OK, so me being me, I'm already thinking about detailing a car I don't even own yet. Yes, it's a sickness.

I just put a deposit down on a classic Mini (a re-VINned '93 Mini Sprite titled as a '76 Leyland), color: red. I
I'm going to get it next week, and I'm knowing that I'll want to clay it really well and then run the PC over it to really try and make that baby shine.

One major issue that I KNOW I'm going to have issues with is the fact thatthere are two spots where the paint is damaged from beneath, one on the front wing near the LH headlamp and a second, smaller spot on the door panel:



I'm going to try and extend the life of the panel by sanding and re-sealing it from the backside, and replace it in a year or two - I don't want to hassle with matching the paint right away.

I'm assuming that I should NOT hit this spot with any sort of mechanical polisher, lest I crack or even strip away the fragile paint, correct?

It also looks like it has some dings and chips in the usual areas... I'm not sure about using a touch-up system since I have no idea what color this truly is (I'm assuming it's a repaint, but even the seller's not totally sure - if it is they did a great job and did the entire interior at the same time). I'll try to minimize their appearance with the PC if I can and maybe try out some touchup paints on areas like inside the sills to try and find a good color match.

Can a paint and body shop put a sensor on the car and read the color, then match it to the closest commercially-available color, in order to get the right touch-up color? I was going to try that system that people have been talking about that spreads on like a wax as opposed to actual touch-up paint.

 

damn, the deposit was only a dime??!

 

I'm a hellish negotiator, what can I say?

 

honestly, i would get the car repainted. that looks like rust from the
inside. unless you live in a super dry climate like socal, i think it's
going to eventually spread like cancer.

 

It will - I know it. But I don't have the budget for the replacement parts and the repaint right now. Maybe next year. I'm checking to see if re-sealing the back-side of the panels will help extend their life - I figure I can pull them off when I garage the car for the winter and see what can be done. heck - I might just do that everywhere, depending on how difficult that would be - might as well head the corrosion off at the pass, right?

In the meantime, I'll just get it looking as good as I can.

 

yah, if you see any open corrosion from the back side i'd
recommend sealing it with Rustoleum until you get a chance to
take her in.

 

Someone on the Classic forum recommended something called Waxyol - it's some kind of wax-based spray that creeps into crevices. I've seen it referfenced all over the web as a great product, and I'll probably think abot doing it all over the place, corrosion or not, just to be sure.

 

^^ sounds good. as long as it doesn't block the water channels should
work.

 

Yeah - I assumed I'd tape those and manually brush on some product after to be sure they don't get blocked.

HA! I was looking for a retailer and actually found a RECIPE for the stuff. I better be careful - if Homeland Security looks at my credit card receipts they might think I'm making Napalm or something :

Here is a recipe for home made "Waxoyl". It's an old fashioned rust treatment / undercoating:

2 1/2 quarts turpentine
12 oz. beeswax / candle wax
1 quart light machine oil

With a cheese shredder, cut the wax into the turpentine, stir until the wax has dissolved, (takes a long time; you can use very low heat (a warm room) to aid but be careful) and thin with the machine oil to a brushable / sprayable consistency. Apply liberally. You can use a hand spray bottle to get into closed-off sections if you have a small access hole.


Please be sensible when you make this stuff; don't go breathing the fumes or applying heat and burning down your house. If you have any doubts about it, err on the side of caution and just buy a commercially available product.

 

No need matt. you can get waxoyl from Minimania....

http://www.minimania.com/web/Item/WA.../InvDetail.cfm

 

^^ lol!!

 

That looks potentialy dangerous- I guess the warm room could be just out side these days and that might help with the vapors issue but if it's $100 to buy it ready made that might be worth it. BTW more pics of the Mini please.

 

I think trying to remove panels is a bigger job than you may think. You have to break the welds to remove the front wings and such. I'm looking to buy a Mini and was told it's quite a few hours of labor to r&r those sections. Now if you can get to the spots somehow without removal you might be in business. Good luck- and I really like your new wee beastie!

 

Matt, let me know when you get it home and I will come over with our Spectrophotometer and get a paint match for you if you wish. We can then mix paint to match for you.

 

No doubt... This just went on my "To Buy" list.

