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Stripper For A Day
The stripper was of course the chemical sort to get me down to bare metal on the underside of my car. There are so many innuendos I could use for this post, but I wont go down that route. The day was of course at Mustang Maniac where my day of hard work was to begin. The car looks quite menacing when you stand there with just a three-inch scraping knife. I used some stuff called Starchem – Synstrip. This has been given quite a few reviews on how good it is. The old school strippers like Nitromors has had an ingredient change due to new laws or health and safety for what ever reason. The results speak for themselves, they don’t work like they used to. So this stuff is one of the few old school strippers left out there that you can get your hands on. Professional use only with disclaimers all over it on the label. It took notice and used goggles, face mask and gloves. Is the stripper any good? I shall review it fully soon, but it does burn like hell on your hands, that should give you an idea.
Anyway the car was given a good slap of the mixture on the under seal and it was obvious it was attacking not just paint but under seal, tar and any other stuff sprayed on it. It was going to be a long day, the first attempt removed a lot, the second exposed the base paints and we were almost there with the third. Why take it all off? Well, we wanted to see what was under the sealers to see what work need to be done or what filler needed to be removed. So a tip is – don’t buy a car that looks great as it could be covering a multitude of sins. It’s better to see bare metal and you know exactly where you are. I exposed a bit of filler around the welds, nothing to bad as it was just to smooth it all out. There was some real good clean metal by the tunnel gearbox area and a little surface rust on the rear panels by the fuel tank partition. The work was slow, made my arms ache and Adam gave me hand towards the end of the day too. What a difference it has made already. I will start on the other areas next week if I have recovered enough by then. Hopefully there will be a lot more bare metal all round next time. The process is apply the liquid, let it bubble up, scrap it off, add more, rub it in with wire wool, scrap it all off and repeat. The pictures I took after each treatment, you can’t really see a huge difference between the sessions, start and finish there is a difference.
What it looked like:
After the first session:
After the second session:
After the third session and the end of the day, we rubbed the chemicals down with thinners to see the bare metals. The surface rust will be attacked again with a little aggression where I can. Anything that looks bad – we will replace and patch properly.
Well that was all day Saturday taken care off, Sunday I was rubbing down my driver’s side fresh air vent. It was a real mess and needed rubbing down, primer, and a couple of top coats. I have added the full process under my Photo Menu – Inside The Car – Drivers Air Vent Refurbishment, or click here for the quick link. Here are a few pictures of the before, during and after. My arms are killing me and I am pleased with the results. for both days. On the assembled pictures for the air vent the finger prints were my oily fingers, it wiped of clean. Unfortunately there is too much exciting stuff to look at here apart from different angles of course. I was well chuffed with the results, even if I do say so myself.
original state
stripped down
rust treated
self etc primer
first coat of under hood satin
the end results assembled
assembled
cable attached
Quick Links:
Photo Menu – Inside The Car – Drivers Side Air Vent or click here
Roll Over Mustang
The weekend was exciting and an eye opener at the same time. The normal weekend now I visit Adam and the guys at Mustang Maniac to work on my car. The week was filled with long days and long nights until Saturday Morning. I was up with the sun and spring in the step itching to get on my way. I even packed my tools the night before to save time for the morning. After what seemed like a long journey I arrived at the office and found Adam on the phone who was making arrangements to pick up the rotisserie from the other yard. All was agreed I hoped in the big F350 truck and of we went to get it. Mandatory tea breaks over we arrived back in good time, the sections were taken off the back of the truck and taken to the panel shop where my car is. The rotisserie is in three sections, the two ends and a large centre bar to keep the ends from moving apart.
