If anyone ever needs a decent German translation, just let me know... always safer than expecting something to arrive that you bought and it then isn't what you thought it should be because the translation was dodgy.
The "Blue Danube"
- Thread starter bleudanube
- Start date
If anyone ever needs a decent German translation, just let me know... always safer than expecting something to arrive that you bought and it then isn't what you thought it should be because the translation was dodgy.
Try Adelaide Brake and Clutch... Always used to be spot on for these things. Simon or someone will correct this if I'm out of date.
Cheers
Great Restoration! I would give DS Sassen a try if you are unhappy with fransoze, they only do D's - and in my experience they are good.:wink2:
Continuing with Odds & Sods...
Well, the last couple of weeks has been a little slower... have been waiting to get the two boot rails from Germany... can't be too far away now as my other parcel just arrived late last week. Once I have those two rails I can weld them in, and then paint the boot, ready for reassembly of my rear end.
So while the carcass sits and waits in primer, I got under way with repairing (broken stud) and polishing the aluminium boot hinges and all the stainless steel of the rear bumper and the roof - despite being a bit filthy and a tedious job, the outcome makes the polishing certainly worthwhile. The parts look brilliant!
Look at those beauties
:
Used a sisal wheel with black paste and then the cotton wheel with the white paste... and voila! All nice and new and shiny... very rewarding!
Also got the parts back from the zinc plater - have used CP Plating this time in Hamilton. They have done a really nice job - especially the silver zinc panels that cover the hydraulic lines in the wheel arches look fantastic. A couple of coats of clear over the top should see them sustain their shine for a while.
The "fun" part is now to try and work out which screw and nuts belongs to what part...
Have also had a few parts done at the powder coater: Rear bumper brackets, number plate holder and windscreen parts as well as the brackets for the front arm rest - black gloss for $70... good job done by Global Powder Coaters in Archerfield.
Looking forward to putting it all back together and onto the car. That's the most rewarding part of any restoration.
Have also been lucky since the last time I wrote - have scored a compressor from my neighbour. Her late husband has all sorts of gear and she gave me his compressor and a spray gun. The gun won't be useful as it is an old 2.0mm siphon pot gun. So I "splashed out" and bought an Ozito HVLP gun from Bunnings
to play with. If it works and my skills improve, I can always buy a better gun. And I got a touchup gun as well as part of the set. Cannot hurt to have one. :wink2:
The compressor (after fixing all the leaks) is quite good, it is an older twin head one, I think 60L, but not sure. Anyway, gift horse...
Can't wait to spray "something"... watched YouTube videos again, so what can go wrong...
Cleaned up the rear lights as well, the seal was all brittle, but I used some two sided foam seal, cut into thin strips - that'll seal the lid pretty well.
Also cleaned up the left side hydraulics and height corrector tubing a bit. Not sure whether anyone has a trick how you get them back to the original look? What colour were they? Copper colour or else?
They will be behind my new shiny cover anyway, but that's not the point... needs to be done properly, right?!
Sven
Well, the last couple of weeks has been a little slower... have been waiting to get the two boot rails from Germany... can't be too far away now as my other parcel just arrived late last week. Once I have those two rails I can weld them in, and then paint the boot, ready for reassembly of my rear end.
So while the carcass sits and waits in primer, I got under way with repairing (broken stud) and polishing the aluminium boot hinges and all the stainless steel of the rear bumper and the roof - despite being a bit filthy and a tedious job, the outcome makes the polishing certainly worthwhile. The parts look brilliant!
Look at those beauties
: Used a sisal wheel with black paste and then the cotton wheel with the white paste... and voila! All nice and new and shiny... very rewarding!
Also got the parts back from the zinc plater - have used CP Plating this time in Hamilton. They have done a really nice job - especially the silver zinc panels that cover the hydraulic lines in the wheel arches look fantastic. A couple of coats of clear over the top should see them sustain their shine for a while.
The "fun" part is now to try and work out which screw and nuts belongs to what part...
Have also had a few parts done at the powder coater: Rear bumper brackets, number plate holder and windscreen parts as well as the brackets for the front arm rest - black gloss for $70... good job done by Global Powder Coaters in Archerfield.
Looking forward to putting it all back together and onto the car. That's the most rewarding part of any restoration.
