Oxidizied / flaking clear coat solution,

[ino uno soweno]

These pictures show heavy salt oxidized stone chips and scratches, where the oxidization has been left to eat into the undercoat, under the paint around the hole or scratch, ,
Mud guard,




Door chips,




Even a 2 chips and a bit of a scratch allow oxidization to travel.




My method of making these oxidized chips invisible is to first use a needle and some magnification to access how much oxidization has travelled into the undercoat, then to clear, clean, grind the oxidized under coat and road grim, out of the hole, and remove over hanging loose or chipping paint, ( there were around 120 chip repairs on this Red Outback, )






I use a small engraving tool, Arlec, Super tool, sanding, grinding, polishing, engraving, drilling,

 

[ino uno soweno]

Bonnet shows 19 small and tiny chips, the Outback is 5 years old and judging by the amount of oxidation the bonnet, and the number of oxidizing chips all over the car, a new paint job would be required in 2 years,


These pictures, show bonnet after restoring over 40 stone chips or imperfections,











Guards are just about clear, and no oxidization will reoccur or has reoccurred in last 17 years, using nu-finish,

 

[ino uno soweno]

A, Please note, side view, a sketch of paint chip hole, filled with road grime, wax?


B, shows hole is ground and cleaned and slightly bigger, ,


C, shows paint brush, thinned out primer / undercoat “layer”, I “ thinned the undercoat primer


D, shows the hole is filled with paint blobs and allowed to dry, then sand down the knob,


On a paint chip hole about a ¼” in Diameter, I only use a ½” square surface area of sand paper, p1200, that sands the knob of paint off, in a circular motion, down level with the surrounding paint surface, I focus on keeping the sand paper, Wet, only on the protruding paint knob, I sand a little, then dry and check, with some magnification please, ,


1, shows paint stone chip with visual rust ring,


2, shows the hole has been ground open enough to remove any and all oxidized materials, then I have always wet painted “ Locktight ” Extend Rust Treatment, , I have used and loved this absolutely amazing rust converter, a white watery liquid, that absolutely sucks it way in to rust, turns black and hard as in 24 hours, ( please note, no b/s. Hammer chisel “hard “”and can be painted with undercoat or any paint, read instructions, , ( not really a flat surface finish with a brush, ) ( easy to vaporize ), ( water soluble on application ), Hankel Corporation. Mexico. Finger Spray bottle friendly,


3, shows applied layer of under coat,


4, , shows the hole is filled with paint droplets, and allowed to dry, then sand down the knob, please note, when filling a hole I try to build up a knob of paint, to allow for shrinkage,
Rule of thumb is I always use a very fine small paint brush to place a very small droplet of thinner in the chip hole, 5 mins before applying undercoat, my line of thought is this stops the undercoat droplet solvent / thinner from being sucked in to the existing undercoat or colour, or clear coat, and slows drying time, ( works for me, )

Please note, the focus is not to sand the surrounding paint surface or thickness “at all “,


Kitatech, showed some water beading pictures before, and just before the Outback went back to the beach, and salt air, I snapped a picture of water beading on 3 coats of Nu-finish,






The grill was fitted soon after,


Next picture says it all as far as I am concerned,


The mirror reflection along the side of the Outback is mirroe reflection, please check polished glass reflection,



In about 3 months of beach sun the polymer clear coating will cure to a very hard surface, I will be checking the car in a week after 2,000k highway travel, and for each month @2,000k after that, to monitor stone chips,


Due to extreme salt environment Nu-finish will be applied once a year,
Total savings on “not” having to respray, $5,300.


Next pictures will be fun, and lots of “damage repair “GT4, updates,
Back asap,

 

[ino uno soweno]

Quickie buff,


I had already started buffing this one before I remembered to take some pictures,


So the bonnet was oxidized as bad as the roof,






The back end was paint oxidized everywhere, across the boot, scratches and scuff marks,



Bit of damage on both doors, but the rest of the paint buffed ok,






The


Bonnet buffed ok, so I immediately spread some Nu-finish, sometimes it is easier to buff a panel. Wipe the panel clean of buffing compound over spray, and apply a coat of Nu-finish, then buff another panel, and apply Nu-finish, and so on, when the buffing is finished, the Nu-finish is ready to hand wipe and light buff off, which takes the buff compound over spray with it, easy to wipe off., Please note, a quick buff on the headlight, about 60 seconds, compared to the other head light, few scrub marks and broken paint around the blinker, other side blinker had a lot more scratch damage,






Looks better,

 

[ino uno soweno]

Roof is good,
Buffing the rear was ok, needs a few touch ups.




