MadaboutKitcars

I thought I would show what happens if you apply POR15 without properly preparing the metal first.

This is the bit of metal I used to stir the POR15 yesterday. The POR15 just flaked off the metal.
20180127_125223 by WCA!, on Flickr

The paint was very glossy black. It didn't stick to the POR15 very well though. I was brushing it off as much as brushing it on almost as if the POR15 was too smooth. I will leave this a few hours to dry and give it a second coat and see how it looks then.
20180127_132941 by WCA!, on Flickr

WCA - Great effort and write up Nick.

Good luck getting your foot fixed.

Cheers, Paul.

Thanks Paul. I have a feeling I will be under the car with the cast on getting it all back together during my 'sick leave' :-)

That sounds like a plan !

My first kit build was a Bright Wheel Viper back in the very early 1990's. The start of that build was a week after a Hernia operation I had. The doctor signed me off for 3 months starting early May. The build was nearly complete by the time I went back to work !!

On a side note Paul, can I just say you lucky, lucky bastard : http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/forum/showthread.php?p=92866#post92866

I wish you many hours of pleasure and expect/demand we meet up to admire it when complete.

Yeh, that was a bit of a find ! I will be posting updates as it progresses, just been clearing the garage, making space to work over the last week. The Triumph is being collected next Saturday so I'll be in a position to make a proper start once it is out of the way.

Not so many photos today as all I have done is sprayed MetalPrep, washed it off and have the fans going in the garage to dry everything again.

Me, kitted up to lie under a car spraying MetalPrep
20180128_110734 by WCA!, on Flickr

Front suspension sprayed with MetalPrep ready for comparison photo tomorrow
20180128_111601 by WCA!, on Flickr

Me not being very impressed with the POR15 top coat. There were several patches like this where the paint brush had dragged the gloss off the underlying POR15. It woories me about how well the paint with stay stuck in the long run. I guess time will tell.
20180128_120305 by WCA!, on Flickr

The fan and heater got the front of the car dry so I whacked some POR15 over that bit. The rest will need to wait until tomorrow as it is still damp in places.

20180128_144608 by WCA!, on Flickr

Looks like I will miss the Wednesday cut off date for completion. :-(

How to remove POR15 from your skin after it has dried


I have never seen anyone, anywhere, explaining how to remove POR15 from your skin. Today I managed to get a streak of silver on my wrist, just above the glove line. Bugger.

I tried scrubbing it for a few minutes in the shower but obviously nothing moved.

I went down to the hot tub for a relaxing soak and that had no effect on the paint. Thankfully it didn't dissolve and pollute the water.

Into the sauna, yes I have a hard life, and after about 30 minutes at 55 degrees I was suitably bathes in sweat and tried scratching at the paint and amazingly it started to lift. Not exactly pain free and easy but I successfully removed a 2cm x 5cm patch of silver POR15 from my wrist.

So if you ever use POR15 and get some on your skin you know what to do. Sit in a sauna, many hotels or sports centres will let you have a one-off trial session, as long as you can bear and start scratching the paint.

Not too good for you, but try scrubbing with acetone.

Looking much tidier!

Whilst you are under the car, it would make sense to change the diff oil, always gets neglected.

Real men use wire wool and thinners to wash with.

i tried wire wool and thinners when I first spotted it and i was down the garage. Didn't shift it.

I did the diff and transmission fluids in April 2015 : http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5319

i am more worried about the slight oil leak at the engine end. haven't traced the source yet but will try too while it is still jacked up.

It doesn't work on my underpants.

