Oli Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 I've successfully finished uni now so have bought my spitfire back to start some derusting, its a bit worse than i remember but i'm sure many people will consider it to be an easy fix! I've taken out most of the interior today, just struggling with the seatbelt bits as they wont seem to undo even with a lot of leverage and they're currently keeping the carpet in. Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39984577@N02/?saved=1 and a few from there are below: Drivers side floor, mostly surface rust, passengers side is better, A new bootlid is needed, its the one bit on the car which definately needs replacing, i hope other bits will be a case of patching them up! The bit behind the drivers side front wheel is terrible, screwdriver didnt really meet any resistance in pushing through, the passengers side is the same but i didnt make holes in it yet! I hope you guys can give advice and suggestions on where to start in de-rusting, i've removed the interior and was going to start removing all the paint as its so crap that if i redo it with rattle cans it will be just as good and i'll then be able to see what its hiding. I dont have the time to get the body off the chassis and do it properly, just want to stop the rust for another 5 years until i'll be able to do a full restoration. Oli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattius Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 make sure you get the rest of the carpet out, mine caught fire and burnt a lot of wiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Well basically you'll want to rub down the affected areas to bare metal (what you use for this is up to you, but best but slightly lethal to the surface and shape of the metal will be a zirconium disc on an angle grinder. But I'd probably start with wire brush and a bit of paper, maybe orbital sander... zirconium disc will literally reshape the metal surface for you if your not carefull, but its bloody good! You'll probably want a rust treatment next. Por metal ready or kurust, I had a loctite one, did ok. Then its on with the filler, then primer then paint. Can't really tell you about the boot, it'll probably just want a decent rub down. The front side you might find a suitable filler-patcher, but it really would like a patch welded there. Although I'm not sure than bit is structural. You'll have to get at it from the inside which will be a pain in the arse. I don't know what everyone's thought are on the front side, probably borrow a welder and have a crack yourself. Is simple enough once you get going. You don't have to make an artistic job of it of you get handy with the zirconium disc. Smooths it all out nice for you. Like a blind man with the shakes was never there... Anyway good luck, I suspect there's more than you are showing us. There always is more and the sooner you get to it the more you save in the long run. If its your only car try and stock up on the bits you need. Its really effing annoying trying to repair a car without one to pop out somewhere to get the odds and sods for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattius Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 hmmm never been happy with just painting over rust with por or anything else, i always use Dynax hydrate 80 first on the surface to kill the rust first, even after wire brushing the rust off it looks clean metal still use it on it as the rust is still there. if thats the only bit of rust on the boot it is more than savable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 True, definitely a good rub down required. Basicall you really only want to use rust treatment either when it impossible or simply when the surface is bare metal but not perfect. Sandblaster is kinda handy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zetecspit Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 I found a 3m strip it disc to be great for getting the remains of paint/rust/filler etc off, but paint stripper is good to get most off first. Forget the filler for holes, cut out and weld in metal, certainly around the sills etc. Borrowing a compressor and spraygun will save you a fortune in cans. A litre of etch primer (£15) once the bare steel has had a bit of metal ready or whatever will help the new paint stick and help stop rust. Then a few coats of high build primer, guide coat and flat back with 600 paper. wack on 3 litres of celly, polish back and admire your handiwork. Allow 100 hours of work, maybe more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oli Posted June 30, 2009 Author Share Posted June 30, 2009 Thanks for all the advice! I will go on a hunt for zirconium disks and rust killer tomorrow, then get sanding back, once i get those dam seatbelt clips out. Dad has a welder, i just need to learn how to use it, i used to do a bit of brazing but imagine its totally different! If the worst comes to the worst a guy i work with is a blacksmith and does a lot of welding, also used to own a spit with a vitesse engine and a hill climb car he built himself so i could talk him into doing some welding for me if my attempts go badly wrong! 100 hours for most people will probably endup easily doubling for me but its all a good learning process! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT6_sleeper Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 make sure you get the rest of the carpet out, mine caught fire and burnt a lot of wiring. glad im not the only one to set fire to there carpet :B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattius Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 I re-bodied my spit with a £100 welder from aldi, gradually my welding improved until now its almost decent. Body panels on a spit are very easy, most are just spot welded, with a mig, you would just plug weld it. to do that, drill lots of holes (preferably buy a hole punch, makes job 100 million times easier) then clamp the panel and fill the hole with weld. there are very few which require seam welding which after learning how to plug weld it will get easier. Your floor will prob have random holes, fill these with plug welds aswell, get a sheet of copper and place it underneath with a jack hard up against the floor the weld wont stick to it. there is a heck of a lot of pics of how i did mine on my website here http://www.mattinglis.com/copp/thumbnails.php?album=28 by no means am i an expert but my panel gaps are good and the car is still in one piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattius Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 glad im not the only one to set fire to there carpet :B yeah fire extinguisher dust is still appearing under heavy braking! not as bad as just after fire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 OLi, An angle grinder is definitely the daddy, but use a 'cup brush', rather than a disc. It'll fit into smaller corners and while being very fierce on paint, is unlikely to remodel the shape of the panel. Be sure to use it safely; the short wires will break off occasionally and they travel very fast - fast enough to impale themselves in your skin! So wear overalls, heavy gloves and EYE PROTECTION!!! JOhn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jango Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 use a http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/lrgimg_popup.jsp;jsessionid=M3AA5HLB1XPOECSTHZPCFFA?productId=26422&imageNo=null&ts=00419 