66 Corsa Clone rebuild.

[amboxter1]

I've recently taken on the task of stripping my 66 Corsa down to bare metal and painting it all over again. This was originally supposed to become a vintage race car, but..... stuff happens!! SO now I am going to put it back together.
It was at a stage of dis-assembly that is shocking and sat for several years because, too many other things to do and stripping a car down to the bare metal takes a minute or two and frankly didn't sound like much fun. So acouple of weeks I got started. You may ask, What is so bad that it HAS to be stripped to bare metal. This car was repainted in the 80's beautifully, but the clearcoat was put on too thick and the original paint started un-bonding from the car. Literally chunks of paint were lifting off the car. The seam sealer, while still on the car, no longer sealed the seams.

So I am embarking on doing this, stripping, body work, seam sealing, epoxy bond undercoat, Priming and Painting. I have some experience, but by no means an expert. I thought you might like to follow along.
I know that there are some serious projects on the Forum, I hope you enjoy this one. You might ask how did it get so rusty so fast? I made the mistake of using a rust treatment on the bare metal. In some areas I thought It needed it, years of exposure where the paint was unbonded from the metal created pitted areas, but doing it just ended up creating more work . I should have left it bare. Where I did it has been easier to sand and prep.

Thanks,
American Boxter 1

[amboxter1]

More pictures..
Seam sealing, on the backs of the doors, trunk, and deck lid the seam sealer has been stripped and prepped for Urethane Seam Sealer.
On all underbody seams I could get to, I have cleand out any problematic areas, straighened and tightened up the seams, clamped and bonded them with epoxy, then applied Urethane seam sealer where needed to fill gaps etc. I'll get more pics of that step next.

[66vairguy]

That is a lot of work. You can always spot a car with a few old paint jobs piled on top of each other and you after a decade things start to deteriorate. Going to bare steel is the only way to get a good foundation for paint.

After too many negative comments on rust neutralizers I don't use them. Once you etch steel, even with a mild acidic solution it will rust FAST. I have used a vinegar solution on some small parts to remove rust and always rinse them with Simple Green to neutralize the pH.

I do the seam sealer on the outside of the seams, BUT did you know the sealer is also on the INSIDE were you can't get at it. Years ago I noticed CRAP rattling around in the front trunk or rear engine lid when I opened and closed them - hmmmm. Finally I removed them and found little chunks of rock hard seam sealer had come from the inside of the seam were the panels are crimped together (note the factory application was spotty). I decided the only practical fix was to inject a rubberized sealer (like undercoating) using a long thin tube to apply it to the area were the outer and inner panels are crimped together (and were the old seam sealer resides). My thinking was it would keep the old sealer STUCK in place. It did and I discovered another benefit. When I close the engine lid or trunk lid it is much quieter. No tin can drumming!!!

You don't want to add much weight, especially to the trunk lid. I take the lids off the body. Leave them in the sun standing up to get hot and coat an inside seam that is perpendicular to the floor/driveway surface. I move the lid to let the sealer flow from end to end for good coverage. Wait 1/2 hour for it to set up and then move to the next side and repeat. After a day to make sure the sealer won't move I install the lid.

You can do the same thing for the doors and it helps keep water out of the lower seams on the inside.

Anybody else try this?

[doug6423]

I like the wheels! Very Ferrari looking....

[66vairguy]

amboxter - You have a lot of surface crud, but not bad. I use a tool for that which works great.

Once I remove most of the paint with paint stripper I remove the "crud" with this tool from Harbor Freight. I had my doubts, but a buddy lent me his and it worked well. Unlike a disc sander it won't gouge or overheat the sheet metal as long as you keep it moving. Even if you hit a high ridge it won't damage it unless you keep it in one place and bear down on the tool.

See https://www.harborfreight.com/9-amp-sur ... 58079.html

I use the black coarse wheel. The finer wheel barely cuts crud, but it does leave a smooth finish almost looks like polished metal.

[amboxter1]

OK, after resanding throught the rust preventative products i'm back down to a solid surface. It was time to lock in the metal in with a 2 park Epoxy Bond Coat. I ended up using a Kirker brand of products for this and the high build primer to follow. This stuff was awesome!!
It was easy to mix, spray, clean up and sand out any issue. I ended up with one big run just over a wheel opening. I just sanded it out and sprayed over it again within the 5 day window for chemical bonding. I sprayed everything in 3 phases, 1 (doors, hoods), 2 (front, back and driverside) 3 (passenger and canopy)

This phase of the project went easy and I think just about anyone could lay down the epoxy bond coat. It also did a great job of filling in any of the deep scratches left over from grinding the old paint off. Had I known it would do it so effectivly, I might not have been so diligent on the final sanding before Epoxy. I highly recommend this product and step on any project where you are trying to create a solid base on a mixed surface. ie, bare metal, scuffed paint, body filler, seam sealer, etc. it did a great job of locking it all in and giving me a consistent substrate to build on.

