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Ok here's my write up for the prep work.
Step 1: cleaning
So you want to clean the surface of where your working with a good grease cutter and solvent remover, doing this will remove all the dirt and grease that would otherwise be ground into the metal and paint below while sanding and chipping the undercoating off, make sure you use gloves at all time to reduce oil prints from your fingers.
I opted for using por-15 Marine Clean as the first stage for getting off all the oil residue and grease from years of use. Spray this stuff on and let it sit, you an scrub some areas that are built up bad. Wait about 20-30 mins for it to cut into the grease and the pressure wash it off, you cause a garden hose but you will be best off with s pressure washer.
Next you will want to grab some regular Dawn dish soap, this sounds kinda cheap but trust me, this stuff is one of the best dirt and grease removers you can use and it is gentle, if you can get a duck covered in crude oil from a tanker spill clean with this, your car will be a breeze. You'll want to add some to HOT water and then really scrub it into every place your working on with a scrub brush. Onece your done that you will pressure wash it off.
Lastly you will want to buy a cleaner like methyl hydrate, it's good for removing finger prints and solvent oils and is fast evaporating. Buy a pack of blue shop rags, apply it to the rag and wipe the surface until no more dirt shows on the rag. Now onto the hard work!
Step 2: removing undercoating
So if your wanting to remove the factory undercoating you have a few options, some people use dry ice and chip it off, some use welders grinding wire wheels and go at it or you can get a multi tool from dremel or like that with a rigid scraper on it. Looks like this
You basically plug it in and start scraping. I warn you it takes a lot of work to get this stuff off even with a power tool.
Once you've removed as much undercoating as you can with whatever means you found, you'll want to go over the whole car with a brass or mild steel wire wheel to get the spots you missed or could get to. I used one for a die grinder and used my compressor, it gave me fast enough rpm to get the extra bits off quick, something like this
Now remember you don't need to take the surface down to metal, just to the body sealer, past the undercoating. You will Only want bring the surface to metal if you find rust. I you do, grind off all the rust, clean area properly and apply por-15.
Step 3: Sanding
Ok now if you feel the to clean the surface again then go over the method described above, you can skip the marine clean though. Now this step is completely dependant on the paint and products you use. I used Southern polyurethane inc epoxy primer as the first layer, then three coats solvent based limco plus paint In the colour I wanted and then limco clear coat. I would suggest going to the states to get your paint as it is cheaper and they have solvent paint. Try to avoid waterborne paints.
There will be a instruction and prep sheet with your paint and primer, make sure you follow it! My primer needed the surface prepped with p80 grit sandpaper, so like it said, sand the car with whatever grit it wants you to. Sanding is pretty straight forward so won't go over it.
It should look this after, note you don't need to go to metal just to the sealer level or into the paint, factory paint is apply very well so don't worry about it adhering.
Step 4: More Cleaning
Now this step is important, you want the surface cleaned before spraying down paint or else you'll run into a ton of different problems with the appllication.
I went over the whole car with Dawn soap and a brush again and power washed it off, then this time I used the compressed air blower to get the car dry quick and most of the water off, do this step the day or night before painting.
The day of painting you will want to use the methyl hydrate and go over the whole car with a rag, wait an hour to make sure it's all evaporated even though it will be within 5 seconds of application.
You will also want to buy some tack clothes from an auto body supply shop and go over the whole surface to get the dust that may have fallen, do this again after primer and after the colour is laid and dried.
From here you want to follow your paint information sheet, mix accordingly, use as it says and with the proper gun and pressure. If anyone wants me to go over the whole paint process just let me know
Step 1: cleaning
So you want to clean the surface of where your working with a good grease cutter and solvent remover, doing this will remove all the dirt and grease that would otherwise be ground into the metal and paint below while sanding and chipping the undercoating off, make sure you use gloves at all time to reduce oil prints from your fingers.
I opted for using por-15 Marine Clean as the first stage for getting off all the oil residue and grease from years of use. Spray this stuff on and let it sit, you an scrub some areas that are built up bad. Wait about 20-30 mins for it to cut into the grease and the pressure wash it off, you cause a garden hose but you will be best off with s pressure washer.
Next you will want to grab some regular Dawn dish soap, this sounds kinda cheap but trust me, this stuff is one of the best dirt and grease removers you can use and it is gentle, if you can get a duck covered in crude oil from a tanker spill clean with this, your car will be a breeze. You'll want to add some to HOT water and then really scrub it into every place your working on with a scrub brush. Onece your done that you will pressure wash it off.
Lastly you will want to buy a cleaner like methyl hydrate, it's good for removing finger prints and solvent oils and is fast evaporating. Buy a pack of blue shop rags, apply it to the rag and wipe the surface until no more dirt shows on the rag. Now onto the hard work!
Step 2: removing undercoating
So if your wanting to remove the factory undercoating you have a few options, some people use dry ice and chip it off, some use welders grinding wire wheels and go at it or you can get a multi tool from dremel or like that with a rigid scraper on it. Looks like this
You basically plug it in and start scraping. I warn you it takes a lot of work to get this stuff off even with a power tool.
Once you've removed as much undercoating as you can with whatever means you found, you'll want to go over the whole car with a brass or mild steel wire wheel to get the spots you missed or could get to. I used one for a die grinder and used my compressor, it gave me fast enough rpm to get the extra bits off quick, something like this
Now remember you don't need to take the surface down to metal, just to the body sealer, past the undercoating. You will Only want bring the surface to metal if you find rust. I you do, grind off all the rust, clean area properly and apply por-15.
Step 3: Sanding
Ok now if you feel the to clean the surface again then go over the method described above, you can skip the marine clean though. Now this step is completely dependant on the paint and products you use. I used Southern polyurethane inc epoxy primer as the first layer, then three coats solvent based limco plus paint In the colour I wanted and then limco clear coat. I would suggest going to the states to get your paint as it is cheaper and they have solvent paint. Try to avoid waterborne paints.
There will be a instruction and prep sheet with your paint and primer, make sure you follow it! My primer needed the surface prepped with p80 grit sandpaper, so like it said, sand the car with whatever grit it wants you to. Sanding is pretty straight forward so won't go over it.
It should look this after, note you don't need to go to metal just to the sealer level or into the paint, factory paint is apply very well so don't worry about it adhering.
Step 4: More Cleaning
Now this step is important, you want the surface cleaned before spraying down paint or else you'll run into a ton of different problems with the appllication.
I went over the whole car with Dawn soap and a brush again and power washed it off, then this time I used the compressed air blower to get the car dry quick and most of the water off, do this step the day or night before painting.
The day of painting you will want to use the methyl hydrate and go over the whole car with a rag, wait an hour to make sure it's all evaporated even though it will be within 5 seconds of application.
You will also want to buy some tack clothes from an auto body supply shop and go over the whole surface to get the dust that may have fallen, do this again after primer and after the colour is laid and dried.
From here you want to follow your paint information sheet, mix accordingly, use as it says and with the proper gun and pressure. If anyone wants me to go over the whole paint process just let me know
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