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oli Posted July 1, 2009 Author Share Posted July 1, 2009 Jango...no way can i afford that and not sure its nessicary, not sure if your joking or not! John, i'll give the cup brush a go later on today as already have one and an angle grinder/high speed mains drill, will definately go for goggles and overalls! Once i've cut/wire brushed away the rust and painted over a rust killer should i then paint some kind of primer over the metal to protect it until it gets painted, it is likely to take me a long time between removing rust and painting and i dont want rust to start re-appearing. Is there any reason for areas which are not seen, e.g. the floors, that i should not just paint on red oxide, thats my usual technique, i have red oxide wheel arches at the moment which seem to be surviving well: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMH Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Start getting rid of old paint hiding rust. Some strong pills, beer etc might come handy 8) You can get wire brush'es for grinters i all sort of shapes; like this: http://www.screwfix.com/prods/98031/Abrasives/Brushes/For-Angle-Grinders/Titan-Wire-Brush-Twist-Cup-100mm-M14 I would go for a flat one (couldn't find a link). Make sure its a twisted wire type though. Your car looks like having nice original floors; but your outer sills don't look too good to me. Frame (outriggers) need derusting and propper rust protection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zetecspit Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 With a wire brush on a grinder I really recommend a full face mask thingy, spikes in the face hurt! http://www.screwfix.com/prods/22372/Workwear-PPE/Protective-Clothing/Eye-Protection/Browguard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oli Posted July 1, 2009 Author Share Posted July 1, 2009 I'm not convinced the floors are origional, i've had the car 2 years now and it had a full rebuild 10 years before i bought it, i have reciepts for almost every pannel on the car! I have a face guard made out of really fine mesh for chainsawing so will use that with some goggles underneath. Out riggers are the bits of chassis heading out towards the doors just infront of where the seats mount right? They seem very solid, only slight surface rust starting to appear, i think they must have been new 12 years ago so i'll protect those before it becomes more than surface rust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMH Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 outriggers are the ones just behind front wheels. Welded to the frame (part of the frame...). Frame often go "soft" underneath, where the outrigger is covering it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jony Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 theres a spitfire down at KD's atm, whole body has just been acid dipped! wowee! now that IS rust free! takes every tiny particle of rust away and just leave beautiful bare metal left! its got me wanting to get another spitfire and do it then just stick a layer of laquer on it and have a proper rat look spitty! ;D ;D ;D (i know totaly no use for you but it does rock! will get some pics!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oli Posted July 1, 2009 Author Share Posted July 1, 2009 I'd love to do that, don't really have the skills or time to do a ground up restoration at the moment sadly! The idea of doing all that wiring puts me off! I'm lovely n ill today and had a meeting at work to go to this morning so havent really got anything done, i finished removing the carpets, a-frame etc and went out and bought jenolite and some wire brushes, made a brief start at cutting back behind the front wheel but was forced to stop for food: Where the flat bit the edge of the bonnet closes down onto meets the vertical pannel the whole this is only joined very loosely, and around the corner i dont think there will be much left once i get hacking! this seems to be the worst area of rust in the car altho i found another large patch at the back corner of the passenger side floor, near the wheel, which is going to need a patch up. There are a few more photos on flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/39984577@N02/?saved=1), Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 You've had a decent bash at that. Takes forever, sometimes I think suggesting sandpaper and a wirebrush is simply cruelty. Like you need 100 bits of paper and a new pair of hands if you tried to get that off with them. Just keep going imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oli Posted July 11, 2009 Author Share Posted July 11, 2009 Had another go yesterday afternoon and today, have started removing lights, handles etc from the body. I've taken off the doors and boot lid, think that ideally i need a new boot lid but will see what this one looks like after being stripped down. I'm mid way through taking the paint of the floor pannels, there doesnt seem to be any serious damage so far, think it will just be a case of painting with some jenolite and then painting over that. Is there any reason for not using red oxidizing on my floors and other places which can't be seen? Dad thinks i should then paint under-seal over the red oxide but i'm not sure its necessary, what do people suggest? I'll upload some pics a bit later on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Well, I don't think they need underseal on the inside. I can see his point, you don't want water collecting in the floorpan, especially wet carpets and rusting through. However a decent paint job should do it. Biggest problem is that underseal is unpleasant to remove. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oli Posted July 11, 2009 Author Share Posted July 11, 2009 Yea knowing that i might have to remove it in the future is putting me off using underseal, its taking ages to get it off at the moment and its still rusty in places underneath so does have to come off sadly! I think i'll stick to red oxide inside. Photos wont upload at the moment, will try again soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oli Posted July 25, 2009 Author Share Posted July 25, 2009 Did another few hours today, stripped and repainted the fuel tank, just used red oxide. I've also started stripping the paint from the boot floor, the boot floor has definately been replaced in the past and there was a thick strip of filler along the fuel tank side of the boot floor which when removed revealed some nice holes and rust : I've been doing some research into painting, for repainting how nessicary is it to remove all the old paint before respraying? Is it possible/advisable to just sand down the existing paint to smooth it off and give something for a new layer of paint to grip onto? Oli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT6_sleeper Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Only thing you need to wary of is paint reactions some paint reacts, other then that yes just rub it back until you have a nice surface I then would get a brillo pad of sorts I have these things from years ago that are great then just prime and paint, obviously rubbing back where needed to get best finish. you don’t need to go to bare metal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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