[amboxter1]

After completing the Epoxy bond coat it was on to the High Build Primer. I had to do a bit more body work to build up a low area around a previous body repair on the passenger side. The bond coat made it much easier to see the problem areas vs. the bare metal. There was no more metal work that could be done and Polyester body filler with fiberglass additive was used here as well as in the transition areas around the lead at the botton and tops of the A and B pillars. Small dimples door dings and other visibly low areas were sprayed with the High Build Primer multiple times during the paint process for primer so they could be sanded out while blocking out the car. I sprayed everything in 2 phases, 1(Doors & Hoods) 2 (everything else) I saved some of the HBP back so I could spray out any low spots that will most likley appear after the first cut of blocking out the primer. I can already see a couple of them after everything has cured out. It will all have to wait for spring as I am a bit burned out over all the grinding, sanding and painting I have done in the past 60 days. I have been putting in 10-12 hour days to beat the colder weather. When It begins to warm up in spring I'll make that first cut into the primer coat and get back to it. In the mean time, I'll just have to get motivated for that phase.

[amboxter1]

That is a lot of work. You can always spot a car with a few old paint jobs piled on top of each other and you after a decade things start to deteriorate. Going to bare steel is the only way to get a good foundation for paint.

After too many negative comments on rust neutralizers I don't use them. Once you etch steel, even with a mild acidic solution it will rust FAST. I have used a vinegar solution on some small parts to remove rust and always rinse them with Simple Green to neutralize the pH.

I do the seam sealer on the outside of the seams, BUT did you know the sealer is also on the INSIDE were you can't get at it. Years ago I noticed CRAP rattling around in the front trunk or rear engine lid when I opened and closed them - hmmmm. Finally I removed them and found little chunks of rock hard seam sealer had come from the inside of the seam were the panels are crimped together (note the factory application was spotty). I decided the only practical fix was to inject a rubberized sealer (like undercoating) using a long thin tube to apply it to the area were the outer and inner panels are crimped together (and were the old seam sealer resides). My thinking was it would keep the old sealer STUCK in place. It did and I discovered another benefit. When I close the engine lid or trunk lid it is much quieter. No tin can drumming!!!

You don't want to add much weight, especially to the trunk lid. I take the lids off the body. Leave them in the sun standing up to get hot and coat an inside seam that is perpendicular to the floor/driveway surface. I move the lid to let the sealer flow from end to end for good coverage. Wait 1/2 hour for it to set up and then move to the next side and repeat. After a day to make sure the sealer won't move I install the lid.

You can do the same thing for the doors and it helps keep water out of the lower seams on the inside.

Anybody else try this?

Yes, while sanding on the hood and deck lid I was able to clear out the loose debris that is released and trapped between the panels. I also added urethane seam sealer in strategic areas between the skin and the structural panel to tie them together bettter. I placed a small shim between the two, injected the urethane between them then removed the shim, cleaned up any excess and let it cure. The hood and deck lid have a much more solid sound when lightly struck and the vibrational feedback upon the final sanding was completely different.

[amboxter1]

I like the wheels! Very Ferrari looking....

Thanks, they do look like the wheels on a DINO because they are ATS wheels also. Superlight as well, everyone seems to go for the classic aluminum or a more modern chevy camaro look, but these really look good on the car and still give me a bit more tire contact patch while retaining a 13" wheel.

[66vairguy]

Yes the 2 part epoxy primers are great product. I would suggest that after you block out the filler primer you put a coat of the 2 part primer with more reducer (most companies give reducer ratios for filling or sealing coats) to seal the filler primer before applying paint. Most base/clear coat paints are either a water base or solvent base coat. You need special equipment for a water base coat so most hobby folks use the solvent base coat and it WILL react with an air dry solvent filler primer. After a year or two the paint starts to fail. The two part epoxy sealer prevents before putting down a base coat prevents that.

Also folks still use a solvent acid etching primer on bare metal for a good bond, yet every base coat paint I've looked at warns NOT to use an acid etching primer!!!! Using a two part epoxy primer over an etching primer should seal it.

BTW --- There is a new 2K spot putty for filling scratches and filler pits. It is 2K just like the modern body fillers so you add a hardener. Unlike the old air dry spot putty (which I disliked and never used) that would react with solvents in primer or base coats, the 2K gets hard fast, sands easy, AND WILL NOT SOFTEN when exposed to solvents! The local body shop supply had it in a name brand and in their house brand (same container). It is EXPENSIVE (what isn't with body supplies) and you have to use a minimum amount of hardener, but it goes on thin and smooth and hardens in 15 minutes (or sooner) and can be sanded and primed over quickly A super product in my opinion.