Rear looks shinny with “out “ any Nu-finish, lights are clean.




Clean, off side, I did not fix the damage, just touched up the paint, ( no time for panel beating.) Polished black rear vision mirrors, window glass. Door protector strips, door handles, and quick buff on this side headlight,




Clean off side, from rear view,


Pretty clean,

 

[ino uno soweno]

I forgot this picture, shows door dents are a little less visible over all.



Next is 1991 Holden ute, basic commercial ute, front bar, bonnet and guards have been updated, and big roll bar under the canopy, needs to be straightened up and a good buff,




Next picture shows first job, ( do the hard ones first ), , nasty damage, scratch to rear vision mirror, truck tray. And overall oxidization,






This picture shows mirror has been orbital sanded with p280,
Sanded mirror ‘’’’




This picture shows sanding through p240,p600,p1500. And buff, blue arrows show circular oribital p240 scratch marks, yellow arrows, show stone impacts, red arrow show reflection, not scratch marks , good shine and reflection,




Next picture shows hand sand wet p1200,




This picture shows hand sand with p2000, clean and sanded flat, around whole mirror,




Next picture shows light is fading but still mirror reflection, no marks left on the mirror,




Next picture shows black plasticized / metal gutter surround and window scrapper, wind deflector, front windscreen synthetic (rubber) plastic are buffing up well,

 

[sontakke]

Are those side mirrors metal or plastic?

 

[ino uno soweno]

That is a good point, here is a slightly blurry close up view of the scratches.






Above mirror is black plastic, please note, black plastic used is right through this whole mirror, as opposed to coloured rear vision mirrors, where the colour can be only very thin layer of coded colour plastic , moulded over the black plastic,

 

[ino uno soweno]

Coloured plastic rear vision mirrors, For example, the red Outback and red GT4 only have a thin layer of colour coded plastic, and if they were scratched as deep as the ute mirror, you would be able to see black coloured plastic under the coloured plastic scratches,


I have restored coloured mirrors, depending on the damage, , which are usually a “flat surface”,


1, sand coloured plastic mirrors scratches, fill with body putty and respray with paint ,


2, repair “deep” scratches in coloured mirrors in the same manner a filling scratches in body panel paint,


3, remove or sand off the colour plastic skin, or layer to the black plastic as above, and buff,


4, weld filling the scratch with same colour plastic rod, (red black white, ( home made, ), and sanding and buffing as above,


Patterned plastic surfaces on mirrors is common and variable, so if you are just interested in fixing your own scratched pattened mirrors, you may be interested in the following,




2008, Ford, rough texture surface and flat surfaces,






2000 Toyota hilux, these type mirror get scratched all the time,




12 Toyota Hilux,


Please note the patterns are slightly different, in each plastic mirror,
Red lines show where similar scratches (as above ) could have happened, in which case I would sand the area p240,p600,p1500 to p2000 orbital sander, buff basically flat with-in the blue line, then using this,
Hot air gun,


Please note, yellow arrow shows variable Temp control, red arrow shows variable hot air flow, also please note, settings are set for around plastic mirrors,


At this point I could start listing temps for different plastics used in mirrors and bumpers or plastic welding ect, but my line of thought is the easiest way find the correct temperature for melting, or moulding, the plastic you have in your hand, is by raising the temperature slowly, until that or your plastic appears wet, or the surface of the plastic melts, without over heating the heated area where the heat is applied, which causes distortion,


So, I heat a small area of sanded mirror plastic quickly to no more than melting temperature, and move the gun away, and pat the hot plastic surface with my finger and palm prints as the plastic cools, yes it is hot, but a quick fix for applying a pattern back onto the sanded and buffed flat plastic area, a quick buff usually blends the finger printed area with the surrounding area,


Yellow arrows show good fine black plastic pattern, no scratches or stone chips, (city low k, work ute, )


Orange circle shows, the area with-in the orange circle has good pattern and rounded shape surface, so if I want to restore the or a pattern near perfect, I would go to wreckers and find a damaged mirror same model year and pattern required, and cut out this small section ( orange circle, ) and use that as a pattern stamp, ( no burnt fingers, ),


Again, So I heat a small area quickly to no more than melting temperature, and move the gun away, and pat the hot plastic surface with my small (orange area ) original pattern stamp, because I keep the stamp in a small bucket of cold water, the stamp is cold when pressed and held for a few seconds against the molten plastic surface, the pattern is transferred and quick cooled to ensure detail, the stamp stays in the bucket to be keep cold or cool.

