respraying over microblisters

[redboy]

Hi all,
I have a 1961 Rover p4 which has at some point had a rather poor respray. The top surfaces of the car have quite a few microblisters- where it looks like they had a bit of water in the air lines. The colour was changed from black to dark blue, but luckily the previous respray left the door shuts, inner of bonnet and bootlid in the original black, so I won't have to respray those.

I am looking to respray or have it resprayed in original black cellulose, but am open to other paint systems too.

The car is a 'daily driver' and I don't want it to be a 'concours' paint job, but rather just durable and last a long time without peeling or the like. The car is generally rust free, and there is no evidence of filler over rust or rust coming through.

My question is- what is the best way to prep- does it need to go all the way back to bare metal, or is it possible to just sand away the poor top layer(s) and then prime/prep on top of that?

I intend to bare metal the alloy bonnet and boot lid- and have them redone with proper etch primer etc, as these have some peeling, but the steel parts of the car don't have peeling paint, just little blisters. These aren't fish eyes, but just blisters where the top 'skin' has peeled off.

I'm not wanting a cheap and nasty £300 blowover, but at the same time, I can't really justify (or afford) the £5000 strip the car to bare shell and respray that some have reccomended. I don't want a trailer queen. The car lives outside, and I would prefer celly as its easier to repair if it gets scratched or local repairs are needed.

The local bodyshops in my area (sussex) seem to not want to touch old cars, as they make most of their money off of insurance jobs, and those that do work on old cars are used to E-type full restos with E-type budgets.

If anybody knows of a good 'mid range' bodyshop who understand old cars, I'm very keen for reccomendations too! I am able to do alot of the work myself- especially stripping trim and even the grunt work of sanding, but I don't want to do it wrong and cause it to look as bad as it does now.

thanks,
Brian

 

[steveo3002]

id say sand it and see what you find , if you are confident that the problems are in the top coat then just sanding all that layer(s) off should work

having said that if you include some dent and rust repairs you might no far off bare metal anyway

any suspect areas just roar it all off

 

[redboy]

Thanks Steve! That's good advice. cheers ,
Brian

 

[Chickenjohn]

I would also say, take the blisters down to bare metal, then etch prime.

 

[the snooper]

id go with steveo you will need to sand before you know what your up against if they disappear with no trace all well and good if not then you need to find the cause
as for paint if you want it to last id go with 2k its no harder to repair then celly but is far more durable and less work when it comes to polishing

 

[rocketron]

Go with steveo. Had a grp sports car sprayed and some years later car was covered in tiny blisters, on roof, bonnet and wing tops: basically on every horizontal surface. Car was covered with cotton dust sheet which, I'm told, got damp and over time caused the prob. Had to sand down to clear away blisters before respray. Was ok afterwards.

 

[redboy]

Go with steveo. Had a grp sports car sprayed and some years later car was covered in tiny blisters, on roof, bonnet and wing tops: basically on every horizontal surface. Car was covered with cotton dust sheet which, I'm told, got damp and over time caused the prob. Had to sand down to clear away blisters before respray. Was ok afterwards.

I wonder if that's what made mine blister too- it was stored underneath a tarp outside, and I think that's what made the paint go bad- like yours it is mainly on the top surafces- the sides of the car are much better. In a couple of spots, I've tested by picking/scraping around the blister- the primer looks very clean smooth and flat- it seems that somehow water got between the primer and the paint, either when spraying or like yours from seeping through when stored and damp.

 

[langy]

I would say yes, If you cover it up it needs to be with a breathable cover.

I wonder if that's what made mine blister too- it was stored underneath a tarp outside, and I think that's what made the paint go bad- like yours it is mainly on the top surafces- the sides of the car are much better. In a couple of spots, I've tested by picking/scraping around the blister- the primer looks very clean smooth and flat- it seems that somehow water got between the primer and the paint, either when spraying or like yours from seeping through when stored and damp.

 

[steveo3002]

yeah covers seem to do more harm than good , either that or it stood around in primer and got damp , thats a common mistake

 

[500e]

Micro blisters are a pain, can be caused by solvent entrapment, to many coats to fast, to high a thinner ratio, top coat dries before under layers trapping solvent between coats, till the sun boiled it out.
They was a big problem with BLeyland years ago took 2\3 years to surface.
Did a Twin Cam MGA in royal blue, bare metal re build, new painter finish like glass for 9 months then Start again.
Never had good results with dark blues, all ways seemed to go back quicker than other colors.
Cellulose was the material in those days then polyurethanes were a blast quick drying tougher A&W made a loverly material & mixing scheme.