Assembly/Disassembly and Paint Questions … ?

[John Simion]

Now that I’ve been told that I’m only a couple of days away from getting my car back and taking it to the body shop, I have some new questions.

Is it possible or advisable to paint the car without first disassembling it?  The concern is access to narrow places like between the hood and front fenders, and whether they would tape off the welting or paint over it.  I already need to have them partially disassemble the hood and grille to correct some misassembly by the PO, so I’m thinking to also have them remove the fenders prior to repaint, then put fresh welting in.

Related to this is, how do you remove the running boards?  I tried to remove one bolt but couldn’t find the nut on the other end of it, so now all I have is one loose bolt.  The nut end appears to be hidden under the fiberglass floorboard.  In fact, that is another question.  I thought these cars just had a body that bolted to a VW floor pan and that I’d be dealing with steel under my feet.  In my car at least, there is a fiberglass piece covering the floor (and the running board bolts).  But it doesn’t cover the center hump.  Could this just be something that the PO custom made for some reason known only to him?  There is nothing wrong with the VW floor pans that are under the fiberglass, so I can’t figure out why the fiberglass was even needed.  I don’t like the fiberglass floor anyway, because you can feel it move a little every time you step on it (just a tiny gap between the fiberglass and metal beneath, but it’s enough to feel.  Maybe I tell the body shop to just remove the fiberglass floor and weld shut all the excess holes in the floor?

As for the paint to be used, I have heard two things that y’all could confirm or deny.  Does the gelcoat need to be “sealed” first, and how do they do that?  Also, is there any kind of problem in painting a metallic paint, assuming proper preparation?  The rumor here is that in Vegas heat, the metallic paint would expand/contract at a different rate than the fiberglass and cause it all to flake off or something like that.  I have NOT heard that from a body shop but I wondered if anybody else has heard the same thing.

Also, for a Fiberfab kit, does anyone know what other taillight options I might have other than the generic VW-looking taillights provided by Fiberfab?  I’m thinking that the ones sold by MG Magic might look a lot more authentic and less VW — if they will work without a lot of body shop labor in refitting:  http://www.mgmagicclassicmotorparts.com/taillight-assembly-complete-replacement-each/

Last, does anybody know if you can fit the OEM headlamp mounts (i.e. between the fender and grille) onto a Fiberfab kit (the kind that has the flat chrome mounts?)?  I could go with the ones I have, but the OEMs look much better.

PMOSSBERG2015-04-06 14:46:26

[Al Greig]

When I painted my MiGi I disassembled it.  Primary reason was so I didn’t paint the welting between the pieces.  I wet sanded the fiberglass and used an epoxy primer, enamel and clear coat. 

[newkitman]

One option if you’re worried about painting over the welting is to loosen the bolts and remove the existing welting. Have them paint the car and when done and cured etc., reinstall the welting and tighten up the bolts.

Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The Shack

[Paul Mossberg]

Not sure this answer will apply to your FiberFab, but…on a Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess:

The fenders bolt to the front bumper support bracket, to the rear fenders and there is a bolt on each side of the line between the body side panels and the front trunk side panels.

For the rest of the length of the fender, there are rivets every few inches.

 

Rivets can be drilled out from the outside.

 

The bolts from inside the front trunk. Where the fender & running boards attach to the passenger compartment sides, the bolts are accesible from inside the passenger compartment. The body side panels are hollow. The builder had to use a hole saw to open up the inner most portion of the fiberglass, to allow access to the outer skin.

 

Not sure what to say about your fiberglass floor inserts. Don’t have them.

 

As far as painting over the welting, we had an entire thread on that topic. 😉

 

I’ve seen original TDs where the welting was painted. Can’t say I like that. But the point is, you wouldn’t be “wrong” if you took that approach.

 

I agree with Al G’s approach to painting over gel coat.

 

The taillights you linked to are probably the best solution to replacing the VW Bug taillights. Your fenders were molded to receive the VW frame and lenses. You shouldn’t need a body shop to pull the VW lights off, and mount the replacements.

 

I’ve never heard about metal flake paint being a problem in high temp climates. The guys on Counting Cars do flake paint all the time; and they’re based in Vegas.

PMOSSBERG2015-04-06 16:58:04

Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica Roadster

If you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)

[John Simion]

I got two paint estimates — both about $5000. To be fair, it’s a lot of work I asked for … partial disassembling, realigning the hood and center strip, fixing a few stress cracks, repainting in the same bright red with clear coat, sandblasting/repainting the wheels, and of course reassembling. Still, $5000 seems like a lot, considering it’s all together now and there are no parts needed and no significant damage. And disassembling/reassembling was only about $1000 out of that total. Do I need to get more estimates or is this in the ballpark? Anybody with any experience?