We started at the back and checked the brackets lined up with the rear bumper holes, the bolts were passed through the holes and tightened up hard to the frame.
initial line up
bolted in place
We then moved to the front and lined up again where the bumper irons are attached. Here we had a problem. One of the bolts was sheered into the nut on the chassis rail so it couldn’t be bolted in correctly. I looks like that there were previous attempts to remove it as well which didn’t go well should we say! Eventually the guys managed to get the bracket in place and found that there needed to be a longer steel bar made as the bracket was catching the front rail. A thick piece of steel was cut into lengths and drilled out to match the holes and was welded to the brackets on the front of the unit.
new plate
bracket on the unit.
plate bolted to the frame
With the car still on axle stands the hard work was then to line up the car and balance it close to the centre point in order to make it easier to roll. With so many adjustments on the rotisserie it takes some serious working out. You have to make sure it’s high enough that when it rolls over the chassis does not hit the rails and the roof is also clear. Once the adjustments were close enough the whole thing was bolted up tight and the centre rail double checked. The pneumatic pumps at the end of the units lifted the car into the air and off the axle stands. Slowly she was turned over and the underside was exposed for the world to see. It’s one thing to look underneath on a ramp, but on its side it reveals a whole lot more, the parts I thought would be OK need looking at again now they are in the broad light of day, well under heavy strip lights anyway.
front
back
With the car rotated and exposed, every little hole or rust spot was picked up. Discussions were made about what will be replaced in what order once all the bare metal was exposed.
What was Adam’s parting shot to me before I left on Saturday evening? “Now the hard work begins.” I honestly thought it already had.
Sunday.
Today is Mothers Day in the UK so it was pretty much a right off as far as getting to grips with some dirty cleaning and polishing in the man cave. But hey, I was treated out for a nice meal so I shouldn’t complain. I will just have to make up for lost time over the Easter weekend now, that’s all there is to it.
Just A Shell
Need I say where I was over the weekend? Yep, Mustang Maniac to take the final parts off the car. The front and rear glass was to come out and I was little nervous about that to be honest in case I cracked one. There are two ways to get the glass out; the easy way and the hard correct way obviously. The hard way is to fold the rubber back a bit at a time and lift the glass out, it takes time, patience and luck not to crack any brittle glass. The principle is the same for the front and the back glass. We looked at the car and decided that the rear rubber was showing signs of age and a few splits in places, this one was going to be the easy way. The front was going to be a pain though. The front has either been replaced or the original put back in. The reason I suspect is that they were trying to find a leak inside the car. This leak was enough to make them take the rubber and glass out and seal it all back in place with copious amounts of mastic. They must have shares or own the company looking at the amount they used. Anyway, due to the mastic there was no way I was going to be able to save the rubbers at the front although they didn’t look to bad. The easy technique is to lift a flap of rubber that is over the top of the glass insert a sharp knife at such an angle to cut the top rubber section of the bezel of as it were. Once the rubber is cut of you can just lift the glass out, but first you have to free it from the rubber by gently tapping it up with your hand. The rear was simple and straight forward and came out without any issues. The front on the other hand was a pig of a job; the mastic was so thick I had to do it small stages and very slowly to avoid putting too much pressure on the glass. Eventually it was all cut away and I had to be just as careful when trying to break the mastic hold on the glass. With a sigh of relief it came free and the glass was lifted out. The worst part of the job was to remove all the old mastic and rubber that had been stuck on the front. The leak by the way didn’t look to be coming from the glass, the vents at the front obviously let the water in and it runs of to the sides were it sits unless it runs out through a drain channel. As a result the cowl will go rusty in the corners so when it rains the channel to drain away is circumvented and goes inside the car. I know I may have to replace the cowl, but that needs to be inspected for repair or replace shortly. The link for the full process of getting the glass out and more pictures can be found here, or the quick links at the bottom.