I suggest only stamping small areas, at a time, then removing the heat source for a few minutes, and or even directing a fan on to the whole mirror or bumper, while stamping sanded areas, I try to keep the mirror or bumper cool, and not allow the whole mirror to build up heat, over a large area,
Please also note, flat shinny surface plastic mirror plastic can be re-patterned if that was required,
Pease also note, the above heat gun function of applying a slow flow volume of heated air most suitable for plastic hot pattern stamping, and welding, could be possibly simulated by using a quality hair dryer with high and low temp control and air flow control. “If” fitted with a nozzle similar to the nozzle,

The nozzle would only deliver a slow flow of air, and diverting away un-needed air flow and some heat,

Warning, over heating plastic quickly burns plastic molecules, even a little too much heat, and white or red and most colours will fade, and lose their true colour,

 

[ino uno soweno]

Opps again, I forgot this picture,


Hot air gun pastic welding, ,
Please note, yellow arrow shows variable Temp control, red arrow shows variable hot air flow, also please note, settings are set for around plastic mirrors,




Update on GT4, repair front guards, pass side door, please check post #14 for damage on both front mud guard lips, ect.



and rear of guard with bog,



Above repaired.






Other side.





Front guard,and door,


Chrome 18 x 7 mags coming,

 

[ino uno soweno]

Some Other paint scratches on this ute ,
Rear quarter panel over rear of wheel arch, 7” long






Behind door and in front of wheel arch, 6” long.







These scratches are deep and already have had a little touch up, no rust stain is visible, please note, some edges have lifted, (Due to impact ) so I will try and cut or grind those lifting edges back to good solid paint, also please note the touch up as seen in the pictures show paint has been over lapped on to the good paint, I will try to sand “ to that overlap, and not sand the surrounding good paint surface, try anyway, I do not want to make the surrounding original paint layer thickness thinner..
I thought I would use a fine drill bit in a drill to clean them out, so far no sign of oxidization ( rust,), we will see when I open them up. I ask myself, do I use a rust converter, or a rust deoxidizer or metal etching paint, ??.

 

[ino uno soweno]

This picture shows scratch above has been cleaned out, loose and peeling paint around the scratch has also been removed,






This picture shows small drill with fine drill bit,





This picture shows part of the scratch has been removed, then a few inches of ripped and torn sratch, also please note , the scratch “ mark” continues to the rear of the car,




Next picture shows 2 impact scratch points, on the nose of left front mudguard. Also touched up.




This picture please note red arrows show size of dents,

This picture shows roughly the size of the dents,



This picture, shows dents cleaned, and all faking paint removed, pleasse note, a scratch on a dent usually means the paint around the dent is or has lost adhesion, and is already lifting,



I will first remove the dents from behind or from inside the guard nose without removing the guard. Then encourage oxidization to appear on the beared metal surfaces inside the cleaned areas, (few days ) I would like to show my preferred rust primer treatment, which works best in my opinion if there is some oxidization already present,

 

[ino uno soweno]

A friend’s fridge stop working and he needed to quickly get his (working) workshop fridge home asap. ,
This fridge was “yellow” and really dirty, , about 8 years old, sorry, no before picture,
Buffed up very clean, and few coats of nu-finish,


Nice reflection,








Another small, fridge needed a clean to, good shine,
Before,

After.

very clean,







‘’’’

 

[ino uno soweno]

Ute wheels needed cleaning, pretty bad quickie DIY paint job over original silver.,






I tried a coat of nu-finish, it does not look that good, that usually means it needs a machine buff first, please note, if nu-finish does not look great first application on any paint,, that means there is still too much oxidization, so buffing is required, perhaps even sanding and buffing,








Front rims both had some gutter rash,



Buffed ok, little sanding, but scratches were deep so I cleaned them with small drill with fine drill bit, then I filled the scratches, rather than sand off a lot of metal.






Other front rim had only light paint scratches all way round., so sanded it with P600.






Then touched it up with paint brush, will sand again when dry, and buff, and apply 2 coats of nu-finish.