Have also been lucky since the last time I wrote - have scored a compressor from my neighbour. Her late husband has all sorts of gear and she gave me his compressor and a spray gun. The gun won't be useful as it is an old 2.0mm siphon pot gun. So I "splashed out" and bought an Ozito HVLP gun from Bunnings
to play with. If it works and my skills improve, I can always buy a better gun. And I got a touchup gun as well as part of the set. Cannot hurt to have one. :wink2:The compressor (after fixing all the leaks) is quite good, it is an older twin head one, I think 60L, but not sure. Anyway, gift horse...
Can't wait to spray "something"... watched YouTube videos again, so what can go wrong...
Cleaned up the rear lights as well, the seal was all brittle, but I used some two sided foam seal, cut into thin strips - that'll seal the lid pretty well.
Also cleaned up the left side hydraulics and height corrector tubing a bit. Not sure whether anyone has a trick how you get them back to the original look? What colour were they? Copper colour or else?
They will be behind my new shiny cover anyway, but that's not the point... needs to be done properly, right?!
Sven
Last edited:
More on colours....
Put the roof on this morning to have a look what colour looks better with the Danube Blue... White or Silver.
Best to put your hand over the other half to block out one colour... I am starting to like the silver...
But white provides a better contrast to the polished stainless and the anodised B/C pillar panels...
Few more shots from above... any clearer!?
Never thought this would be so frustratingly "difficult"...
Found a couple more shiny Danubes in museums - one in the US one from Mexico - I think I will keep the original colour, it was only available in 1970, so a one year colour makes it more desirable. At least one decision made...
Or maybe black roof? Grrrrrrrr, this is driving me 'crazy'...
Gee, so I was beavering away in the garage - when today's storm hit in Brisbane, with small, but plenty of hail! Here a shot of my car in the driveway, nicely covered in hail! Within minutes the gutters were overflowing, full of hail...
Luckily no damage - threw a few blankets over it to be sure... all good.
Sven
Put the roof on this morning to have a look what colour looks better with the Danube Blue... White or Silver.
Best to put your hand over the other half to block out one colour... I am starting to like the silver...
But white provides a better contrast to the polished stainless and the anodised B/C pillar panels...
Few more shots from above... any clearer!?
Never thought this would be so frustratingly "difficult"...
Found a couple more shiny Danubes in museums - one in the US one from Mexico - I think I will keep the original colour, it was only available in 1970, so a one year colour makes it more desirable. At least one decision made...
Or maybe black roof? Grrrrrrrr, this is driving me 'crazy'...
Gee, so I was beavering away in the garage - when today's storm hit in Brisbane, with small, but plenty of hail! Here a shot of my car in the driveway, nicely covered in hail! Within minutes the gutters were overflowing, full of hail...
Luckily no damage - threw a few blankets over it to be sure... all good.
Sven
Attachments
White is superior to the silver - and the black looks good!
Fantastic Sven - my hat goes off to you for approaching this the right way. It's the little things like the plating that make all the difference to the car in the end.
A couple of things...
1. I think your car should have later tail lights being a 70, but there are lots of examples of previous years stuff being used in the following year - so they could be original. The later tail lights have flimsier bulb holders, but better covers - the older ones will melt if you use 21w bulbs in them - so make sure you only have 5w in the marker lights and no plate lights, and 15w in the brake lights and the bulbs are "low profile"...
2. On the colour - good on you for keeping the original colour, you wont regret it. I think the blue is fabulous. On the roof, all colours look good so there is no bad choice.... but my humble opinion...
Blue roof is my preference
White is probably correct for the car
I think Black is too dark for Australia
Silver looks good, but there are not a lot of cars here with contrasting colours - Europe mainly.
That clisby compressor is the best "old school" compressor you can buy - you'll have that for another 30 years. They are bulletproof. Before spraying splash out for a new water trap and regulator and drain the main air tank of water.
Fantastic work Sven keep it up...
Cheers,
Mark...
A couple of things...
1. I think your car should have later tail lights being a 70, but there are lots of examples of previous years stuff being used in the following year - so they could be original. The later tail lights have flimsier bulb holders, but better covers - the older ones will melt if you use 21w bulbs in them - so make sure you only have 5w in the marker lights and no plate lights, and 15w in the brake lights and the bulbs are "low profile"...
2. On the colour - good on you for keeping the original colour, you wont regret it. I think the blue is fabulous. On the roof, all colours look good so there is no bad choice.... but my humble opinion...
