Thread: Painting my 109 van

Hi Andrew

If there is no bare aluminium, a rub with wet and dry should be okay..... probably 600 ~ 800grit would do. Just remember if there is bare aluminium, it needs etch primer first then the colour/base coat [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img]

As for 4ltrs.... I guess you're going to "gun it" so with a bit of thinners the paint should last two or three good coats if you don't paint the roof. Brush or roller would make less coats but would be much more resistant to damage and last much longer.

I would that thought a bit of prepsol rather than just water before painting - this ensures oily residue removed and good paint adhesion. Probably more of an issue when spraying that rolling or brushing.

G'day

Spraying enamel has the advantage that you can paint it over just about anything but it does not last as long as acrylic or 2pak. It is also good in that it dries shiny "off the gun". I painted my Series IIa SWB with enamel about 2 years ago and already it has faded badly. It does have the advantage that it covers very quickly and a couple of coats.

It has another disadvantage - it is a bit slow on the drying time and so collects dust, flies etc etc.

It has one really nasty property - because it is slow drying, its overspray sticks to everything it lands on. So it really pays to cover up anything you don't want covered in a mist of colour. With acrylic, the paint drys in the air so that overspray is much less of a problem.

I repainted a Range Rover in acrylic and it gave a nice low sheen finish suitable for a vehicle which has lots of patina.

Next time I paint, it will be acrylic. It does need to be polished but it is better for mug painters like me. It is easier to patch and lasts longer.

Michael

Thanks Guys
Im going for a spray job,mainly for the experience.Ive got my bro coming on the weekend so I will pick his brains a bit more.
On the can there is mention of a hardner available to strengthen the paint,any body used such a product?
The paint would have been purchased for a Case frontend loader,so it would needed to have been an industrial type of paint??
Landyandy

G'day again

The hardener has an upside (paint is harder to scratch) and a down side (makes the paint brittle). The result is that stone chips tend to shatter the paint and really make a mess. I used it in an earlier job and will not use it again.

The industrial spraying paint is cheaper (lower quality?) than automotive spraying enamel. A friend painted his 1948 with it and it has faded badly where as my 51 which was painted with auto enamel is still quite sound (I have kept it out of the sun as much as possible).. My 51 has the hardener and it has chipped badly.

My 69 is painted with plain auto enamel and while it has weathered, it has not chipped like the 51.

Michael

Thanks Micheal
Will give the hardener a miss,it adds isocyanates anyway which are real bad news if you dont have proper breathing gear.
Landyandy

What type of paint would the factory have used for Defenders ?
My '93 is still pretty shiny after 11 years....

Looked at some paint for my 98 Disco to fix the rust around the Alpine window and was told it is 2Pac.