Yeah, someone on the Classic forum clued me into this as well... I hear you can access the rear of the wing panels while on the car by removing some engine componants... I was wanting to do that in the winter anyway to paint the block, so while I'm in there I'll see about repairing the inside of the wings and putting on a coat of the sealent. The doors are double-walled but I hear I might be able to get in there with a narrow tool to sand and apply the Waxyol.

Will do... I definitely need to talk to you about the roof as well - I probably want to replace the Olde English White with a true white - I have to see how "ivory" it reeally is in person.

Hopefully it will be a while until I need to go this route, seeing as how I can't weld, but we'll see. Paul S. might know someone with the tools and experience with the classics that can weld replacement wing(s) on the car, but if I can wait a year or two that would be better. I figure if it's going to need to be replaced anyway then I'm not as concerned about it spreading. Now I just need to figure out how to armor-clad the A-pillars and the window seams and such to keep THEM from rotting out. SHould be fun taking things apart this winter to see how they're connected.

 

Bump - hopefully Richard will see this one... Thanks!

 

Hi Matt, Nick here. Heather asked me to take a look at this thread for you. As you surmised, it is rust. You do not want to hit it with a polisher or the paint will flake off. If you are able to re-seal it from the backside you are in a world of rust because that would mean that it would be through the metal. Hopefully it is surface and only under the paint.

You really don't want to leave the rust there. Rust is way worse than mis-matched paint. CHKMINI should be able to get really close (if not exact) with the color. Perhaps he can load the paint into a rattle can for you. Carve out the rusted section, sand it, tape and plastic wrap the rest of the car and spray.

As painful as it may seem to pluck off the color from above the rust, it must be done. If you leave it for two years, you may be forced to weld in new sections as the rust would have eaten through the panel.

I hope that helps. Good luck!

-Nick

 

I agree! Congrats on the Classic... how fun! I want to see more pics too though...

-Heather

 

Ouchies... I just don't know if that level of body restoration is within my skill range. It actually might be easier to replace the entire wing in a year or two than to carve out a section and replace it smoothly enough that the perimeter of the repair will not show. I can probably scare up a few people that I know that can spot weld but that...? I'll have to ask around and see if anyone in my local community has those skills - I get the impresison talking to some of my local restorers that they generally just "do the job right" and pluck off the entire offending panel.

I guess I can check it from the inside when I see it and see how bad it is in there - I hear that kind of damage is fairly common.

Thanks!

 

Matt, I think what Nick was trying to say is that you will need to remove all the rust from the surface of the fender under the paint. I doubt you would need to cut out a piece of the fender. I would first use a Dremmel to remove a square section of paint to expose the rust and find good metal. Then you can either grind out the rust down to bare metal or use Naval Jelly to convert it. Then sand the area smooth, Bondo to flush and sand again. Primer and paint. All this can be fairly localized and is a lot less difficult than it sounds.

 

OK, now THAT I know I can do. I'll check to see if the corrosion really is just under the paint, or if it's literally from the backside. If it's from the backside I already know the best I can do is coat it with something like Waxyol and try to delay the day when I have to replace the entire panel. If it's just a surface spot then I can do a simple Bondo job if I can find someone with the Mad Painting Skillz to cover the repair...

I have no idea what "Naval Jelly" is and there's no way it's gonna "convert" me, but nice try... sounds kinky, sailor. Shore leave, anyone?

 

Don't ask, don't tell man!
Actually Naval Jelly is nothing more then Phosphoric acid. When applied to rust (iron oxide) converts it to iron phosphate which is water soluble. It may take a couple of treatments to get all the rust converted, but it is pretty effective.

 

Ahhhhh.... I see now. Clever. Not quite as spicy as the other thing, but more... USEFUL. WHere does one purchase this miracle substance? On the black market from rogue Swabbies gone bad, perhaps?

 

Just look for someone with really bad hygiene and ask them to scrape out their navel (oops, just grossed myself out).
Actually I buy it at the Ace Hardware store but I'm sure Home Depot or Lowes would have it as well. You could try the Naval Academy, but I bet the hardware store is closer.

 

Ace Hardware... again with the not-so-spicy. Are you TRYING to ruin this for me? Is that your dastardly plan?