Rear end refurb.

[RaceDiagnostics]

Got the panel welded in.

On to the filling.

My weapon of choice.

Soon be ready for epoxy primer finally.

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

Any suggestions on how to clean up this crumby aluminium.

 

[ronan]

Rotary wire brush in a drill ? Or failing that bead blasting.

 

[pedrobedro]

Dip it in brick acid or brush it on then rinse it off really well but odds are it will be very pitted under all that. After so long it turns into something that's not really aluminium any more.

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

I sanded down the light clusters covers then primed them with some plastic primer. Will put some 2k dark grey to match the inside of the boot tomorrow.

I used a small wire brush wheel, it tool hours and a lot of scrubbing to get this lot clean.

 

[Rig Pig]

Looking good so far, I must admit I have a real soft spot for the old SL.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Looking good so far, I must admit I have a real soft spot for the old SL.

Hackney Marshes? ;-)

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

Soft top cover prep next.

Looks pretty new, I guess the label would not have been on from the factory.

But there is damage to the chrome and paintwork from careless fitting of the hard top, prior to my ownership, I know as I've never fitted the hard top.

The chrome came off easily enough.

Not sure about the vinyl part though, will ask some merc experts.

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

A while later.....

I though I would have another go at the aluminium.

Mixed up some citric acid.

Got it up to temp with my cup boiler and left it for an hour.

However it had no effect so will leave as is.

 

[marlinspike]

I tried to clean the aluminium bodykit mounting rails of my project in Deox C, which basically citric acid, and it did nothing for it. Just cleaned them up with Gunk and Autosol in the end, though they still look manky.

 

[MattF]

You want an alkali, not an acid, for aluminium. Sodium carbonate is the subtler option, (though I believe I tried that once and wasn't impressed with the efficacy), whereas sodium hydoxide, (caustic soda), is the aggressive option. Just make sure you don't leave the pieces in the solution for too long, as it eats away at aluminium, and rinse off thoroughly afterwards. The usual precautions apply when mixing and using caustic.

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

Well is seems that you just pry up the tangs and off it comes. I will look into the costs of replacing with leather.

On to the soft top cover prep.

Will need to do some filling here.

I did a lot more prep work on the car today and got a couple of coats of 2k grey on to the light cluster covers.

The weather was cold and damp today so I held off on putting the epoxy primer onto the car.

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

Well it was 14degC and raining this morning so didn't think I would get any painting done, but it warmed up by lunchtime.

Masking up took an hour or so.

I then hosed the floor down before starting to paint. First two coats of epoxy primer.

Starting to warm up nicely.

Then 3 coats of high build primer.

Quite a few bugs landed in it unfortunately.

Will sand it all down tomorrow and then base coat and clear.

Here is a question, can I get away with leaving all the masked up areas in place or should I strip it off and remask tomorrow?

 

[HughF]

Sand it back, remove masking, re-mask. minimise risk of dust trapping somewhere where the air from shooting the base can blow it out

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

Good point!

Almost forgot the stone chip.

 

[MG David]

I have found that leaving poly mask in place rather than re masking is a problem with the areas immediately adjoining the painted area. Once the paint has dried flexing of the poly mask causes it to break away in small fragments so if you don't change the masking those fragments are in danger of spoiling your next paint session.

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

Thanks, I ended up pulling it off last night.

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

A lot of effort but slow progress today. Because of the curved surfaces, body lines and edges I decided to sand by hand and not use the DA.

Started with 320grit till all signs of the orange peel in the primer was gone, then put on a guide coat and sanded again with 500 grit.

Then finished up with 800 grit, what a marathon!

I found a small (say 1.5mm diameter) hole while sanding, is it ok to fill, sand back the put base directly on top, or does it need primer on it?

 

[MG David]

I would prime it with a few coats. The filler will have a different absorbency to the primer around it and that will be visible in the base coat if you don't prime it. You want the primer finish under the base coat to be as uniform as possible so as to get the best outcome.

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

OK I'll put a bit on with an air brush.