Project #3...Oh no, not another Nissan Figaro!!!!!!

[atomant48]

I find the paint n rust strip discs work well but cost around 6quid each

agree - they work well but they can have a terribly short lifespan at 6 quid. And you always end up with a bit that you can’t use so really only get 4 quids worth!

I was looking at the metal blaster tools but again they are not cheap.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

I've tried lots of ways...heat gun on filler/underseal and then wire brush works for me. It isn't fast but gets me there. That passenger side rear quarter took about 2 hrs in total. The heat gun I prefer is a low power one which is a bit lighter.

I didn't get on with the black stripping discs.....problem with them is if you try to "power through" a rusty area it eats the disc pretty quick.

The wire brushes will trash your drill but I have a rubbish drill that I use to death...you can get the gearbox for my Dewalt so it's ideal for the job....and their gears are metal so last a fair while.

 

[Dcal]

I was looking at the metal blaster tools but again they are not cheap.

Make one.
You can buy a cheap polisher and the metal blaster brush holder and the accelerator. The the rest is pretty easy if you have access to a lathe.
The wire brushes are expensive but come up cheaper on eBay if you keep a look out.
Don't make the brush holder and bar, like I did, unless you are a machinist or like a challenge.

https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/stuff-you-have-made-today.67127/page-638#post-1679732

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Make one.

I really like that Dcal....thats the tool I was going to buy but they are crazy expensive. It would be very handy for doing the underside....last time that was a nightmare but this time round I have a new plan (to be revealed)

Problem with a grinder is the power it has...for "close quarters" fighting the drill is definitely safer. I've caught my clothes in the drill a few times but it doesn't have the torque to do any real damage thankfully.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

I faffed about today...won't know what I'm getting from the breaker so it's hard to know what needs cleaning up.

This area was rotten on the last car...the two plates aren't used on the Figaro (maybe on the Micra which shares the same chassis).

Sure enough it was rotten...even has the same rust hole in the chassis too. It looks like surface rust...it isn't...basically 5mm of compacted rust...must me a moisture trap inside the chassis rail and it blows outwards and erupts (alien style).

I wonder how many people see it....give it a quick wire wheel and paint over it....if you hit it with a hammer and screwdriver it disintegrates!

 

[Exuptoy]

If it’s not used get it out and delete it.

 

[jpmillermatic]

If it’s not used get it out and delete it.

hear, hear!

JP

ps, I looked it up: If you want to voice your agreement with someone during a debate (especially if you're a member of the UK Parliament), you will shout “hear, hear.” But as long as you're shouting, no one will notice you're wrong if you shout “here, here” because the words are pronounced the same.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Couldn't agree more on both accounts so "hear hear" from me too....I deleted it on the last project too so this one is also going in the bin.

I didn't manage my road trip today so no news on getting a back end for the repair....bit frustrating as it will hold me up because I need to know what I'm keeping from the existing back end so I know what to clean....

The other good news is my back pain finally seems to be improving.....bit odd because I woke up 3 days ago and one leg was really giving me gyp (I could barely walk)....but roll on a few days and most of my pain has gone which is incredible (been about 3 months!)

 

[jpmillermatic]

funny how that works with recovery....somehow, it gets better, then no improvement for a while, then you think you are going backwards, then a big improvement!

glad to hear you are making progress

JP

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Been putting the engine back together the last few weekends. Today's job was getting all the rust off the front cross member. I got it back to steel then gave it a coat of rc900 which is a 1 pack epoxy rust converter that can be left on and painted over.

Doesn't look great but I was happy as it's a right faff to get the paint off...and it needs doing before I refit all the engine gubbins.

Main thing is I'm finally back on the horse...

Tomorrow I'll do the same to the rear of the cross member....thats going to be a lot of fun I think!

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

It's too cold in the garage to paint the cross member so I'm cleaning up other stuff and getting it ready.

Today's progress....this is all with a wire wheel in an old drill...wish I had a blasting cabinet but we use what we have and make the best of it.