The rear glass being removed.
place knife where the rubber lifted
lift and cut at the same time
lifting the top of the glass from inside
rear glass removed
The front glass being removed showing the generous usage of mastic.
looking for a place to start
along the top removal
rubber seal cut away and left on mastic
rubber and mastic removal
before the clean up
Today I was cleaning up the steering column. This needs to be stripped back to bare metal in order for it to be painted and coordinated to the interior colours. The column was in a bad way at the bottom end where it goes through the fire wall to the steering box. The grease now gone hard, dirt, grime and anything else had to be cleaned off. POR Strip was used and wire wool to get back to the metal. Inside the column was full of old grease and needed to be cleaned out as well. The steering wheel end has a collar which holds the horn assembly and the indicator lights stalk. The horn section I have thrown out as the wires were brittle and were on an old Grant Steering wheel which I want to replace with a nice wood one. My arms ache but it was a job worth doing. The final part is to coat it from rusting with Gibbs Brand Lubricant until it needs to be painted. I just love that Gibbs Brand, see here for my review and articles. The brackets and plates I will finish them next week.
top of the steering column
steering box end of column
steering wheel end
steering box end cleaned
wheel end cleaned
cleaned collar together
other end
top side with cleaned centre bearing
underside
soaked in Gibbs Brand
The exciting news:
Now that my car is a shell with nothing in it or on it apart from the doors that is, we could well be putting her onto a rotisserie soon to allow me access to the underneath in order to clean it all up and look for the repairs needed. The rear quarter panel needs replacing and lining up with the door, once that is done the doors will come off as well to get to the pillars and work on them too.
Quick Links:
Front and Rear Glass can be found under Photo Menu – Glass Work – Front & Rear Glass or click here.
Steering column work is can be found under Photo Menu – Steering – Steering Gearbox & Column Renovation or click here.
Raising A Glass or Two
Another trip to Mustang Maniac at the weekend, I was loaded with tools, food and the enthusiasm to match. When I got there the sun was shining which just seemed to make everything much happier, if that makes sense. The task for the weekend was to finish the complete strip down of anything else left in or on the car. The last parts to come out were the brake pedal assembly, emergency brake and the glass from the doors. The emergency brake (hand brake) bolts to the firewall were held in place by a liquid metal that sets. I had a nightmare of a job to get to the bolt head having to chip it off. Eventually I got there and the bolts were removed and the handbrake cable itself. The brake pedal assembly is attached to the fire wall on the inside via four bolts from the back of the servo brackets and also to the back of the dashboard, this was easy enough to undo and remove, in fact much simpler than I expected it to be. The glass however I was little nervous about. They came out of the doors eventually after the guys told me the correct way of doing it, after I spent far too much time trying doing it myself. The bolts for the glass and the mechanisms were in all the wrong places and the fitted incorrectly previously, so it’s no wonder I had issues, well that’s my excuse anyway. My style of learning is not from a book, I can read the books, but it don’t go in. I can look at the pictures and it sort of goes in, but I need to compare it to the real thing. But, if I am shown how to do it, I remember it and it stays there, I’m a kinesthetic learner apparently so my wife informs me. I always assumed it was me being thick when it came to following instructions, apparently not, it just the way I process the information. Anyway I have added a link to the process of the window removal here or go to the quick link at the bottom. All that remains now is to remove the front and rear glass screens. Then she is a bare shell as she was the day she was made!
middle bolt
lift up the quarter
twist to free the bottom
main glass of the rails
bottom of the glass rail checked for rust
Sunday was a day of cleaning and painting the parts from last week, the prop shaft was undercoated with a self-etching primer on top of the POR15 and sprayed white. Yes I did want it white which would match my shocks, and yes I do know I will be cleaning it. But it’s what I want and I am ready for the cleaning. The days I can’t take her out for a spin, I will be cleaning her.
masked up ready
masked up
close up of primer
White gloss applied
3 coats of white gloss
bottom end
I took the brake pedal and the gas pedal assemblies apart and de-rusted them, then treated them to Under Hood satin black. They now look as good as new but took a little while. The Brake assembly was the worst on the inside of the bracket. I managed to get to the outside while I was doing under the dash. The clean-up of the rust parts was a bigger job and I needed to replace the inner bushes of the pivot pin. The process can be found here.