[Dale Schumacher]

I did my own work – disassembly  and put back together and fixed my own cracks. 

My body shop did the prime and paint and clearcoat for 600.00 10 years ago now in bright red.

Seems crazy high to me.

[Rosebud and Bill]

John,

 

I just had Rosebud repainted, they completely disassembled her, changed all the welting and repainted her two-tone, my bill was $5,000.00.  It seems steep, but it came out beautiful.  Definitely not an Earl Scheib $29.99 special.

 

I suppose being in California also adds to the price.

 

Bill

Bad Bill

[Al Greig]

I disassembled and painted my TDR over a Spring Break when my youngest daughter was out of school.  Told her I needed to get car ready for summer but really it was an excuse to be around when she was off of school.  It took me all week plus the associated weekends to get the job done.  If I recall correctly the paint was about $200.

[Rosebud and Bill]

John,

 

Forgot to mention, that also included fixing all the fiberglass cracks.

 

Bill

Bad Bill

[edward ericson]

Paint is expensive & the modern urethane and epoxy mixes are very good, fast-drying and a bit tricky to work with. All car paint shops shoot almost exclusively urethane now, I am told. No one messes with acrylics or lacquer. 

Prep is still what it ever was, which is mostly labor. The Speedster guys had a paint thread a few weeks back and $5,000 was considered medium-low there. 

Of course, all but of a few of those guys would never dream of personally doing body work or paint on their cars, which cost them $30,000 or more. 

I understand that Maaco will still spray a car for under $500. So if you can get them excited about doing some break-down and crack repair for the same $1,000 your other shop is posting, you may be in luck.

Then again, there is always rustoleum.

edsnova2015-04-23 21:44:27

[John Simion]

Looks like the $5000 isn’t so bad after all. There are cheaper alternatives, but with no space to work, a wife who is more stressed out about my car than I am, and with the money I’ve already thrown away, er, spent on this, the $5K actually starts to sound reasonable. No matter what I do, I’m deep in the hole — might as well finish it right so at least I’ll be happy with it. Got a new guy doing the wiring and after 2 days, he has almost finished half the job. Expensively. Is “Money Pit” taken for a car nickname?johnsimion2015-04-23 23:18:06

[billnparts]

You could always go the cheap route as I did. $50 for a quart of boat paint and brush it on. Comes out better than you’d expect. Good enough for who it’s for.

Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"

[davearoy]

I agree with Billnparts. I have a fiberglass boat that I have painted, so I am going to paint my car as well. I plan on using a very thin nap roller, and then “tipping” over with a good quality edging brush. You can very easily use narrow wide masking tape, to tape off the welting. I will probably spend less the $200 with using two quarts of a good quality Polyeurthane one part Marine paint, brushes, and tape. There come a time when the law of “diminishing returns” comes into play with these cars. One can spend more money the what the car is worth. If you ask around maybe one of your friends will let you use their garage, and may help you too. Search painting a boat on You Tube, “Johnson Marine Paints have excellent videos as well. Excellent gloss finish, with good UV inhibitors and self leveling (very smooth mirror like finish”.
If you need new dash guages, JEGS.com sells VDO guages and sending units for very good inxpensive prices. I just got a new Oil Pressure Guage for $ 36 and a matching Oil Pressure sending unit for $35. All other VW resources cost $60 to $ 90 for VDO gauges and sending units.

Good Luck………. Dave

Dave
Lakeland, Florida, where we drive Topless every day

[John Simion]

My boss and I painted his old Buick Skylark with brushed-on Rustoleum back in 1985.  It was robin’s egg blue and started peeling off within about a month, and I can’t get that image out of my mind.

I am far too aware about spending more money than what the car is worth, but I don’t know any hobby car where you get back the money you put into it.  That’s why it’s a hobby.  If you want a car for an investment, you buy a genuine classic that someone else already fully restored at outrageous expense and lost THEIR shirt on.  Probably that’s what I should have done in the first place, but I was really naive.  I overestimated my abilities and the amount of time I’d have to work on things (how can I be retired and STILL have no *&%*^ time?!?), and I badly miscalculated how much everything would cost.  Well, it is what it is.  Most of the money is already spent and my only real option is to finish the job and focus on the good times yet to come.  The money will be forgotten IF the car makes me happy when it’s finished.  I just don’t think I would ever be happy with a brush paint job.

johnsimion2015-04-25 02:40:00

[newkitman]

Billnparts repainted his entire car with boat paint and a roller if I remember correctly. Once dry and cured a quick buffing and viola…..beautiful paint job. Something to consider.

Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The Shack

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