fbekholden.com

Yeah - OK - thought it time to start on this...... didn't want to but the opportunity is here and the weather window is "open"......

I went to a lot of trouble getting a good finish on the radiator baffle (each side of the radiator) when I did the front welding/filling painting refurb to this area a few years back......only to have it chipped and stone blasted in the rain for the Tenterfield nats....... was pretty much annoyed with road traffic - but these are the true "trophies"....... stone chips...

Have since fabricated some powder coated fine stainless mesh screens to sit in behind the grille which will afford some protection from damage.....

Have the grille and some of the front of my old bus out again and made the corporate decision to freshen it up a bit....... was just going to "daub" a number of "matcheads" drops of paint on the chips..... but it just isn't me.... and wouldn't have been "happy"......

so.... guess this is the repair section of my thread.......

I think the biggest mistake most make when about to start on this is to sand straight away after wiping down with a wet/damp cloth.......
You have spent some considerable amount of coupons on various waxes, silicones and polishes over the years..... each of them has found it's way deep into your paint - some of it right down to bare metal, exposed by these dastardly stone chips.........

You SHOULD remove that BEFORE any sanding - or you will just "grind" silicone into anything you wish to top-coat again......

I usually water rinse, dry and then wipe down thoroughly with a prepwash and dry it off immediately.....

Then you can sand......

Depending on how deep or how much damage exists determines which grade of paper I use..... for a "quick" top coat - probably 600/800 to "key" up the surface.

For anything which exposes bare metal - I don't muck around - back in with anything from 400 down to 240 until I get a sound base - if filler (I have become an advocate for plastic - I don't like stop putties, which are basically thick paint) is needed, I tend to roughen up the surface to get a sound bond..... if any bare steel is exposed - I again go back to basics and hit it with de-oxidine then 1K etch, primer etc etc until I get a flat finish......

If I have any areas where the top coat is sound and for some reason or other I just want to fill some "local" spots - I "feather" the damaged spots - that is work radially from the centre outwards creating a "dished" repair section - as I get further out, I use a finer paper - probably 600 and work into the sound surrounding area...... this is to effect as good a undetectable finish as possible after applying top coats......

Another little "trick" I have learned over the years is not to mask "sharp" but to apply masking tape around the area and "roll" it up and back over itself - when the top coat is applied, peel it back a bit more over the feathered edge until all of the repair is covered - this, I find - has given me the best results......

I also use a pretty "hot" thinner - the existing paint is probably well cured out and it will take something with a bit of "bite" to penetrate the surface......once you get that "fusion" again.. you can drop down to a more "general purpose" thinner in your mix........

And (edited) - depending on how big the repair - determines the size of the gun ..... for this baffle refresh I will be using the little "Bunnings" touch up gun previously mentioned somewhere in the bosom of this thread........
It will be a "panel" re-spray - which will be best suited to that gun.....
more later as I get it all ready to go.......

None of this is gospel.... but it's what has worked for me over the years....

and .....


this is for acrylic only - I have no experience with repairing 2K or enamel....

I am at present at the masking up stage of my baffle repair - pics soon ..... probably tomorrow.....

frats,
Rosco

as promised - just waiting for the paint to flash off.....

pic from yesterday with repair sections blocked down ready for prep wash..

pic was also taken to show strips of thirty (30) super-bright LED's under drain channels.....



Decided to go back in with some coarser paper due to the location - it chipped quite easily last time so went for 360 grit (dry) - also got rid of some "high" spots - you can see the flat sections of primer which gave way under the stiff block (I made these up using some 5 mm rubber and sticking steel backing plates onto them with Sikaflex 221 - I have an arsenal of these blocks varying in size from 5mm x 10mm through to 100mm x 40mm - at the end of the day - your base is only going to be flat or follow the panel if you use something fairly firm to rub with. Using a soft block will not flatten down imperfections - it just grinds everything further down into the paint......)





Finished masking up this morning - this is the first "single" coat......



