. I’m hoping the fact that I have the original paint will help with the colour matching. Just in from the garage and have got the bonnet flatted down to 2000. There is one area where the ripples were that’ll need a touch up, but the fish eyes, swirls, scratches etc all appear to have gone, so it’s just a case of getting it ready for compounding. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andy Moltu Posted March 1 Report Share Posted March 1 It’s a good job it’s not clear over base! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paul Hill Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 I have never got a finish from an aerosol can to satisfy me. I think large areas like the the Bonnet edges dry to quick to get an even finish. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jonny TR6 Posted March 2 Author Report Share Posted March 2 So far I’ve done 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000 and 3000 grit on the DA. Looks very shiny when wet, but the true state will come out when I get the compound polish on it, hopefully later today. It’s very smooth to touch, but it is 20 yr old 2K paint, so not counting my chickens just yet. Got a few small swirly lines from where something got under the paper, but hoping they’ll polish out. First pic is the bonnet, still wet and after 3000 grit. Second one is the bootlid, which is how the bonnet looked before I got all over excited and launched in. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jonny TR6 Posted March 2 Author Report Share Posted March 2 (edited) Did some compounding - basically a hard foam pad and fairly coarse paste and got some ok results. These pics are various stages after approx 8-10 mins working the paste each time. To get a good idea of how good the finish is look at the reflection of the lights in the paint. They should be ultra sharp with no haloing around them. It was hard going to be honest as there were many very small swirls in the paint which I think is from a bit of grit getting under the sanding disc, or not being fully cleaned before changing grits. Contemplating going back over with 1500, 2000, 3000 which should make compounding easier. It’s all a learning curve ! Here’s an example of how good you can get it, although this was modern clear over base. Edited March 2 by Jonny TR6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jonny TR6 Posted March 9 Author Report Share Posted March 9 It’s been a bit too chilly to do much polishing this week, but popped into the garage for half an hour to try out a new pad. The results aren’t bad, but again, it was hard work. I’ve therefore ordered some more aggressive cutting compound (Menzerna 400 for those who are paying attention and not snoozing) and hopefully this will give me a quicker result. From a distance all looks tickety boo, however, this is just the first stage - cutting out the swirls, scratches etc. After all that’s done, I’ll use less aggressive compounds and pads to give the finishes result. A lot of this is just time and you can see how body shops etc charge a lot, however, I have the time and enjoy learning as I go. Building up my detailing collection nicely, so once the TR6 is finished (2027 at this rate), it’ll be on to the daily drivers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted March 9 Report Share Posted March 9 1 minute ago, Jonny TR6 said: It’s been a bit too chilly to do much polishing this week, but popped into the garage for half an hour to try out a new pad. The results aren’t bad, but again, it was hard work. I’ve therefore ordered some more aggressive cutting compound (Menzerna 400 for those who are paying attention and not snoozing) and hopefully this will give me a quicker result. From a distance all looks tickety boo, however, this is just the first stage - cutting out the swirls, scratches etc. After all that’s done, I’ll use less aggressive compounds and pads to give the finishes result. A lot of this is just time and you can see how body shops etc charge a lot, however, I have the time and enjoy learning as I go. Building up my detailing collection nicely, so once the TR6 is finished (2027 at this rate), it’ll be on to the daily drivers. I do not think there are quicker results - a;ways hard graft. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jonny TR6 Posted March 9 Author Report Share Posted March 9 Hopefully the slightly coarser compound will do the trick. My current “coarse” is about 3/10 on the scale. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kcsun Posted March 10 Report Share Posted March 10 If you are bored after you are finished the TR and your equipment is just sitting on the shelf.................. kc Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jonny TR6 Posted March 10 Author Report Share Posted March 10 1 hour ago, kcsun said: If you are bored after you are finished the TR and your equipment is just sitting on the shelf.................. kc Don’t tempt me - it’s addictive… Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GeoffreyS Posted March 24 Report Share Posted March 24 (edited) On 3/10/2024 at 7:10 PM, Jonny TR6 said: Don’t tempt me - it’s addictive… Congratulations, Johnny, on the paintwork transformation. It is great to see. I agree with you, polishing is enjoyable. The results are instant, and immensely satisfying. I came across Mitchell & King products a month or so ago. They are made in the UK. I haven’t used them yet, but I trust they will satisfy my automotive urge for deep, wet gloss! Next on my list is a nano polisher. As you say, it’s addictive. Edited March 24 by GeoffreyS Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted March 24 Report Share Posted March 24 Ive been reading this thread and quietly laughing to myself. This is the eternal problem with 2K paint. Unless its flatted and polished properly within 24hrs of painting it never really looks that good. It might be a bit shiny after hours and hours of work but it never has the "depth" of shine that original Cellulose has and with that a nice flat off with 1200 w/dry and then polished back up with some G3 compound and then some T-cut and a nice coat of Autoglym polish and it will outshine any amount of polishing 2k. But you boys seem to like hard work so go ye ahead Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andy Moltu Posted March 24 Report Share Posted March 24 Yet it’s odd that some claim that 2k is too shiny. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GeoffreyS Posted March 24 Report Share Posted March 24 (edited) Glad my hobby has given you laughter. Edited March 24 by GeoffreyS Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted March 24 Report Share Posted March 24 49 minutes ago, Andy Moltu said: Yet it’s odd that some claim that 2k is too shiny. But it has no "Depth" of shine, thats point. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jonny TR6 Posted March 24 Author Report Share Posted March 24 Must confess, I’ve been struggling a bit with this 20+ yr old 2k. Decided to get my paint man to have a look at it and see what pads/compounds he has. If it means just hrs of laborious MOPing then so be it, but if I’m not going to get a decent result then I at least know what I’m aiming at. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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