 

[ino uno soweno]

This picture shows where I sanded gutter rash and filled the a few scratches, most of the scratches were sight and in the original silver paint,




This picture shows a coat of paint, (brush ) I will sand and repaint tomorrow, give it a few days to dry, and apply a few coats of nu-finish.






This picture shows other rim, fresh coat, with a fools foot print, ( bottom left corner of rim, ), new guys should note, place a wet paint sign on any wet paint, or some fool will stand on it. ( I will fix when dry),







This picture shows other set of mags I could put on the ute, at a cost of around $500. But the owner does not want to spend the money, when a touch up only cost a few dollars,






Please note this picture shows the nearest mud guard is whiter or brighter then the bonnet, door, rear quarter,






Because I had already buffed with fine compound, that did not move the layer of oxidization, I sanded the oxidized paint and coats of polish, this picture shows were I quickly hand wet and dry sanded with p2000 to disturb the oxidized surface layer, ,


Closer look shows lightly p2000 sanding,



‘’’
Even closer look shows clean white paint where lightly sanded,
'''

 

[ino uno soweno]

This picture shows guard is buffed, and white colour is clean and strong, all oxidization on the surface of the paint removed, please compare to the bonnet,







I thought the other way of showing before and after pictures, is to show a half and half Picture,









I disturbed the oxidizing layer, hand rubbing with P2000, new guys please note, when I rub with wet and dry in this situation, I can feel the greasy layer of oxidizing road grim, and air born chemicals, bug guts, polishes under the sand paper, as well as only just seeing the dark misty greasy film being sanded away, in fact the focus is to leave some'


For those who have never wet sanded paint, please consider my thoughts as I sand,
This paint is perhaps 5-8 years old, a pretty bad respray considering the rear of the ute, for the first years it was polished and washed, once the unknown or waxes polishes have built up,



What I mean by built up is when I go to a car wash or do a hand wash, I know there are microscopic particles of road grim ect, still stuck to the paint all over the car, , giving it a wax or hand polish removes some of the grime, and also retains some oxidizing grime particles in the new coat of polish or wax, this layer of oxidizing particles have an acidic and or corrosive type affect on the paint surface, and basically eats into the paint surface over time, the longer it is left to oxidize, the deep it gets,


I often remember after washing my car that I must have driven through fresh or hot road tar base surface because there are a lot of black spots of tar on the front of the bonnet and sides of the car, and I have to soak a rag with petrol to dissolve and wipe them off.


In the above situation, I am sanding off this baked greasy grim with sand paper p2000 which has a abrasive particle size kind of like fine baby powder, very fine abrasive,
So my focus when sanding this bonnet is to disturb the oxidizing layer, just remove the mist that is dulling the original colour, ultra white,, Buffing with a finer than baby powder particles size will remove all oxidizing particles off the surface of the paint, as well as scrap off oxidized particles of this paint,


I am sure some first timers have the perception that sanding the surface of their 5 year old car with p2000 wet sanding paper is the same as running metal saw blades over their paint, I think and focus on it as just scrapping off the grime off the “good” paint surface,


Please note, the mirror image reflection after buffing only,







Better mirror image reflection after a coat of nu-finish,





‘’’’’’’
Point of my interest here, is buffing with G3 compound paste gives me the advantage of getting a great mirror finish shine, that allows me to see any and all imperfection, which I can quickly “ spot sand and buff”, again and again until I am happy all oxidization is removed, , please note I could buff again with a finer buffing compound to get a better shine, , but I think Nu-finish needs something to get maximum adhesion on too, that is what I think anyway, based on my experience blar, blar,
Next picture shows some of around 19 stone chips on this section of the bonnet,





Also shows from “right to left “,
Small drill with fine drill bit, under that is a selection of fine soft and hard brushes, ( 6 bucks at the cheap shop ),
Left of that is red top glass jar containing thinners /paint solvent, used to clean brushs,
Left of that is similar jar with clean paint thinners,
Left of that is small 10 x power magnaication jewellers glass, ( plastic 12 bucks at markets, )
Left of that is small white plastic bottle containing %50 clean thinners, and %50 primer / undercoat, I use a very thin wet undercoat mix, to line the base of stone chip holes, Appling a few coats, the thinners dries out quickly, leaving a thin layer or coating in the base of the hole, , I do not want to fill the hole with undercoat, I do want to fill the hole with paint,
Left of that is the under coat can and white matching paint, can,


Next picture shows scratches dents on pass side mud guard, I cleaned them out a few days ago, and soaked bear in salty water, I see slight rusting is starting, but not ready yet,

 

[ino uno soweno]

This picture, shows I have removed the paper and tape, please note black arrows show places where the buffing compound was not collected under the tape, upper section shows oxidized and not buffed.