close up
bar removed
pedal lifted out
Rust cure applied
bracket with under hood black
The gas pedal was a very similar process and can be found here for the full process.
untreated
press down the clip
kickdown cable in place
rust treatment applied
coats of under hood satin black & cleaned kickdown cable
Quick links:
The full stories of the work above can all be found on their own pages below:
Door Glass removal can be found here or under Photo Menu – Glass Work – Door glass Removal
Gas pedal can be found here or under Photo Menu – Engine Bay – Brake & Gas Pedal Refurbishment – Gas Pedal
Brake Pedal can be found here or under Photo Menu – Engine Bay – Brake & Gas Pedal Refurbishment – Brake Pedal
Gas & Brake exploded diagram can be found on the pages or click here to view it.
Bits & Pieces
The weekend arrived and I couldn’t wait to get down to see what the guys had done to my car. I wasn’t disappointed. The car was well and truly in bits and the rear axle was on the leaf springs on a pallet. The engine was out and the front suspension was in bits on the floor, all the smaller parts were all in a large plastic tub ready for me to clean up. The steering rack was out, and all that was left was the steering column and the brake servo in the sparse looking engine bay. When I asked Adam what needed to be done, there was a walk around the car and the list duly flowed forth. The rest of the engine bay to be stripped clean, pipes off, the gas pedal out, steering box out and the servo without saying. All brake pipes underneath and fuel lines, the rear valance, oh and the rear lights out, oh and the gas tank out with the shocks out too, don’t forget the rear valance of as well as that was damaged beyond repair. In fact, if it had a bolt on it, it needs to come out. The day was going to be busy and I had my instructions, I was excited and off I went. I completed my tasks as requested with the guys giving me tips and tricks of the trade as I went along. When I got to a certain part like how do I get the column out, I was shown the parts in question, told the process and off I went again. In fact I have taken lots of pictures of the removal process’ and I will write them all up. But I have some teaser pictures here for you.
Engine out
almost empty bay
steering rack
springs and shocks on the way out
suspension removed
spndle and suspension out
steering box
steering column
top of the steering column
Sunday I decided to clean up one of the larger bits I had in my man cave the prop shaft. Last week I explained the process (click here for the link). I took the prop shaft into the garden on the sunny day and I needed to remove the old underseal from it. The rotary wire brush made short work of it attached to the drill until I got to the UV ends. At the diff end there are two cups that are held in place by the U-clamps on the diff. These cups come off but are filled with small needle bearings and need to be treated with care so they don’t all fall out. Once the cups are removed keep them safe out-of-the-way, then it’s de-grease and clean, and clean again, and more cleaning. The grease and grime were so bad that you couldn’t even see the grease nipples. The Marine Clean in a 1:1 mix made a good job of breaking it all down.
diff end with cups held in place
gearbox end
unable to even see the grease nipples.
wrap removed
removing a cup
cup removed
both cups
With the prop cleaned up and de-rusted it looked a very different part that’s for sure. Off to the man cave.
cleaned up shaft
gearbox end cleaned
grease nipple can now be seen
other side of box end
diff end cleaned
again grease nipple can be seen
I retired to the man cave for the POR15 first coat. the problem was how to paint it? I had to make a rack to hold the prop in the air so I could get access all around the prop. The idea worked well if not a little delicate, I think I will spray the prop white, the same colour as the shocks once it’s done. The full process of the painting and clean up can be seen on the quick link below.
diff end
bare shaft
box end
starting the paint
half of the shaft
box end treated
shaft single coated
diff end treated
diff end
I shall be posting the steering box removal process, soon as well as the other little projects and clean ups. I mentioned the lights earlier!
rear lights in place
no lights and fuel tank out.
The process was very simple, four Philips screws hold the lens and trim in place, remove them and pull the housing and the lens off to expose the bulb, remove the bulb as well. Inside the car there are four studs with nuts on for the housing, undo these and the light housing will pull out. Dead simple. I will have to replace the holders as the as reflectors are rusty and no good for anything now unfortunately.