Blue roof is my preference
White is probably correct for the car
I think Black is too dark for Australia
Silver looks good, but there are not a lot of cars here with contrasting colours - Europe mainly.
That clisby compressor is the best "old school" compressor you can buy - you'll have that for another 30 years. They are bulletproof. Before spraying splash out for a new water trap and regulator and drain the main air tank of water.
Fantastic work Sven keep it up...
Cheers,
Mark...
Bleu on Bleu 
Colour is such a personal choice, you'll put a lot of time and effort into preparing for paint so 'you' must be happy with the final choice and outcome.
It does appear your car 1970 would have been bleu on bleu and my own personal preference, being a one year only colour it does make it rare and special, but hey it's your car
Cheers
Chris
Colour is such a personal choice, you'll put a lot of time and effort into preparing for paint so 'you' must be happy with the final choice and outcome.
It does appear your car 1970 would have been bleu on bleu and my own personal preference, being a one year only colour it does make it rare and special, but hey it's your car
Cheers
Chris
Attachments
Firstly, fantastic work Sven. It is looking really good.
I have to agree with both Mark & Chris. The original scheme appears to have been blue roof on blue body so that would be my pick, but you have to live with it and love it, so if you like black roof then it should be black, but for me, if not blue on blue, I'd go for the white. As Mark says, the black may be too hot for our sunny clime..
I have to agree with both Mark & Chris. The original scheme appears to have been blue roof on blue body so that would be my pick, but you have to live with it and love it, so if you like black roof then it should be black, but for me, if not blue on blue, I'd go for the white. As Mark says, the black may be too hot for our sunny clime..
You are all certainly correct in that the roof was originally blue. After taking the roof off and cleaning it up it didn't reveal any other colour, just the blue.
But for me a DS has always been two-coloured... Not sure why, but it must be a childhood thing. The neighbour/family votes stand at about 5 to 1 in favour of silver, but only white was an "option" for 1970 according to Les Nuanciers. My wife prefers blue -DOH
Mark, I think the rear lights are correct, as some parts appear to be mid 1969 when it was built and then imported to Oz.
Sven
But for me a DS has always been two-coloured... Not sure why, but it must be a childhood thing. The neighbour/family votes stand at about 5 to 1 in favour of silver, but only white was an "option" for 1970 according to Les Nuanciers. My wife prefers blue -DOH
Mark, I think the rear lights are correct, as some parts appear to be mid 1969 when it was built and then imported to Oz.
Sven
My 
Bleu on Bleu on Bleu.. a trifecta. Says he with a two toned D. . There's something about that particular shade of Bleu that suits the one colour scheme to my eyes, it has a stronger presence. But, your choice obviously. You have to love it. When you walk out each morning to drive the car, will it make you smile? I share your anguish... as you know I was a tad obsessed with my colour choice..not a word from anyone please! lol!
Matthew
Bleu on Bleu on Bleu.. a trifecta. Says he with a two toned D. . There's something about that particular shade of Bleu that suits the one colour scheme to my eyes, it has a stronger presence. But, your choice obviously. You have to love it. When you walk out each morning to drive the car, will it make you smile? I share your anguish... as you know I was a tad obsessed with my colour choice..not a word from anyone please! lol!
Matthew
Seat Belt options
One thing I need to start thinking about, too are replacing the old fixed length seat belts. What options have you used for the front and rear?
A) Stiff whip style buckle or the floppy belt style with the eye bolt type clip at the end for the front?
B) Inertia reel on the sill or bolted onto the B-pillar? How did you attach those? Drill new holes? How to get to the bolt from underneath / through the chassis member to put the nuts on?
C) what versions have you used for the rear seats? Again: floppy belt with bolt bracket for the buckle and intertia reel on the parcel shelf? Or else?
Photos welcome. And suppliers / model numbers if possible as well maybe?
Appreciated. Sven
One thing I need to start thinking about, too are replacing the old fixed length seat belts. What options have you used for the front and rear?
A) Stiff whip style buckle or the floppy belt style with the eye bolt type clip at the end for the front?
B) Inertia reel on the sill or bolted onto the B-pillar? How did you attach those? Drill new holes? How to get to the bolt from underneath / through the chassis member to put the nuts on?
C) what versions have you used for the rear seats? Again: floppy belt with bolt bracket for the buckle and intertia reel on the parcel shelf? Or else?
Photos welcome. And suppliers / model numbers if possible as well maybe?
