Bodywork restoration on my van gets underway..

[mm289]

Hiya Doug,

progress looks real good , just been away for a couple of weeks hols (in the tent unfortunately ) so catching up on stuff.

When you put the fablon/vinyl covering on did you remove the old or put it ontop? We have started on our interior and the original vinyl is stuck solid so i was simply going to remove wrinkles/tears and stick the new on top.

looking forward to seeing the colour on

MM

[New Kentish Campers]

Hiyah Paul,

Hope the holiday went well under canvas If I dont get the van finished soon, looks like our tent will be given an airing for our holiday too

I put the vinyl straight over the top of the old. Any marks or chips, like on the base of the wardrobe door for example, were filled with bodyfiller and sanded smooth and the the whole thing was degreased, tack-ragged off and the vinyl applied. Its much easier than it sounds and I can recommend the process. Sure, its not perfect under close scrutiny, but its well good enough when compared with the tired and sunfaded cabinets I had before and best of all, didn't cost a fortune, around fifty quid or so for the lot so way cheaper than new cabinets. I bought the stuff from a firm calling itself 'The vinyl depot' or similar, from ebay. Very good service and product.

I've got half the van painted, still got the tailgate and sliding door to do, the latters being done off the van so that I can paint both sides. I originally painted the the shut side and back of the slider but managed to mark the still- soft paint when re-hanging it back on the van I could have touched it in, but....

Not been able to get anything done on it today as some family stuff was more needy, but perhaps next week if time allows...

[Cazz]

Your van is taking shape nicely, fingers crossed it's ready for your holiday.

I can vouch for the quality of product and service from the vinyl depot, we got ours from there. They will send samples if requested, they have an ebay shop for small amounts, or direct for larger amounts.

[New Kentish Campers]

I really dont fancy the tent after all this work

[silver surfer]

Nice work really inspiring

What etch primer do you use? Are etch primers waterproof ? reason for asking is I have a fair bit of bodywork to do so was looking for something to cover repair befor I can get the van painted properly

[boatbuilder]

Nice work really inspiring

What etch primer do you use? Are etch primers waterproof ? reason for asking is I have a fair bit of bodywork to do so was looking for something to cover repair befor I can get the van painted properly

I think epoxy primer is the only fully waterproof primer. Probably ok to use other primers for leaving it a short while, but if you're talking weeks or months, then personally I would use epoxy.
Heres a link to a datasheet for Lechler 29107 Epoxy primer. Could also use Jotun Jotamastic, but I haven't personally tried it.

http://www.paints4u.com/pdffiles/29107.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[New Kentish Campers]

Nice work really inspiring

What etch primer do you use? Are etch primers waterproof ? reason for asking is I have a fair bit of bodywork to do so was looking for something to cover repair befor I can get the van painted properly

Thank you

In my view, primers wont be as durable to water as a top coat would be.

I used Lechler wash primer [etch primer] applied by brush over the repaired seams and joins as I went along so as to avoid any chance of moisture getting onto the new/treated metal. After a work session though, I did cover the van with a plastic sheet to give added protection; when I was ready to apply the primer filler, the etch primer was dry flatted -again to avoid moisture - to remove brush marks. I then sprayed etch over any other bare metal areas from d/a'ing the rest of the paintwork and then applied 3 or 4 good coats over the entire body, wet-on-wet.[wet primer straight on top of the still wet etch without bothering to let it completely dry first;as both products are 2 pack, i.e chemically dried, it will work and is widely used in the refinish trade]This covered any filled or worked areas as etch primer isn't really suitable to put over non-metal areas

The van was sheeted afterward to avoid any water getting onto the surface, though I did wet-flat the primer as the weather was very warm. I also used compressed air to blow the seams out of any water and sludge before sealing the seams. I bought just the one 1 ltr can and it was plenty for the entire job.

The plastic sheet that I used can be obtained from any friendly bodyshop; its comes on a large roll and is simply cut off to suit the length of the van. Although its pricipally designed for cars, it did cover 90% of the van in one go and I used a secondary one for the lower half and to also mask the wheels. Its not actually designed to be used as a tarpaulin, more designed for use in a spray booth for masking and protection against paint contamination, but is ok for short term use.

Dont try to put it on in strong winds otherwise you might well be doing a Mary Poppins impersonation..

Hope that helps!

Doug.

[skysurfin09]

Hi Doug, What an outstanding job you're doing there I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished article as what you've done so far is first rate. Good on yer mate. Rob

[tabbytiger23]

Love these restoration threads your doing a great job!

[New Kentish Campers]

As I've now got my phone working and dried out, I've uploaded some more images of the paintwork. I've stil got the windows to fit in plus the interior trimming to do, and then a damm good clean, but its coming together at long last..

Here's one of the o/s. Its sheeted as the windows aren't in yet and I had the bumpers and other bits in the barn to paint so the van had to come outside



One of the front panel, note the overspray on the recently cleaned wiring loom



One of the n/s..



And one of the back:




I'm pleased with the paintwork finish, straight from the gun, though it will need a bit of de-nibbing and a polish here and there:




One of the n/s inner wheelarch. Note the pi**ed masking




More stuff soon

[Mickyfin]

Looking good mate. Nice colours too.

[skysurfin09]

That's a lovely high gloss shine that you have there, how long before cutting back will you leave it. I'm assuming that it will be drying naturally as opposed to heat lamps? Rob

[boatbuilder]

That looks great. Could you give us some more info on your paint and spraying setup?

[New Kentish Campers]

That's a lovely high gloss shine that you have there, how long before cutting back will you leave it. I'm assuming that it will be drying naturally as opposed to heat lamps? Rob

As the paint is air drying, I will leave it for a couple of days, providing the air temp is good. The white paint shown on the inner wheel arch shot was flatted with some 1200 grit and then lightly compounded with some Farecla G3 using a damp piece of J cloth and hand polished with a new yellow duster. I do have a foam headed polishing mop that I can use on the larger areas.

[New Kentish Campers]

That looks great. Could you give us some more info on your paint and spraying setup?

Thank you

The paint that's been used is a standard 2 pack material, though I used a fast hardener to avoid runs, and used standard 2 pack thinner too. I also bought some 'McDonalds' type mixing cups that have the paint mixing ratios printed on the sides so as to give accurate mixes and paint strainers in the spray gun cup to trap any little bits of muck from getting in the mixed paint.

I also used some Tack-rags and pre-cleaner on the rubbed down primer before applying the paint.

I used 2 single-phase Compressors in tandem; one is a 12 cfm FAD with a 150 ltr air tank [free air delivered] for the guns, the other smaller 6 cfm,100 ltr tank one supplied the air-fed mask. The guns used were all Devilblis HVLP[high volume low pressure]ones, including one little JGA type smart repair gun; that one was used on the inner wheel arches & under door/tailgate shuts because its very small and easy to use in tight access areas.
HVLP guns are very good in that they dont use as much paint as the older style guns so that cuts down on cost plus theres little overspray flying around, but they use more air, hence my using 2 compressors.
I could have used a larger compressor really for the spraying, but you are getting close to 3 phase machines if you want to go higher, so thats why I used two. Sure, they ran their little hearts out but it worked for me.
And of course, I sprayed it in two halves so as to avoid air pressure loss, apart from the pop top which was done all in one go, and wasn't too easy either

I've used about 3 litres of white and one and a half of blue for the body, and about half a litre of black for the bumpers grilles, etc. It was all mixed using a 2-1-1 ratio. [paint, hardener, thinner]

Again, if you use this stuff, do make sure you use the correct protective gear!

I hope that helps you

Doug