Four screws each corner
lens and bulb out
removing the housing.
Quick Links:
Photo Menu – Gearbox & Prop Shaft – Prop Shaft Renovation. or click here for the link. This will be updated as the project goes along.
Raising The Standards
The weekend was a strange experience for me as I didn’t get to walk into my garage and see my car there. It is of course in the safe hands of Mustang Maniac in their panel shop. I got up and got ready to go in record time, packed some overalls and tools and took myself off to see the guys. All the way down there I had a silly grin on my face knowing full well I was going to get covered in various lubricants that were leaking from my car if any was still in it that is. On arrival I was speaking to Adam and catching up with all things Mustangs, I was shown new parts that I decided I was going to have along with other parts I was going to get a bit later on. I just have to get this minor detail cleared with the accounts manager, my wife first though. I would like to point out that I was given permission to work with the guys and this is certainly not a normal practice. I just wanted to help get the gearbox, and/or engine out, just so that I can be a part of it all. Adam knows about my blog and has made the kind concession for me. I got changed and ready to go. I was told the procedure to remove the main parts of the car; the prop shaft, gearbox and then the engine, not forgetting all the other attachments between them.
I set to work straight away by getting the car up on some nice big high axle stands, I got my tools out and started to remove the radiator, alternator and starter motor.
Next up was the prop shaft which I have started a renovation guide here, or can be found under the Photo Menu – Gearbox & Prop Shaft – Prop shaft renovation.
clamps in place
clamp removed
exposed braket to diff
shaft disengaged
prop in back of gearbox
full prop removed
Working on the engine I was to remove the headers to make room for the next part I wasn’t looking forward too, the transmission cooling pipes that run from the gearbox to the bottom of the radiator. The headers were not bolted in correctly to the block and the dark black soot on the header pipe end itself proves the point. The gasket fell apart as the pipes were removed as well.
The radiator, starter motor and cooling pipes removed, the transmission pipes are now scrap due to the poor amateur installation of the gearbox. You can just about make out the rubber hose on the ends on the transmission pipes.
Terry told me what to look for and a gave me the specialist tool to get to the connections. But what I found was a common botch job, the pipes had a hacksaw taken to them and fitted with a bit of fuel pipe hose and a jubilee clip each end. The botch job is to make it easier to remove the gearbox and refit it, obviously these people didn’t know what they were doing. This saved using the specialist tool as the rubber pipes had perished and now I could see where the leaks were coming from. All the cables, such as the speedo, kickdown throttle linkage, shifter rod, neutral safety switch, hand brake etc were all removed to allow the gearbox freedom of movement. The flywheel and torque converter were undone and the converter was bushed into the bell housing to make the separation easier. The bell housing bolts and support brackets for the gearbox were removed once the weight of the gearbox was taken up underneath as the gearbox and engine were separated. The gearbox was lowered down and moved to the side away from the car.
torque converter
chassis bracket bolts & gearbox
gearbox out from the car
I have a renovation page for the gearbox process too under Photo Menu – Gearbox & Prop Shaft – Gearbox Renovation or click here for the quick link. All sounds so simple or so it seems, what took me all day takes the guys a matter of hours. I think I held them up a bit!
I would like to say a big “Thanks” to Adam, Terry, John and Al for helping me out and their invaluable guidance. It was an experience and I am grateful for the knowledge overload that came my way. This type of work I couldn’t do at home as I simply don’t have the heavy gear to do these jobs. I was right about one thing though, I was smothered in all sorts of grime, so the intentions to take photos of all process didn’t really happen from the transmission lines onwards as I didn’t want to drop my camera. But, I have taken some photos under the Photo Menu and I am sure there will be many more to follow. The next time I looked outside it was dark so I reluctantly called it a day, in fact, I called it a very good day. I drove home feeling as though I had achieved something big from my point of view. I am sure there will be more days to feel like I’m sure. I was a happy chap knowing the work I was doing was being aided by the guys who really knew what they were doing.