Appreciated. Sven
there should be a bolt hole in the box sill for your front belts? Inertia is the way to go and either inertia or floppy in rear, inertia sits on parcel shelf, whatever you go for make sure it has Australian standards on it as some plonker at the registry might go hunting for the label and you don't want to cop it down there on the day.
My
Matthew
This is identical to the pilot model D Special I bought in early '70 as a demonstrator from Citco in Glebe , Sydney. It was almost '21 spec. except it didn't have foam under the carpets or the rear quarter panel interior lights. It did have a bonnet emblem & tinted glass all round, & really looked outstanding, with matching jersey trim too. Subsequent D Specials were sold with the basic standard trim etc. with which we are familiar now days.
Truly , an outstanding monotone colour, enhanced by the blue tinted glass.
Richard
Got a few "runs" on the board...
Busy, busy, busy... nice to have a long weekend to toil away on the DS!
Firstly, you will be pleased to hear that the decision of the roof colour has been made: BLANC CYGNE AC093 it is! White is the one! Phew... man what a battle (with myself) that was.
Anyway, so I was about to drop off the roof at the painter (didn't think I start painting that bit myself - fibreglass might be a bit beyond me - hopefully not for the professional though...), when he told me that painting it with acrylic wall paint to see whether white or silver is better wasn't a great idea after all as he now has to sand it all off and it will take time and cost...
Didn't want to give him the pleasure of having me pay for him to strip it, so off the roof rack it came again and my son and I spent an hour scraping it all off again... luckily it came off quite easily. And lucky I rang before dropping it off...
Bit of a shitty job, but wasn't too painful after all. So, now it is "off site", but I must admit I am a bit anxious about the quality and longevity - time will tell. Should have it back next week.
Then spent a bit of time cleaning up the fuel tank cover - painted it black Satin - looks quite neat now. Screws all polished, too.
And then onto the L and R side boot seal holders that arrived just in time. After a bit of fiddling, they fitted well and I had another go at plug welding - turned out pretty crappy, but hey, nothing a grinder can't fix :wink2:. Bit more primer sprayed on it and the boot was ready for PAINTING...
So after cleaning, masking and fiddling with my "spray booth" set up to try and fit myself and the backend of the DS in I was ready to go and have a play with my new spray gun/compressor set up.
Here a couple of shots of the outside and inside - cosy....... too cosy as I would soon find out...
So mixed up the 2K paint as per advice, poured it into the gun... and squeezed into the inside.
And pulled the trigger...
Holy dooley, the paint went on really well and the gun worked very well... but I didn't expect it to be such a mess of fumes (yes, did have a mask, which worked well), overspray, mist, vapour and more... crikey, I think the booth was slightly too small (by about 5 times) for the job.
Anyway, while I was caked in overspray and solvent fumes, I might as well finish the job. Put on three coats, inside the boot, outside fenders, etc - and it looks pretty damn good for a first time! A couple of runs, but as most gets covered in carpet I will get away with it. The important outside panels (ears and back panel) look good - nice and shiny gloss black. Makes such a difference and matches the bits that were POR 15ed perfectly (i.e. roof rails, C-pillars).
Very proud of myself - despite the mess, clean up and taking a few years off my life...:nownow:
Didn't fully spray the parcel shelf as it gets a cover over it anyway.... but doesn't this look stunning. I hope the paint will adhere well enough long term. Not sure the prep was 100%... time will tell.
So now that it is all shiny, I needed to bolt some bits back on - number plate holder, powder coated and new - lovely! Lights working (after retapping all holes and creating an earth that is), very good and satisfying!
Besides my Homer Simpson DOH moment: was checking all the lights and bulbs - took me 20 minutes to work out why the bloody rear indicators didn't work on the rear lights... because there aren't any! They are on the roof...
Geez, it was getting late :joker::disappr:....
Then a couple more small tidy up jobs: cleaning and polishing the door locks, clean up the rear fender holder screws and scrubbing the grey vinyl a little to clean that up, too. Then realised that the vinyl triangle between the rear doors, back seat rest and C-pillar didn't align very well with that funny white inner seal. So pulled it off, trimmed it to suit and reglued it again - no gaps now. It's the little things that sometimes make the difference in the end.
A long weekend well spent - I love seeing it all nice and new/shiny.
Next steps: Fuel inlet, rear suspension and maybe even put the roof back on (if it comes back as planned).
Sven
Busy, busy, busy... nice to have a long weekend to toil away on the DS!
