Restoration of BringaTrailer 240z - HLS30-35883

[Patcon]

Thats some expensive primer! I haven't bought any in a while but I'm using Nason, which is significantly less expensive

[inline6]

I was able to do some experimentation yesterday with the Raptor Liner and I am pretty darn excited to share - this was sprayed on a piece of plywood: 
 

  

 

Pretty - darn - cool, eh?  I know, right!  In case you think I am joking, have a look at a couple of pics of my car's original coating:

  

 

Now, I don't intend on making runs, however, I am excited to see that the original texture can be replicated, though it will not be easy.  Here is another pic - focus on the middle of the blob:

 

Creating that texture on the areas of my floor that no longer have the original coating is my goal.  If I stick with what the instructions say for mixing ratio and thinner and spray pressure and gun distance, I will get something more like this:

 

That is not bad - I kind of like it.  But, it doesn't look have the same texture as the original coating.

The samples above were shot with a Schutz gun.  This last one was done with an HVLP gun:  

 

This was shot on the inside of my well used and not prepared at all wheelbarrow.  I am actually quite zoomed in here, but a couple of observations are:

• There is very little texture at all
• The coating is a bit less glossy
• Scratches in the original paint and rust (both underneath) show through the new coating.

So, the plan is to used the Schutz gun to add a coating back where there is none and to a few areas where it was not applied from the factory.  And then, I will follow with a coat from the HVLP gun on the entire bottom of the car.  I think the texture of the original coating will show through the HVLP coating.  If I don't achieve the desired texture with the Schutz gun applications, I will wipe it off and try again, or I will wait for the Schutz gun applied coating to dry, and will "fix" areas as needed with some sanding.  

We'll see how it goes.

 

Edited October 12, 2022 by inline6

[inline6]

I was able to get the Raptor Liner applied today.  With all my planning, I had hoped for a better outcome, however, it is hard to achieve what I planned without having some experience with this stuff.  The standard mixing calls for 3:1 of Raptor Liner with the hardener, and up to 20% urethane reducer.  I mixed 4:1 with hardener and would have gone 4:1:1 with thinner, but that mix wouldn't all fit in the Raptor container. 

As part of my planning, I watched videos that said it was a bad idea to mix more than one container at a time.   If you are doing a truck bed liner, that is probably wise advice.  However, for my custom mix, and at the gun, I was using 60 psi, I was able to get through a full can in like 2-3 minutes.  Then I would have to stop, and go mix again.  And that would take 5-8 minutes, so the stuff already sprayed on the car would dry for that amount of time, and when I came back and started spraying, you could see the transition.  That is not ideal.  Had I to do it over again, I would have mixed all four bottles with hardener and thinner at once in a large bucket.  And then fill the bottle and spray.  Refills of the bottle/container would take less than a minute, and stops and starts in the material on the car would be indiscernible. 

My plan also included spraying undisturbed factory coating with the HVLP gun to refresh the appearance.  It became quickly apparent that wherever the new coating wasn't, it was going to be very noticeable because the texture is a bit rougher than the factory.  In addition, my first full can only covered the wheel well area and rear lower apron.  So, it became clear to me that I may not have enough material completely spray the whole car, and I quickly ditched the idea of using the HVLP gun.  So, I applied a little less thick on the remainder of the car to attempt to get full coverage on everything that remained to be sprayed.

My test samples ended up consuming enough material to cause me an issue of running out prematurely.  4 cans is just enough for the mix and psi, etc., I used.  Keep that in mind if you attempt to follow any of my experience here.

With all of that said, it could have been much worse.  So, here are some pics to share the outcome:

    

    

    

    

    

 

Again, for the wheel well and rear lower apron, I went a little thicker because I was unaware that that point that I didn't have material to spare.  I like the look of that first can of material - still not quite as smooth as the factory coating, but I prefer it.  Once I realized how much area I had to cover with the remaining cans, I had no alternatives.

  

 

 

Edited October 17, 2022 by inline6

[inline6]

Made a video which is a few minutes long showing the undercoating.  Sorry for the odd movement and shaky filming briefly - the cord of the light I am holding got tangled up on a container on the floor. 

If I could shoot the undercoating again knowing what I know now, it would be much better, but I am pleased with the results.

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by inline6

[inline6]

I came across this on Youtube today.  Very nice looking paint.  I assume it is a respray.

Of interest to me at this moment, as I am nearing completion of the body work on my car and will be handing it over to be painted, is the ability to sight down the side of this car as it rotates in front of the camera.  In the reflections, I can see low areas on the fenders and on the doors in particular.  I have worked very hard to eliminate similar looking low areas on my car's panels. 

 

This weekend, I'll be sanding again... sanding down the primer I sprayed on the car two weekends ago.  I am hoping that my low areas are finally gone.

[emccallum]

Just came across your thread. Beautiful work! What a great car you are going to have. I cant wait to see the continued progress.

[inline6]

On 1/2/2023 at 3:33 PM, emccallum said:

Just came across your thread. Beautiful work! What a great car you are going to have. I cant wait to see the continued progress.

I appreciate the compliment - thank you!