Oh, remember that daft silly grin I had on the way down there? Well it just got a whole lot bigger all the way home. 😀
Going, Going, Gone!
Saturday was a big day for me that I have been waiting a long time for to be honest. The day the car was going to Mustang Maniac for the heavy restoration parts. The rear quarter needs to go on, a few bits on the chassis need to be welded up, the engine and gearbox will come out and be prepared for the paint, all of which I can’t do myself. My car was to be picked up by John from Mustang Maniac in a LAR Recovery services lorry. Eight o’clock I was ready, the car was pushed out of the garage, all the rubbish inside had been removed. The additional parts of the painted valance and stone guard I done were inside the car laid out lovingly on old towels and the hood was resting by the car. Then I waited for what seemed like hours, every car was “the lorry”. I was pacing like an expectant father outside a delivery suite, what on earth was wrong with me? I went inside for a cold drink as the weather was warming up nicely and turning into a gorgeous day. Typically no sooner had I poured a glass of fruit juice and the lorry turned up. I ran outside and greeted John and the kettle was ready for the mandatory cup of tea. John had a wonder round my car with his tea and looked her over as I was waiting nervously for the sharp intake of breath, there was none I am glad to say, although he had spotted the bits I knew about straight away.
The lorry curtains were mechanically wound back to expose the bed. The bed was slid rearwards and eventually lowered down to form the ramp. We pushed the car into the road and lined her up to the bottom of the ramp. John latched the straps to the front chassis which was in turn attached to the winch at the front of the bed.
bed down
John attaching the straps
Slack was taken up and gently pulled up to the bed. I was making a few small turns to the steering wheel to make sure she was on square. little by little she was moved up until the weight was over the lorry axle on the bed. John lashed down the rear wheels securely to stop any movement during transit.
up she goes
John lashing the rear down
The bed was then lifted horizontally again and slid back towards the front into place on the lorry. Within seconds the curtains were rolling back to encase her like the curtains closing at the end of a play. There she was in her own little world, all we had to do was load the hood onto her old carpet and shut the rear curtains.
Ladies and Gentlemen the Mustang has left the building!
- Special Thanks to Adam at Mustang Maniac for allowing me to use their photos on my blog as well, all the pictures are on their blog here.
After the trip to the Mustang Maniac the process was reversed and lowered into the main yard, the car was pushed onto some ramps for the initial look for anything major to report.
initial look inside
in the yard
on the ramps
After the inspection she was lowered down again and pushed into her new home for a while – Mustang Maniacs panel shop!
Emotions running high, I know she has gone to a better place. In time she will look like new and be back home. I still have a few parts here and there that will be cleaned and ready to go back on when she is ready.
- Special Thanks to John for taking such good care of my car.
Quick Links:
Mustang Maniac main web page click here
Mustang Maniac blog pages click here
LAR Traffic services click here
The Last Wires
I have been very excited this weekend as I have spoken to Adam at Mustang Maniac who tells me that my car could be down there very soon. Then the reality of the bodywork restoration moving on will suddenly start taking shape. However, for personal reasons I have not had a chance to get out to the car as much as I wanted to this weekend, but I did manage to get a few bits done this afternoon though. The main job I wanted to do was the removal of the steering column loom, these wires took me ages to get threaded down to the bottom and only a few seconds to get back out. I also removed the front horns from the car, the battery from the car was taken out and stood on some rubber mats to help protect it from the cold floor, again it was wired up to the solar trickle charger. With the removal of the wires that’s every single wire removed from the car. The car will need to be loaded onto a transporter to get to it’s next journey and chapter in the ol’ girls life. I will be able to post a little more next week with any luck and plenty of pictures of the event.
To remove these fittings from the block is a real pain, but I have made a little tool that removes the fittings without damaging the wires and can be used again. I will post a couple of pictures very soon and how it works.
