Thread: Saving the defender

well this is definitely a battle being waged one inch at a time....today I got a coat of paint onto the old tubed wolf steel rims - these may be a bit past it actually, a few are a bit worse for wear, but I will see how the tyre guys view them. I've read all the arguments on tubed v non tubed and im happy to run with them.

I also got a pile of things final sanded in preparation for the primer , but that wont go on until next monday now.

Looking at all the dents in this old truck, ive decided that I'm going to leave most of them. Lets face it, this was never going to be a showroom piece, and its going to be used as it was intended, so its only going to get more dents anyways

Well, I finally got to try out spray painting .

I actually did have a crack at it, spraying outside about 20 years ago on an old Celica, which ended up at the scrapyard lol.

I'm using a $50 HVLP gun from supercheap with a 1.4mm nozzle for the primer - its probably not ideal for laying down primer and I was having a bit of trouble with the fan pattern - after about 4 hours I finally started getting it ok, then it was time to pack up and get home.

I did have a high pressure pot gun, which I was sold by the same company I bought the primer from ( second stiek against them) - I elected not to use it, as on reading more, its a piece of rubbish and no one in their right mind would use a high pressure suction gun, when a HVLP gun can be bought for $50 bucks.

Anyway, i'm using a 1k etch primer/ primer - it goes down over three coats, first one a mist then a few a bit heavier over about 25 minutes in total - I started on the floor pans and then had a crack at doing the roof - well that was a bit tough - hard to get a good positon - so I ended up taping off at the roof joint and spraying just the rear section first. I did right side, left side and then had to do the rear 'curve' to the gutter , as I couldn't get a good angle on that from the side.

I was pleased to see that the work I put into repairing the hail damage on the roof paid off - 2 1/2 days of dinking out dents then putting in the least amount out of filler possible, then sanding, sanding, sanding - its well under 1/8th inch, so i've done my best to limit its use. There are a few waves in the panels, but hey, thats part of the charm of owning a defender if you ask me.

I've also got the seat box 100% clean and pre treated with the KBS rust converter. IM actually really pleased wiht the condition of the seat box, just one little section of aggressive rust the size of a pea - no rust holes, its in good shape.

alright, things are moving forward ! feels really great to finally get some primer on - I hope to be laying the rest of the primer, then the top coat ( raptor liner, from a 3.5mm HVLP gun) within the next 7-10 days.

Looking great. 🏻


Nathan.

Well, today i'm at that point where it feels like i'm getting nowhere. After months of scraping, sanding, removing rust and stripping parts, its just starting to feel like i'm making no progress. When you look at the truck, you'll see what I mean .

Bit of a downer to lay the primer on the roof only to have that highlight areas that need more attention wiht the sander etc....honestly I could chase my tail fixing every dink and dent until the cows came home and there would still be dinks and dents all over it.

It is what it is.

The perfectionist in me wants to get everything perfect - the fact is that simply not going to happen.

ON the plus side, I did get 2 coats of KBS rust coat onto the seat box tonight.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to do a test spray of the Raptor liner on the floor section. Hoping that it will cover a multitude of sins, so I can then cover the roof and hide all the dinks that I dont have the time, budget or skills to fix.

I know how you feel Andy130, I've been planning on getting my SIII on the road for the last 12 months and it's still not ready. Just keep in mind that it isn't supposed to look perfect it's a real Landy and also think of how much fun you'll have when you drive it and remember that you rebuilt it and not just whack another coat of paint on it. Your doing a great job. Keep it up.

Nathan.

You guys might appreciate this...

The Wabi Sabi of Roving

The Japanese philosophy of Wabi Sabi might go some way to describing the intangible nature of Land Rover Series and Defender vehicles...

'Characteristics of the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, asperity (roughness or irregularity), simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty, intimacy, and appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes.'

And not only in terms of the vehicles design and manufacturing processes including being virtually the last hand built production vehicle we'll ever see, but also in terms of the experiential nature of driving one...Roving to be exact.

All of the above Wabi Sabi characteristics are what make Roving/Wandering/Experiencing the World in a Defender or Series Land Rover vehicle unique. This is what is being lost to the Land Rover brand with the end of Defender. Something far more valuable than money.

The rush to 'modernise' everything in the name of fiscal profit and luxury, destroys the very essence of Land Rovers origins.

The good news is that the more use a Defender or Series Land Rover gets, the more dents, the more patina...the more beautiful is its Wabi Sabi nature.

It is looking great Andy it is going to look amazing, I cant wait to see it finished
Chris

Originally Posted by MrLandy

You guys might appreciate this...

The Wabi Sabi of Roving

The Japanese philosophy of Wabi Sabi might go some way to describing the intangible nature of Land Rover Series and Defender vehicles...

'Characteristics of the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, asperity (roughness or irregularity), simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty, intimacy, and appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes.'

And not only in terms of the vehicles design and manufacturing processes including being virtually the last hand built production vehicle we'll ever see, but also in terms of the experiential nature of driving one...Roving to be exact.

All of the above Wabi Sabi characteristics are what make Roving/Wandering/Experiencing the World in a Defender or Series Land Rover vehicle unique. This is what is being lost to the Land Rover brand with the end of Defender. Something far more valuable than money.

The rush to 'modernise' everything in the name of fiscal profit and luxury, destroys the very essence of Land Rovers origins.

The good news is that the more use a Defender or Series Land Rover gets, the more dents, the more patina...the more beautiful is its Wabi Sabi nature.

MrLandy, this is excellent news. Now I have a great story to justify the imperfections I'M going to read up on Wabi Sabi.