Red arrow shows the corner of the bonnet is dented and does not line up with the tip of the guard, I will repair,


Yellow arrows show headlights need cleaning,


Blue arrows show misalignment of the bumper bar, on inspection I think I need to remove the bumper, to buff the headlights,


Please note, the bumper bar is or had some slight impact damage in the past, , which has resulted in some distortion, so to “reset “ the distortion in the plastic, I will need to weld some new brackets on the bar, refit it , stress the mounts to fit the bar correctly to the lights, and heat the bar to reset the plastics memory,


Anyway, I thought I better get some plastic welding bits together and ready,


I found a piece of similar plastic bumper and started cutting up or off some welding filler rods and few bits of plastic to make some brackets, just with the jigsaw,


This picture shows , how I plastic weld, when plastic bumpers need tabs or mounting brackets re-welded , or custom light or vent holes need to be moved around a plastic bumper,




Cutting Free hand with jig saw, I cut out a bracket, bit rough, really I am just preparing the materials and testing the welder for some time, to make sure it works when I remove the bar,


This picture shows the method, I use to weld on a bracket, please note I drilled some
holes, to use as spot welds,





I tact welded the bracket on to the flat section through a hole, to just brush up on my welding, I might end up welding the brackets on, while the bar is fitted to the car, ???,




Then twist stitch weld the bracket to the flat surface, please note the welding filler rod is pointing to a small hole in the weld, I made or left the hole, so that when I restart the weld, I can direct hot air straight between the previous weld and the cooled filler rod, (in the hole ), then I can heat both to restart the twist stitch welding quickly, My experience is twist stitch plastic welding has 2 advantagous aspects, 1, penetration, 2, control.
Please note, most important “ is “ the length of the weld, I stop welding, to allow heat building up to much in the rest of the bar to dissipate, so, short welds and allow to cool, I use a fan directed at behind where ever I am welding,
Once the previous welded surface is melting the filler rod will also melted, I twist and manipulate, the rod in my fingers to lay a fillet type weld , and also I “only” hold the hot air on the base of the filler rod,
Heat must be transferred to the weld via the twisting melting plastic on the tip, please notes, heat must be focused on the pointed tip filler rod, and not concentrated on or around the weld area.


This picture shows I have continued the weld,


Fully welded, in short welds,




This picture shows blue lines where I welded, ( small practice weld at bottom,) white lines show I am turning the scrap section,



Turning.







Next picture shows no distort or discolouration from the welds on the coloured surface, ,

 

[ino uno soweno]

U-date on the Outback , driven 3,500k in 4-6 weeks after removing heavy oxidization,??






1, shows the roof is unwashed, fine coating of mostly salt and fine sand / dust from living on the beach, and extensive long term road works near by, the car was washed by 12 year old young lady, who could not reach the roof, I suggest a microfiber “mop” on a long handle for high or hard to reach roofs, ,


2, is house reflection,


3, is reflection of Pearl white Suzuki ,


4, reflection of white ute,


5, is the only new stone chip, appears the stone had some weight, no dent,


6,is camera man,


Points of my interest, the Nu-finish has only on the car 4-6 weeks, I think it takes 3 months of UV exposure for the polymer to reach max surface hardness, and perhaps be fully cured,


Wheels look better then new, being a pretty low k car, 65,000k, and no previous gutter rash, the outside and inside of the rims were easy to clean and apply 2 coats of Nu-finish 4-6 weeks ago, There was some dust on the inside the rim that wiped off with my finger,


My thought is as seen in the picture the outback looks as new in colour, paint or plastic, and in my opinion if the wheels look as new, inside and out, that makes the whole new car look, providing the wheels are easy to clean, without taking them off,
And my experience is those wheels will stay looking like new with a once a year wash and coat with Nu-finish for many years to come, if that is what you want,
Update on Gt4 ,







I have not got enough rims or tyres to make a decision which rims and tyres to leave on the car yet,??.