Have six coats on at present and another four to go - the first coat was just a slow single pass - left for 30 minutes then another two - a "double coat".... the same for the next two applications - two to go - will post pix later of first and final coats......

time to go lay some more before it gets too warm......
30 deg @ 50% hum at present - just about the max I like to spray at.....

frats,
Rosco

Yeah - OK I got "hung by mine own petard"........ should have stopped when I last posted - went out and put the next three coats on - above 30 degs and down to 45% - dusted everything up when the mist cleared after coat 3.......

Yesterday was block back day - six hours of it - by golly the paint I am using (protec) goes rock hard...... but it's done - had to drop down to 240 wet to get the "rubble" off.... then 360 and finally finished this morning with 600 (dry).....



Wiped it down again - air dusted it and mixed up another 10 ozs paint.....

Five coats later and am pretty happy with result - got one "fleck" in the r/hs outer ..... but it's gunna stay until I block it in a few months time prior to final polish.....

This is how it came off the gun.....



Will add to this when it's time to block and polish.... March/April....

Probably nearly time to go back into the luggage compartment now and block that down and polish - some 7 months should just about have "pulled" it all down......

frats,
Rosco

Rosco, it's coming along beautifully.

The company I'm a rep for supplies packaging to lot of the paint manufacturers ( Concept, Masterbrand, Dupont, Protec) and wholesalers (V.G, Autowest, Autolac, KGP, Ovesco..to name a few).

Protec are supposed to be one of the better quality paints.......is this true?

Nice work Rosco, I reckon even if it does rust the exo skeleton will keep her together for ever

Not sure about Protec being better quality, Cal - I stumbled onto it when I went looking for some 1K etch that my regular supplier had ran out of ..... and the new store find "specialised" in it..... I prefer Standox acrylic, just got comfortable working with it for some time - but this Protec acrylic sure goes hard...... the supplied viscosity is almost treacle like, in comparison to Standox - but thins very well at the 2:3 mix. I'm not an industrial chemist, but it's chalk and cheese between the two manufacturers.... there isn't any possibility that
this product has come from a "parent" product container of another product which I have used.....

Standox seems to be able to handle chips better.....
and I have much more confidence when applying it.....

The Turquoise on my bus is done in Aultracryl...... a Regal product - no longer available. I bought eleven (11) litres of it... still have five (5) left - it gives probably the best acylic finish I have yet seen - but is very, very brittle if put on too thin...... guess that's where my habit of mult-coating comes from..... and, strange stuff - just before breaking through to the primer - the last film of it shows through as red......... baffled still - I'm afraid....

I have used Protec 1K etch and this acrylic top coat - both products have been very good.....

I trundle down to my regular supplier on the odd occasion - and have been told that Standox is now defunct as well.. they are pointing me towards a water based acrylic - in the Dupont range...... not sure on this.... as long as I can get thinners acrylic ...... well - just an old fuddy duddy - I'm afraid...... we tend to find a "comfort zone" and are very reluctant to move from it...... you'll see - you'll get old too...... in time...

thanks for your reply, Cal....

frats,
Rosco

Yes Ben..... there isn't much on this old bus which hasn't had the Rosco treatment..... I didn't want to lower it by using blocks and cut coil springs.....

Hope it never catches fire...... it will burn for days..... Coode Island the second........need Red Adaire to get it out......

frats,
Rosco

Rosco,

It's a shame because most of the once Australian paint manufacturers are being swallowed up. Dupont were known as Croda Herberts, who once upon a time I beleive went under the Regal name. They still work out of the same Riverstone site, but that is also now under review as the whole operation may be moving to Asia....

Protec were of course swallowed up by PPG last year,

There are very few Aussie manufacturers left, and from what I hear they are constantly being made offers by the major overseas conglomerates to sell up.



Apologies for digressing from the major topic, which is the excellent and informative build of yours

Yes Cal - correct, as you would very well know - Croda Herbert is the parent name on the Aultracryl (Turquoise) cans.... also known as Regal (Aus, I think).....