It's been a while since I provided an update, but I have been working hard on body work, trying to finish it up.  I actually have been redoing some body work that I was not happy with.  For example, I realized I was not going to be happy with the right front fender.  I got it as good as I could, and then realized that the rear edge of the wheel opening was pushed in a little.  You can see it here:

 

The fender was hit in this area, and when I worked to straighten it, I did not realize that this corner was still pushed in some.  I spent hundreds of hours most likely on this fender in total only to have to redo it.  I actually got out my Port-o-Power and jacked against the part of the fender in the corner of the yellow lines to push it out.  That cracked some of the primer and filler.  And of course, I sanded the effected area back to metal and started with body work again.  

Additionally, I have spent a lot of time on door fitment.  Some pics:
 

    

For the door gaps, I aligned the doors to the best possible position first.  This averaged out the gaps at the front, rear, and bottom.  Additionally, the door shells (empty of all parts and hardware) are somewhat "flexible".  That is to say, I twisted them a bit to then find the best fit for the outside edge of the door panel with that of the fender and that of the quarter panel.  From that point forward, filler and primer were used to get the surfaces to match from fender to door, and from door to quarter panel.  

Left door - to left quarter panel:

  

Left door to left fender:

  

 

To get the fit this close, I am fixing the door into position where it can't move, and then use sanding blocks across the gaps.  So, the surfaces of the adjacent panels become continuous.  

Right side door to quarter panel:

  

Right side door to fender:

  

Right side door gaps:

  

 

None of it is perfect, but I am trying.  I've got very little time left before I have to hand it over to the painter.  I made plans back in November to drop it off to them in January.  But that was before reworking the fender and so now I am running behind.  I have precious little time left to finish up!

 

[Patcon]

Very nice and sharp! It looks pretty close to perfect!

If you make it too perfect it gets nerve racking to drive it...

[inline6]

Thanks for the compliment!  I know, right?!  I know exactly what you mean.  Driving my P car can be a bit nerve racking.  I may find that driving this car will feel very much the same.  I mean... the hours I have in the body work now are quite outrageous.  But, I can't stop my quest for the best I can do.  And I also can't avoid driving my cars.  So, this car will see spirited driving indeed.

Edited January 5, 2023 by inline6

[inline6]

I noticed my cowl panel was "oil canning" a bit on the right side and it wasn't sitting down on the foam padding (closed cell) like it was on the left side.  Perhaps that sand blasting of the panel I did a long time ago distorted it a bit?  Can't really tell from the pics:
 

   

    
 

It pained me to do it, but I ground off the primer and filler from the top surface of the right side, worked on it to shrink the metal, and after the oil canning was corrected, put new epoxy primer, and filler on.  Finishing up with that today and will apply primer.  

Something I found that may be useful to others:  There is no height adjustment on cowl panel "per se".  In order to adjust for any mismatch in height between the fender inner edge and the top surface of the cowl panel, you have to bend the cowl panel sheet metal.

After stripping it to bare metal again, I was messing with bending it and noticed that this area is very thin, probably thinner than originally because of stripping off the paint:

 

I noticed that even relatively light pressure applied at the corner there caused this thin part to flex and the height of the corner to move a little.  And, in fact, the tool I was using to shrink the metal "blew through it" in one spot.  So, I decided to make that area stronger to keep the panel from moving later (after paint).

Front, back, and card board template:

    

 

Template shape transferred to metal, the cut out piece, the spot welding tool to minimize heat:

    

 

Front and back after welding:

  

 

I performed this mod to both sides of the cowl panel.  

9 and 1/2 hours of work yesterday.  Time to get back to it.

 

 

 

  

 

Edited January 8, 2023 by inline6

[Patcon]

The cowl panel is very thin and flexible! It makes it difficult to get smooth because you have to use very light pressure and it can be hard to keep the correct shape.

Your solution is very interesting!

[inline6]

On 1/8/2023 at 7:28 PM, Patcon said:

The cowl panel is very thin and flexible! It makes it difficult to get smooth because you have to use very light pressure and it can be hard to keep the correct shape.

Your solution is very interesting!

Yes, the cowl panel sheet metal moves around quite a bit.  My car has this reinforcement plate added - see technical bulletin info:

  

 

This replacement padding used in conjunction with the now properly shaped cowl panel gave this thin body panel some support.  That helped make the bodywork easier.  

  

 

I found a paint color that is similar to the original primer (or is it primer?) used at the factory.  I plan on spraying this to cover all the areas inside the cowl - all that is underneath the cowl panel.  It is currently covered in the light grey Glasurit primer.  But, I don't want to leave anything in grey primer because, to my knowledge, the primer absorbs water.  Which begs the question, is that grey used by the factory a primer, or a color coat?  Seems like Z's of many colors have this grey used as a coat over top of the red oxide, and then followed by the final color coats. 

Anyway, I do not want the cowl panel removed from the car when sprayed.  I want it in place on the car.  As can be seen from this picture of https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-datsun-240z-264/, these cars were painted at the factory with the cowl panel "in place".  The grey can be seen here.  Note the lack of color below the slot the cowl panel slips into, and the over spray area through the cowl slats.

This is one of the OCD things (of many) that I want done.  So, the inside of the cowl will be this color:

 

Maybe that is a bit more blue - I dunno.  I am partially colorblind, so I did my best.

 

Edited January 17, 2023 by inline6