There is still a more imperfections to fix,

Update on ute front bumper is , I could not remove the bar, without making a few new metal brackets, to refit it with, still working on that,

 

[ino uno soweno]

Sorry, very busy as here,


(I have lots of pictures, and a few half written observations on the ute and GT4, will remain working on those,)
Yesterday and a few days before that, the Caldina shown in pictures previously, was moved into a workable place, to remove and clean / paint brakes, and the outside of the car got a quick clean up to go back onto the road soon., interesting observations here are,


As previously mentioned I applied Nu-finish, in 2007, and again 2009 and left the car fully exposed and sitting for last 3-4 years, No wash or cover,


I previously showed pictures where I buffed the guard and part of the bonnet, where I had problems removing the oxidized layer, sort of like getting old tape “gum” off, with clean clear water, so I buffed it, (,page,4. pictures post no.94.)






This time for a first time, I used a strong Moss and grease remover and the gum layer of oxidized muck just quickly wiped off surprisingly easy , due to having no water supply and very hot sun, the dissolved gummy layer dries very quickly, so, I then used a plastic bottle of water with dish washing liquid, to again quickly dissolve the dried grim, and then used a wet microfiber cloth with clean water to dry off the washed panel, and a dry microfiber cloth to buff shine the original 2 layers of nu-finish shine,












This quick wash off, idea, surprise me, in that it was now easy to remove the gummy layer, and how the Goof-off dissolved bird crap and gummy composition, fact is Goof-off is a long time favourite of mine, I have used it as a heavy stain remover,






One new coat of Nu-finish shows fair shine and reflection,
2, point’s f interest here is,
1, Nu-finish polymer coating cures hard after 6 years , so I was not concerned about a strong detergent on the car,,
2, I also usually only clean car carpets, seat belts, built up grim in door handles seats,, ect, with Goof-off,

 

[ino uno soweno]

Please note, sorry again, the Caldina is 1998 model, I did not buff the car and believe it to be original off the spray gun ( lumpy ) paint surface/ finish, never buffed before I applied Nu-finish 2007,and again 2009,


During that time the Caldina travelled over 30k, a lot of hy=way, and local, before it was parked, so far I think I have found 3 bonnet stone chips, a small bumper scratch, ( no previous old dent or scratch “ repairs, )which does again give me the impression that nu-finish is hard enough to resist most small stone chips, not large stone chips, I see and repair small even tiny stone chips on cars then apply nu=finish and where ever possible for the last 17 years, and observe less small stone chips,


Back to some more observations,


This pic shows the rear of the car has not been washed in 3-4 years,





Amazingly quick clean leaves a fine reside attached or stuck to the hard polymer surface, , which buffs to a good shine and reflection with a dry microfiber cloth, please note, if I was 40 years younger, I could hand buff the whole car in about 3 hours of intensive soft rubbing, , but with the hot days here, my intention is to finish cleaning the whole car with above method, and perhaps wet sand p2000 the remaining residue laying in the lows areas of the polymer coating, which lays on the original fine lumpy off the spray gun paint surface from the factory,


This picture shows quick clean rear door,






Observation is moss and dirt have accumulated under and behind most trim and rubbers over the whole car, so while slowly cleaning each panel, I can load up the built up grim in hard to get areas with detergent, to soak, and just wipe the outside dry, over the next few week, then high pressure water clean the crap out of it, lots of spider webs when I open the doors will get it too,


This door was like inside out “sticky tape” on the surface,






But still just disolved,








This picture shows door cleaned up well, except for a dob of industrial type glue, it is stuck hard on the door. Perhaps “hard as nails” glue, I will not try to scrap or rip it off, just sand it off,












Please note, picture shows after some intense light buffing with microfiber cloth, the gum is removed slowly, and a fair shine and reflection is seen, ( note to self, try stainless steel scourer to remove gum easier, ??, or quicker, ??) also please note or look for the 2 cars in the reflection, also the factory paint finish surface is not flat, so I am thinking I might only wet sand the high spots of the Nu-finish layer, I know the actual paint under the Nu-finish layer is original, 16 years old, and I really do not want to sand any original paint, only the high areas of Nu-finish clear coating, and buff. my focus will be to build up perhaps 3 coats more over the next 6 months, leaving the car in the sun as much as possible to cure,, then block wet sand p2000 the layers of nu-finish to super flat surface, where required.


