Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Create a post with details about your car.

Moderators: IMOC Moderators, IMOC Committee Members

aj.extreme
Posts: 469
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:09 pm
Location: Chaddesley Corbett

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by aj.extreme »

Once the car had been given a guide coat of black i sanded it all back with 400 grit paper on a da air sander, then went about filling any chips and deep scratches. Once the filler was sanded smooth i got about with the panel wipe, taked off the car and primed everything that needed primer

ie: The wings, skirts, plastic bump strips, door handles and all filler and areas where i'd sanded through to metal.

Gave it a couple of coats and then once dry went across with some 1200 grit wet paper to smooth out any imperfections and runs in the primer.

Image

Image
aj.extreme
Posts: 469
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:09 pm
Location: Chaddesley Corbett

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by aj.extreme »

Next was to clean out the gun mix up the base and hold my breath! Mask adorned, compressor and gun set up, rain no where to be seen i wiped the car down once again with panel wipe, ran over the body with a tack cloth and started spraying. This was the biggest task off the day as i'd only ever sprayed small panels but i'd had a bit of practice and done alot of research so pulled the trigger and laid done my 1st coat.

The paint was covering well and looked great, 2 coats later the colour was solid and for the first time in a few months the car was actually all one colour!

I laid down 4 coats of base and then circled the car looking for bugs and leaves that had made there way onto the paint, luckily i only found a few flies and small creepy crawlies, these were quickly but tentatively removed. Once the base had gone off i mixed up a bucket of hot soapy water and went around with 1500 grit paper knocking off any marks made by dirt dust and bugs. A quick coat over the sanded areas and then left for a few hours to cure properly.

Image

Image
aj.extreme
Posts: 469
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:09 pm
Location: Chaddesley Corbett

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by aj.extreme »

A cup of tea and a sandwich later went back to look at the car, all seemed good and again no sign of rain so decided to push on with the clear coat.

Using 2K clear mixed 2:1 i sorted out a litre, poured into the gun and got that setup to about 45psi with a hand span sized fan from about 6" off the body, once again panel wipe and tack and then on with the clear. The clear only needs 5-10mins so set before coats so this went on fairly quickly and with every coat the base colour got deeper and deeper and the metallic pearl in the paint really started to shine through. Once the clear was on i left it for a few hours and then went back to inspect my work.

One of the draw backs is that dust and crap flying around gets stuck in the clear but i applied 6 layers so will sand buff all the surface crap out next week once fully cured, once buffed and polished it will hopefully come up near spotless!

Anyway after a long old day i stuck the car away, left it for a few days and then started putting back all the trim, lights etc

Here is where the car stands at the moment, pretty darn impressed with my efforts

Image

Image

Image

Image

I still need to touch up some of the paint work, buff and polish, sort the wheels as they now look AWEFUL lol and get the interior back inside!
Magic Beans
Posts: 4789
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 1:01 pm

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by Magic Beans »

Outstanding :clap: You've done an excellent job and the results speak for themselves :thumleft:
mattymr2
Posts: 1083
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2007 1:52 pm
Location: warwickshire

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by mattymr2 »

Great effort mate. Looks good.

Has the bonnet been sprayed?
aj.extreme
Posts: 469
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:09 pm
Location: Chaddesley Corbett

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by aj.extreme »

No didn't bother with the bonnet as fitting a border style carbon one when I see one come up for sale at a reasonable price and in good condition. Not worth the extra work or materials!
synXero
Posts: 3781
Joined: Fri May 28, 2010 12:04 pm
Location: London, Edinburgh, or the Highlands!

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by synXero »

That looks so good man. Well done.
aj.extreme
Posts: 469
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:09 pm
Location: Chaddesley Corbett

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by aj.extreme »

Still not got round to wet sanding and buffing/polishing but i did get the lower suspension arms fitted in today with a brand new set of polybushes :lol:

Image

Also been modifying a set of drop links to fit the front super streets, 190mm with opposite facing threads. Had to grind two flat spots onto the tein end to get a spanner onto it to tighten as there aint a lot of room in the mounting bracket and you cant get an allen key in there as the thread was too long.

All in all though a good quick cheap fix and under the arches is looking pretty tidy what with all arms etc now painted and new callipers and teins :lol:
aj.extreme
Posts: 469
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:09 pm
Location: Chaddesley Corbett

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by aj.extreme »

Once again a quick update on how the cars coming along. Starting to get way too dark and wet to do any serious work so been chipping away little jobs at a time

- Have the stainless dial surround rings installed in the instrument cluster
- Have all the suspension arms swapped out and fitted ---> see above post
- Have all the interior panels except the dash removed ready for a re-trim
- Decided as xmas is round the corner i cant afford a carbon bonnet so have had a go as some custom spray work

What do you think?

Image

Image

Just leaving over night to set and i'll get it fitted tomorrow see how it looks :thumleft:

Also took the rogue fan kit apart and colour coded to the body work

From this
Image

To this
Image

Will take some pics fitted tomorrow but looks great \:D/

Have sprayed the reverse light panel the same colour as the roof 202 black and fitted, also got hold of some red corner triangles for the rear lights and modified the old toberlone bulb holders to fit so now when the sidelights are on i have the quad rear lights and the red triangles lit up.

