post-painting pic...

[Nanoose]

I've decided that taking off tape is infinitely more satisfying than putting it on.

This was my first time painting a vehicle and certainly had never sprayed with a compressor before - my hope was to get a 10 foot paint job and I think it worked well. There are a couple small drips and a few areas I need to hit again but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and I really like the original colours.

Here's before:



And here's after:



Dave

[albersj51]

Excellent work!!

[Jim-ME]

I second that!
Jim

[sailtech]

Looks great!

[rejeep]

sweet

[kwd509]

That is great!

[Nanoose]

Thanks for the kind words. Coming from this esteemed group it means a lot!

I learned much along the way. I followed the directions that are so well laid out by David Walker here: http://www.roverlanders.bc.ca/faq/LRpaintMain.html. I used an HVLP sprayer and it worked beautifully.

It took me 8 days in total. I spent about a day taking things off, 2.5 days sanding, 2 days taping and masking, a day spraying and a day and a half putting it all back together.

I bought a decent dual filter mask and used it constantly during sanding and painting. I can't imagine doing it without one.

I learned that you should really wear gloves. (DUH!)

The only place where I differed from the directions was in the amount of paint I purchased and used - I went through about half of what was suggested in the link. I did one coat of primer and three coats of paint on top.

I did learn that I have a tendency to spray too thinly and will have to go back and touch up some areas. I'll also have to go back and finish removing the bright lime green paint sprayed on by the PO from the galvanized, bits of trim and other places it's not supposed to be. I debated pounding out some of the dents. If you look at the photo you can see the door stop is pushed in and there is a crease near the drivers side rear corner. In the end I thought it likely that it would wind up looking worse and after 55+ years of service I figured a few dents are OK.

And, for the time being, I'm going to go with the brass trim rings around the headlights. Maybe one day I'll get them chromed but I like the way they look against the dark green.

Dave

[I Leak Oil]

Good on ya for doing it yourself! Looks good. I could get used to that lime green though..

[Skookumchuck]

looks good where on Van Isl are you? I am in the East Kootenays and heading out your way to pick up a rover this week

[canyonero]

I actually have emailed David about his tutorial and found him to be extremely helpful, but I still have concerns about getting the paint off in the first place. So I was wondering if you used his method of 702 Aircraft stripper, or something else. Your finish is what I am ultimately going for (although different colors) Awesome Job!

[Nanoose]

Skookumchuck - I'm just outside Victoria. Where is the Rover?

Dave

[Nanoose]

Canyonero - I just sanded like crazy. I started with 120 and went up to 220. I wasn't going for a mirror finish so wasn't too concerned about going to a really fine grit. Having said that, the finish is extremely smooth and has a high gloss.

I was fortunate in that quite a bit was already bare aluminum. Where it wasn't I simply sanded off any loose areas and feathered in any spots that needed it.

I considered using a stripper but was concerned about cost, mess and toxicity.

The prep is really the most time consuming part and what (I think) makes the most difference in the end result.

Dave

[martindktm]

Sand mine by hand with 80 grit sand paper, cleaned dust with a rag and acetone then sprayed it with rattle cans bronze green from cans they made me at my local auto store...










Result is just right for a Series.

[Skookumchuck]

Skookumchuck - I'm just outside Victoria. Where is the Rover?

Dave

in Brentwood Bay flying in on thursday