This picture shows dirty oxidizing gum on the bonnet and front section,





[FONT=&quot]
This picture shows above pretty clean, pretty easy, but still more to do for that near perfect mirror reflection,

[/FONT]

 

[ino uno soweno]

[FONT=&quot]This picture shows a quick buff removed the gummy oxidized residue off the surface of the very hard and cured 6 year old Nu-finish polymer clear coat surface,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Under magnification, my observation was after more than 4 years in hostile conditions, parked and unwashed, the 6 year old nu-finish surface coating was not oxidized or pitted, at all, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Points of interest to me here, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The oxidizing gum residue layer buffed off the hard polymer, in a noticeably similar manner as buffing the gum layer buffed off the glass windows, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Nu-finish clear coat cures to a very much harder surface then Urethane, Acrylic, or most paints, , under magnification, showed no pitting in or on the nu-finish hard clear coat “surface”, caused by oxidizing or rusting metal dust, ect. in comparison to Urethane or Acrylic paint surfaces, or some waxes, metal dust oxidizes (rusts) into the surface of Urethane or Acrylic clear coat, ( oxidization pitting) [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The original Toyo factory paint, under magnification, appears to me, to be original and un-buffed, other than factory, which is under the nu-finish coating, I first applied 2007, again in 09 and last applied 26/10/2013[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Red arrow shows excellent reflection, also shows a slightly blurred “fine line” definition, due original paint surface not being block sanded flat, and factory off the gun, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Dark blue arrow shows due to “angle and light source”, the orange cones have good fine line and colour definition, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Light blue arrows shows excellent glassy reflection under the mirror, , [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Yellow arrow shows good reflection of shelf and cans, despite poor lighting, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Please note, I only apply Nu-finish, no wax of any nature will be used, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]This picture shows excellent reflection on bonnet and guard,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Closer view shows uneven line definition, ( white fence gate line ). Again confirming the paint surface is original lumpy off the gun surface,,
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

 

[ino uno soweno]

[FONT=&quot]Closer view shows uneven line definition, ( white fence gate line ). Again confirming the paint surface is original lumpy off the gun surface,, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Next picture shows Nu-finish clear coat passes the D,O,G, slip and scratch Test.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] As previously mentioned I intend on applying a few coats of nu-finish clear coat over the next 6 months, then I will block sand and buff, the surface of the new finish clear coat to flat high gloss mirror reflection, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Back asap, [/FONT]

 

[ino uno soweno]

The Camry guy drop by to arrange some more minor repairs in the future, I suggested to him to pay $50 to $75 ( local prices here )each for 2 same colour doors, repairing and repainting his doors would cost around $300, and the colour might not match, where original colour doors will colour match,



Arrows show shine and more imperfections to be restored.







I was pretty surprised to see it so clean, and laughed when he said he was going to keep the car longer because he loves his friends telling him, how clean it looks,


His main notable comment he made was how easy it is to wash, please note, I hear and think that allot, and to be clear, my line of thought and experience is a 3 month old coating of nu-finish is easier to clean, and stays clean, then a waxed surface,


Back to cleaning and keeping the inside of wheels, and a few points I remembered in hindsight.


This picture shows I have just cleaned the inside and outside of this chrome mag wheel, (right)






These chrome mags are pretty old and used, and had a ring of dirty brown looking oxidizing metal on the chrome, lining up to metal being thrown off the disc rotor, this ring of oxidized disc metal on the chrome surface had and was pitting, to clean up the pitting,


I use a drill mounted wire brush as seen, then apply 2-3 coats of nu-finish to fill the pitting as much as possible to seal any oxidization, please note, I only wiped a small section of the Nu-finish,


Please note, Nu-finish is purpose car, fibreglass, and chrome clear coat application, , all-weather protection against road chemicals and oxidization, which in my experience makes keeping wheels “clean” ( inside and out )as the paint on the car, much longer then wax type polish,


Please note, in my experience, I apply Nu-finish because wheels, cars, do not get dirty as quick, are easier to clean and keep clean,
Wheel on left is old mag with years of built up road grim, I have run the wire brush over a small section to show there is good alloy that can be polished to a chrome looking surface, with a lot of work,


Small hammer on wheel is my “painted panel dent hammer “. More on the hammer soon “.