This isn't a show winning restoration...just want to stop things deteriorating further and get it back on the road.

Both were in the same condition...came out ok I think.

I did get to use my new air fed 3m grinding helmet...it was excellent.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

After the rc900 I put a coat of rust paint on the lower cross member...then I'll stone chip over the top.

The idea is to save it from getting worse...maybe in future it'll get the full engine out repaint but for the moment this will do.

I may do a coat of chassis wax too for good measure...haven't decided yet. Dinitrol waxes are quite dry so it won't turn into a mess but I want to leave it with sufficient protection without being a pain if I or someone else wants to blast it and paint it up body coloured in future.

Aint perfect but it'll be good enough that I can carry on putting the engine back together without seeing a load of rust looking back at me!

 

[jpmillermatic]

looks great for service now, and well into the future!

JP

 

[Spot the welders dog]

I do like the look of that orange custom one shown around the net. Bit of a shame - I really warmed to the idea of buying a PAO to potter around in until the ULEZ killed that idea. Good progress PD2, BOL going forward!

*Nightfire red would look great on a curvy car

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Cheers guys...been hard to really get stuck in. I have a really bad back again but I'm trying to do what I can to keep it moving forwards. Going to focus on the front end....the idea is to repair any rust and give it a coat of stone chip before refitting all the bits I took off.

There was an annoying bit of rust coming through near the suspension mount...turned into a big hole and then a patch. I'm not a fan of welding in engine bays so I made it as safe as I could. These are fire blankets (like the ones you have in kitchens for oil fires)...I keep half a dozen handy for just this purpose.

Thought it was going to be easy...but where it is means basically welding with my head upside down...the 3m speedglas is a bit heavy for that so it was one hand on the mig and one holding the mask on....lots of fun....came out OK I think.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Had a very rough week health wise...feeling better so decided to get back down the garage and just do fun stuff.

The brake fluid reservoir doesn't look too bad I think. The passenger side has a similar issue with rust so I'll work on that next I think.

I may go over the primer at a later stage with some colour...no point getting all the paint gear out just for that small area I think.

Looks like someone improvised a bottle top as a washer bottle lid....but I can't see a vent hole in it so not really sure how that works!

In other news I seem to have lost a few bits of my aircon pulley....maybe I cut it off as they are known to be difficult to remove...can't quite remember. I'm sure it will turn up once I've spent several hours improvising a fix!

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

I forgot to mention...for cleaning the screen wash bottle I used something called oxygen bleach (sodium percarbonate).

I bought the stuff to take mould off my wooden deck...I didn't want to jet wash the mould off as it can really damage the wood. I soaked the part for an hour and not exaggerating when I came back to it the dirt/mould had literally floated off the plastic.

From my understanding it's a safer bleach alternative to the usual chlorine bleaches....so for the deck cleaning the runoff water isn't toxic and that's what I wanted. Excellent results...I'll post some before/after pics for the radiator header tank....amazing stuff and next to no work.

 

[pedrobedro]

I forgot to mention...for cleaning the screen wash bottle I used something called oxygen bleach (sodium percarbonate).

Brother in law used to use some pre wash additive for the washing machine called Oxiclean to clean practically everything, oil spill on concrete, moss on the wall it all got some and it did work.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Brother in law used to use some pre wash additive for the washing machine called Oxiclean

I think chemically that might be the same stuff....when I read up on it basically it works by breaking the bonds between mould and the surface. I was really amazed how well it worked...if you didn't know you'd think I spent an afternoon scrubbing it clean

 

[Robbie260]

That's all looking pretty darn good PD like the figaro, I remember Sarah Jane had one in the doctor who spin off series they did for cbbc when I was a kid. Had a 1.3ltr 16v 1998 micra 5 door for a while in college only had it 3 months as the insurance was killer but it was a nice wee car and the fuel economy was amazing 1/2 a tank of petrol from Southampton to Fort William. Not exactly mega top speed 75 was about its limit but it was nippy, had some fair punch off the line.