Dog eat dog world out there - not just in this field.......

PPG - is PPC a subsidiary of them?..... Permanent Protective Coatings.... they are who I am supplied my POR products through.... I suspect not..

- as you mention - have to stay neutral and not get into any bun-fights...... there is a plethora of legal representatives just waiting to take up work...... America! - what have you done to us.......?

My interests are soley as a customer and make decisions/comment on these matters as my ignorance dictates.....

I'm an outsider in your field - and comment purely from a domestic perspective.....


thanks for the update and info.....

frats,
Rosco

Not sure if PPG (Pittsburgh Paints and Glass) owns PPC or not.............though PPG have been on a buying spree of late.

Whatever coating company they don't own probably isn't worth owning.

I think I'll amend my earlier post.....don't know who reads this

Although POR comes in from the USA - as to would be Pittburgh - I don't believe the two are related..... POR comes from Morristown New Jersey.....

Yes Cal - this thread has had many hits - and may very well be responsible for the removal of a number of forests.....
Undoubtedly there are visitors from many walks of life.......

Ignorance is bliss - and this is the foundation for many of my posts.....

It would appear the human race must be informed of anything which can possibly injure it - the converse however, would appear to be in contrast to this.....

Edit noted....

frats,
Rosco

Rosco. you seam to be the man in the know ! I had a problem with some bog I put on the other day it didn't go "hard" & yes I did put hardener in it .It just went rubbery/cheesey like! it was a hot day so temp shouldn't have been a problem Im wondering if I put to much hardener in it. any Idea's had to take it off & start again It wasen't to thick either any help

Hi BB,
I am certainly not the person to ask if you want a professional opinion - we have some panel beaters/spray painters here on the forum and they will probably jump on me if I stray too far.....

I have had this rubbery plastic fill problem before - I had a "play" with trying to get it to "go off" by spraying acetone over it - sort of worked - but definitely not worth the "risk" of having to go back in when the top coats broke away some time down the track ..... just ended up throwing the whole lot out and sticking with a brand I have not had problems with..... and usually try to stay with "fresh" stuff if what I have left over has been laying around for some time.......

I have thrown out quite a bit of it over the years and am now very disciplined to ensure I don't mix hardeners beyond the packaged product......

Some will tell us that the hardener can be used on all plastics - I won't

I should not recommend one product over another but I can tell you what I use.....

I have gone with the K&H brand - both for the re-enforced stuff (heavy fill... um ....either fibre glass or stainless particle) and also the finer (white) to bring up the deeper scratches from coarse sanding....

The K & H one that I have taken a particular liking to the last times I have had to fill some scratches is the K&H "pedigree gold".... is is an extremely fine filler.... but not intended for anything greater than probably 1 - 2 mm.... it is excellent to sand and just seems to give a much smoother finish but I have only seen that at my supplier - not the regular retail outlets......I find that if I go over that with Protec 1K etch, it bonds to it very, very well.......

As mentioned BB, can't say one is better than another - but I haven't had any "rubber" issues with this brand......

I am also of the opinion that the stuff goes "off" over time...... not sure if it's the hardener or filler ..... or even both..... and am not qualified to suggest it in fact ... does..

Sorry - got carried away again - you only wanted to know why your batch went rubbery.....

You may have had a humidity problem - I've had that down here - but only in winter when it was very, very cold and damp.......
Have no experience working with this stuff in temperate/tropical humidity....

frats,
Rosco

It's very confusing it's a new tin and a well know brand (septone) I have used it before without any trouble thank's for your insight! can anyone else shed some light on it maybe a panel beater spray painter anyone at all

Bog can go "off" if it's been sitting in the can for too long. Some of the ingredients (for want of a better word) separate after a while.

I know that Septone's products don't sit on shelves for too long, though it depends where you bought it from.

I'm sure they have a technical dept that could help you. They are based in Hemmant in Qld.