 

[ino uno soweno]

This picture shows white ute bonnet has good mirror reflection, after final buff, and 2 coats of Nu-finish,




Red arrows show reflection of factory vents in detail, and construction of gantry.ect,
Blue arrows show blotches of sunlight on the bonnet, ,
Yellow arrows shows equal bonnet and guard gap,
Orange arrows show poor and uneven gap, on the to do list,
Black arrow shows no rust forming on the guard yet, ? , good rust has formed in the scratches on rear guard,
White arrow shows damage to bumper lip,
Green arrow shows bumper is still “to be” removed and weld re-aligned ,


This picture of driver side ute mirror shows red arrows indicating good buffed plasticized metal weather strip, and gutter rail have good clean “black” shine,



Yellow arrows each show good clear reflection with good definition,
White arrows show camera, and camera fingers, ,

This picture shows back on subject oxidizing (rusting ) scratch, and my favourite rust treatment, metal primer, painted in the scratches,















Locktite extend rust treatment,

 

[ino uno soweno]

Locktite extend rust treatment,


http://www.loctite.com.au/cps/rde/x...redDotUID=productfinder&redDotUID=10000009RTT


I have used Locktite ERT for over 20 years, including intensive 10 years use in mining situations, and auto restoration, please note, I use a heat gun to remove any moisture before application, in my mind I think the dry rust sucks the wet loctite in, and I think loctite cures much harder quicker if exposed to sunlight while or soon after application, I like to apply at night under lights, leave it a few hours, lightly sand, and apply more coats, ( multiple “thin “ coats ) and leave it in the sun for a few days,


Please note, judging from the many times I forgot to bring the loctited metal object back under cover overnight, and the coated loctite metal objects like 20 ton earthmoving machines that could not get under cover overnight, I did observe that loctite ERT get overnight dew, or get rained on, develops a milky white appearance, ( for the first week or so,) which turns back to semi-gloss “black” when dried out in the sun the next day, overnight dew wets it again, dries out again,


My observation is that allowing the loctite coating or making ( hand water spray bottle ) the coating wet to encourage the coating to turn milky, then leaving it in hot sun all day, or leaving hot air gun/s on the job to bake the coatings as they are applied, will result in a slightly more glossy surface, as well as making the coating very much harder in my opinion,


That is my experience and that is what I do,


The following is what I do as an alternate to sand ect blasting and immediately apply a 2pak primer, I did the sanding blasting method and hated the sand or whatever abrasive medium rammed into cracks, and built up med in corners and other hard to remove places, anyway,
Please remember the old previously shown ford falcon as partly painted in Por15 paint rust paint, , which was painted on with only minor surface rust at the time,, the rest of the bared metal then left to further and fully oxidize the surface for around 2 years, pictures and post, Number 130,
So again, I have used Por15 rust paint, and Loctite ERT, and to see for myself which is best in my mind, I figured I would just paint this car with both,


Please note I do and have long used Locktite ERT for 2 purposes, I believe Locktite ERT is the quickest and easiest rust treatment and paint preparation, compared to Por15 RT paints, already applied,
By that I mean in my line of thought and experience, Locktite is so much easier, a lot less stress in application, and a hell of a lot less cost.
Alright I confess, I can and do Apply Por15 over Locktite, but please note,



I do not think Nu-finish should or could be applied over Por15 top coats,
NUMBER 1 purpose I use Loctite ERT, My Method.


Sorry, just another thought you might have while looking at the following pictures, that is any metal rusting metal object you might have, cast iron garden furniture, rusty garden gate, or old tractor parts, earthmoving equipment, rusting wire fence, ? ect,


This picture shows basically even light oxidized metal surface, light sanding and wipe down with a microfiber cloth, wrapped around a vacuum cleaner nozzle, any vacuum cleaner is required for the dust, point here is sanding with P220 dry by hand, the dust is easy to control, not like machine sanding where the dust is thrown around, basically I only lightly sand the rusted surface, to remove dust and crap settled on the surface, so it is all very quick sanding, and dry,







My line of thought is the surface rust is pitting into the metal surfaces, then the pitting rust “ion“ is saturated and chemically converted and bonded in and with the primer surface coating, creating an excellent bond or adheres ion between the metal and the coating, with roots, thinking in a micro line of thought,







Paint brush is good and or foam sponge paint brush is better to flatten , applying in the cool gives plenty of time to lay out brush marks, soft haired quality paint brushes leave little brush marks, but allow good penetration into cracks and gaps between metal spot welds, My line of thought is any gap I can push the loctite in, any rust is bonded together, I think applying loctite to both sides of any sheet metal is increasing the strength of the sheet metal,
Other paintedengine bay,