Image

Still not wet sanded and buffed the rest of the car as got some spots i need to touch up first but for now it can live in the garage whilst i work on the re-trim inside. Going for black alcantara over 3mm scrim. Will update as i go and get some pics up tomorrow evening!

Cant wait to get to some meets next year and show off all my hard work!
Magic Beans
Posts: 4789
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 1:01 pm

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by Magic Beans »

Keeping busy then :wink:

The car looks great but I'll hold off judgement on the bonnet until it's on. Not that I doubt it will look good, you just need to see the full picture. I admire your spirit for giving it a go.

Hope to see it in the flesh at some point next year :thumleft:
aj.extreme
Posts: 469
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:09 pm
Location: Chaddesley Corbett

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by aj.extreme »

To be fair I agree, I like my work on the bonnet but unsure on how it's gonna look, I'll post some pics tomorrow :wink:

Nice and busy though, not sure why I have tasked myself with a retrim but love a challenge and gonna give it a bash. Took that attitude with the respray and it turned out great so we'll see how it goes
Magic Beans
Posts: 4789
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 1:01 pm

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by Magic Beans »

Definitely interested to see it mounted :thumleft:

The interior re-trim work isn't too bad to be honest, so long as you plan and take your time. I used spray carpet glue for the cubby and door inserts when I did mine. Well, after finding out the long-winded way that it's the better option :whistle: I am still planning on doing the centre channel piece and the dash, when I can be bothered :lol:
pistol pete
Posts: 7068
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2008 5:47 pm

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by pistol pete »

awesome buddt really good work there :thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft:
aj.extreme
Posts: 469
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:09 pm
Location: Chaddesley Corbett

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by aj.extreme »

A quick snapshot whilst the hood is off, all tidied up and the Tein brace fitted

Image

AND here she is as promised! Still unsure if i like the bonnet but we'll see when the sun comes out, does look awesome if i may say so myself but maybe not my taste. I'll leave it to grow on me i think :-k

Image

Image

And with the weather being awful today and nothing else to occupy myself with i removed the dash ready for the alcantara :mrgreen:

Image
Image
Image

Was fairly easy to get out once you'd found all the screws,clips and bolts. Not sure if it will go back in as easy as it came out but that's a task for a few weeks time once its covered! Gonna get the centre tunnel done and the cubby box at the same time. Then may do the rest of the interior panels depending on the finish i get.
jack-p
Posts: 500
Joined: Tue May 19, 2009 8:33 pm

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by jack-p »

That's really impressive :clap: Looks like a really nice finish from the pictures. I have a question though. when spraying outside you mentioned dust etc getting stuck in the clear-coat, how do you buff the dust/bugs out of the first layer of clear you applied?
aj.extreme
Posts: 469
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:09 pm
Location: Chaddesley Corbett

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by aj.extreme »

I am no expert but apart from applying a coat at a time and leaving to harden then sand and apply the next coat would be the best option but totally unpractical as you need to leave the clear for a week or two to fully set before taking sand paper to it.

My method was to apply 6 coats of clear getting progressively heavier as i went, to start the light layers would set quick enough to get the next coat on, say 10-15mins and whilst waiting to dry i scoured the bodywork for bugs and dirt tentatively removing as i went. As the layers got thicker the dry time increased which attracted more dirt and dust but hopefully this has settled on the surface of the clear( well it has because i can feel it) and once wet sanded should see most of that gone. The lighter coats underneath are almost perfect so sanding the top layer should smooth out the imperfections and then a good buff and polish will bring it back to life. Admittedly your always gonna have problems when spraying outside but it can be done and with what i have achieved "a pretty good finish"

You have to be very fussy and get close up to see the dust spots, but like i said most of these will be gone. Its just another stage that needs to be done as apposed too being in a booth where things can happen a lot quicker, the paint can be baked and there is absolute zero dust flying around.

Again it has been a pain in my a@@e to do but very do-able and highly rewarding at a fraction of the cost! :lol:
jack-p
Posts: 500
Joined: Tue May 19, 2009 8:33 pm

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by jack-p »

Sounds like a good job to me. I wasn't criticizing, just curious. You can rent some booths can't you? not sure how expensive they are mind.
aj.extreme
Posts: 469
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:09 pm
Location: Chaddesley Corbett

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by aj.extreme »

Didn't think you were critizing lol :wink:

I did look into hiring a booth, £100 per day (8 Hours) which is pretty good

http://workshopforrent.co.uk/spray-booth-hire/

But my clutch still needs doing and i'd have to drive there with all my supplies and i wanted to get the paint on before the winter so decided to crack on with it on the drive/carpark - i live in a pub \:D/ and then get the clutch done over the winter, all ready for spring!
Magic Beans
Posts: 4789
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2011 1:01 pm

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by Magic Beans »

The bonnet looks pretty good actually :D

Just spotted the vented front wings too, are they custom or aftermarket parts?
aj.extreme
Posts: 469
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:09 pm
Location: Chaddesley Corbett

Re: Back in another MR2 - Hi everyone

Post by aj.extreme »

The wings i picked up on eBay at a bit of a gamble as the description was simply

"Mr2 vented wings in primer"

Got them for under £50 delivered, and they went straight on no messing, lined up with all factory bolt hole locations! Looked like they have never been fitted either so I was well chuffed! Gives the car a nice aggressive look
Post Reply

Return to “Member Profiles”