I finished applying the POR15 today and I am glad to report that my trick of the tape around the paint tin seems to have worked as I managed to open the tin without issue. The same couldn't be said of picking up my stirring stick which ripped the wood off my work bench.
20180129_143249 by WCA!, on Flickr

I used my home made bushing pusher to push the bushes on.
20180129_152402 by WCA!, on Flickr

The wooden plank helped me lever the bush on and compensated for the clamp angle but I needed the 24mm socket to finish the job.
20180129_153652 by WCA!, on Flickr

The plank pushed the bush onto the control arm but needed the socket to get the end to poke out.
20180129_165719 by WCA!, on Flickr

An repeat of the POR15 incident allowed photos this time. I spotted where my arm rubbed against something painted.
20180129_170829 by WCA!, on Flickr

After five minutes scrubbing with soap and water, I mean thinners and wire wool.
20180129_172824 by WCA!, on Flickr

40 minutes in the sauna and you can pick it off with your finger nail.
20180129_182202 by WCA!, on Flickr

Tomorrow I hope to get the POR15 covered in top coat. Given how little I like the POR15 top coat I and contemplating only using that for the fiddly spots and using some spray on under body paint for the rest.

Ideas? Advice?

Tomorrow is Tuesday so I need to get the paint finished and cured ready for putting back together before the 12 noon surgery. Got to love a dead line.

Maybe the top coat needs warmer weather? If the main reason for the top coat is to stop the UV getting to the POR15, could you use any black gloss? An oil based gloss (most are) won't cause any bad reactions.

Ian guessing than any metal gloss would work. I was wondering about using the slightly rubberised undercoat paint for the non-suspension areas underneath.

The new MOOG rear ARB links arrived today. they don't look quite the same as the ones I removed. The new ones are the long ones in the middle.

I am hoping they will still fit as they were sold as for the Z3. I am a bit disappointed with the finish of them. One end has the metal insert while to other end is just a rubbber insert - same as the old ones. If you try to look through the rubber only end on the top one you will see that the hole is blocked completely by rubber.

20180130_112613 by WCA!, on Flickr

Hmm not sure whether to try and fit then or return them.

The centre ones are totally different to the old ones. The hole centres should be the same.
I have found that quite a few parts listed for the Z3 are actually for the E36 and are different.

That is what I feared. I checked the bits for the front and they all seem present and correct (yes, I did ask for a set of ring spanners for Christmas, twice)
20180130_115911 by WCA!, on Flickr

Everything that was rusty has been cleaned and painted with silver POR15.
Everything that was painted silver with POR15 is now painted black with gloss top coat
Everythng that is painted black with gloss top coat is now being left to dry ready for reassembling the suspension tomorrow morning*
20180130_153532 by WCA!, on Flickr

While waiting for the paint to dry I thought I would try that TIR degreaser on my wheels. Before:
20180130_152703 by WCA!, on Flickr

Spray with cleaner, left 20 minutes, a quick scrub round with the old garage dustpan and brush (didn't need the dustpan as it happens) and blAST OFF WITHTHE PRESSURE WASHER. Hey Presto - After
20180130_153059 by WCA!, on Flickr


*I might leave the reassembly until after the operation as I don't have the correct rear drop links I won't be able to complete the job, I am pretty sick of being stuck under the car and it will give time for the black top coat to properly harden.

I use a babies bottle brush with a wire handle. Cut the round loop off the wire handle and insert it into a battery drill. Makes cleaning between the spokes really quick and easy.
I notice that the front chassis legs have been left open, water and crud will get in and it will eventually rust them out from the inside. I just cut a couple of alloy plates and sealed them with silicone to keep the damp out. I intend to replace one of the plates with a 3mm steel plate so that I can mount the towing hook to it.

This sort of bottle brush
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Libman-00039-Bottle-Brush/282678225055?hash=item41d0ef689f:g:CjIAAOSwA2hZ0ytj

Good spot on the chassis legs. A steel plate for towing was on my to do list but I forgot about it. I will cut some to size in the morning.

Thanks

I may be entirely wrong, but the first photo of the wheel....... It looks like the tyre has broken cords or somesuch problem about the 10 O'clock position, unless it's just an optical illusion?

I am house bound while this heals but I sent the wife down to check and she can see nothing wrong
20180202_223524 by WCA!, on Flickr