I have managed to write a review for a drain plug set which can be found under the Tools Review – Neilsen Pro Drain Plug Kit.
Quick Links:
For the quick link click here for the Neilsen Pro Drain Plug Kit.
Nobody Will Ever Know
The weekend couldn’t come quick enough for me and seemed such a long week until it finally arrived. Saturday I woke with a feeling of knowing exactly what I wanted to do, but I didn’t really want to do it. It was going to be messy, it was going to hurt and it would never be seen. But that is the nature of restoration that I have learned so very quickly. The job in question was removing Waxoyl from inside the car roof. As you may or may not know, I had fun and games removing it from the floor pans before I treated them with POR15 paint. This time it was above me and I wasn’t too sure how I was going to attack it. Red Bull drinks were lined up and snacks were lined up like little toy soldiers on my Blue Point work cart, I knew what was coming. Plan A; was to rub the wax off with a bunch of rags and degreasant, I tried but I only seemed to spread it about and not remove it fully. Plan B; drink Red Bull and find a scraper while eating a snack. This gave the poor ol’ bloke arm muscles time to recover from half an hour of what seemed like somebody setting fire to them, they were burning that much. The man cave has lots of things that I have stored, (not hoarded – Stored) to choose from. I found all sorts of flexible implements that I could try and felt rather pleased with myself walking back to the garage. Trials were undertaken for the best tool. First was a plastic separator for a tool compartment – that was too soft, but would make an excellent filler spreader tool. (Note made to self at this point, for a small spreader use this bit of plastic). Secondly I had a silicon sealer remover, this was OK but too small and hurt the hands due to the funny angles on it. Thirdly I had a pallet knife that was good but again to small and too stiff and dug into the metal on more pronounced curves as it was sharp. The winner was an old filling knife I used for decorating, it was flexible and formed to the very slight curves of the roof, it didn’t dig into the metal and scraped of a good amount each time.
I started from the back to the front and the flex of the blade followed the roof well. The whole process was messy as the skin grafts of wax were raining down on me and went everywhere. At the start of the work you can see the roof under the wax which wasn’t pretty but it worried me a bit as it looked rust coloured, so I wanted to protect it best the best way possible. I took a photo of half the roof done for a comparison with and without the Waxoyl to show what it was hiding.
untouched roof
The mess was unbelievable and the old towels I had put down were not enough to cope with the mess. The side pillars at the rear were also cleaned up but were going to get a slightly different process. Snacks were consumed and a fair amount of water taken into the system. Arms are now aching beyond belief.
half way done
mess
more mess
even more mess
left side pillar
right side pillar
Once the roof was stripped of the wax I had to degrease it with the strongest mixture of POR Marine Clean I could mix up on 1:1 basis. This cut through the grease and left a very clean surface after a couple of treatments. this was left to dry thoroughly.
I used a full tin of Rust Prevention paint (picture on the process page, or click here) as this time as there was no real rust to be fair. The paint required two thin coats within ten minutes of each other. They looked a little patchy when drying but the end results was amazingly smooth and consistent to a whitish grey in colour.
single coat
single coat
second coat
second coat
almost dried
The side pillars were a different story as the bottoms by the shelf was rusted a little more and need some treatment of the Granville Rust Cure. Once that had dried off too I used some Eastwoods Rust Encapsulator to spray behind the pillars into all the little gaps then sprayed the outside all the way down to the window winder area. The satin black cuts the light down in the car again. Around the roof where the inner rail is there was not enough prevention spray for all of it. So I decided to Eastwood those areas too, while trying to prevent a little over spray not that it would ever matter of course. Another note to self; start on the rear shelf soon.
left side
back
The end result looks quite good due to a contrast of the black and white, the down side is once the head liner goes in – Nobody will ever see it and nobody will ever know!
Quick Links:
For the full process so far of the work; Photo Menu – Inside The Car – Roof & Sides Rust Treatment, or click here.