Firstly, you will be pleased to hear that the decision of the roof colour has been made: BLANC CYGNE AC093 it is! White is the one! Phew... man what a battle (with myself) that was.
Anyway, so I was about to drop off the roof at the painter (didn't think I start painting that bit myself - fibreglass might be a bit beyond me - hopefully not for the professional though...), when he told me that painting it with acrylic wall paint to see whether white or silver is better wasn't a great idea after all as he now has to sand it all off and it will take time and cost...
Didn't want to give him the pleasure of having me pay for him to strip it, so off the roof rack it came again and my son and I spent an hour scraping it all off again... luckily it came off quite easily. And lucky I rang before dropping it off...
Bit of a shitty job, but wasn't too painful after all. So, now it is "off site", but I must admit I am a bit anxious about the quality and longevity - time will tell. Should have it back next week.
Then spent a bit of time cleaning up the fuel tank cover - painted it black Satin - looks quite neat now. Screws all polished, too.
And then onto the L and R side boot seal holders that arrived just in time. After a bit of fiddling, they fitted well and I had another go at plug welding - turned out pretty crappy, but hey, nothing a grinder can't fix :wink2:. Bit more primer sprayed on it and the boot was ready for PAINTING...
So after cleaning, masking and fiddling with my "spray booth" set up to try and fit myself and the backend of the DS in I was ready to go and have a play with my new spray gun/compressor set up.
Here a couple of shots of the outside and inside - cosy....
... too cosy as I would soon find out... So mixed up the 2K paint as per advice, poured it into the gun... and squeezed into the inside.
And pulled the trigger...
Holy dooley, the paint went on really well and the gun worked very well... but I didn't expect it to be such a mess of fumes (yes, did have a mask, which worked well), overspray, mist, vapour and more... crikey, I think the booth was slightly too small (by about 5 times
) for the job.Anyway, while I was caked in overspray and solvent fumes, I might as well finish the job. Put on three coats, inside the boot, outside fenders, etc - and it looks pretty damn good for a first time! A couple of runs, but as most gets covered in carpet I will get away with it. The important outside panels (ears and back panel) look good - nice and shiny gloss black. Makes such a difference and matches the bits that were POR 15ed perfectly (i.e. roof rails, C-pillars).
Very proud of myself - despite the mess, clean up and taking a few years off my life...:nownow:
Didn't fully spray the parcel shelf as it gets a cover over it anyway.... but doesn't this look stunning. I hope the paint will adhere well enough long term. Not sure the prep was 100%... time will tell.
So now that it is all shiny, I needed to bolt some bits back on - number plate holder, powder coated and new - lovely! Lights working (after retapping all holes and creating an earth that is), very good and satisfying!
Besides my Homer Simpson DOH moment: was checking all the lights and bulbs - took me 20 minutes to work out why the bloody rear indicators didn't work on the rear lights... because there aren't any! They are on the roof...
Geez, it was getting late :joker::disappr:
....Then a couple more small tidy up jobs: cleaning and polishing the door locks, clean up the rear fender holder screws and scrubbing the grey vinyl a little to clean that up, too. Then realised that the vinyl triangle between the rear doors, back seat rest and C-pillar didn't align very well with that funny white inner seal. So pulled it off, trimmed it to suit and reglued it again - no gaps now. It's the little things that sometimes make the difference in the end.
A long weekend well spent - I love seeing it all nice and new/shiny.
Next steps: Fuel inlet, rear suspension and maybe even put the roof back on (if it comes back as planned).
Sven
Attachments
why would a deleted uploaded picture pop up as an attached thumbnail at the end... that's the second time that happened - weird. but when I check it in the edit function it is not there..!?
Back end reassembly
A week gone by - and no comments? Everyone on leave..!?
Anyway, would you guys have any more comments on suppliers and models of seatbelts? Like to get on with that... and prefer to use someone's experience, rather than buying the wrong type...
And a few more bits and pieces done, but the weekend was a bit occupied with kids' sport and parties... so less got done than I would have liked to, but that's life - next week...
Rather than buying the buggers overseas and not sure of the quality (see my trouble with repro parts later on...), I bought some 3mm roll of nitrile rubber and cut the patterns out myself - easy and looks pretty good (despite not having the patterned surface the originals had). Used standard rivets as I had no luck finding those flat head rivets - even the fastener suppliers didn't know and had never seen them - has anyone had any luck finding those?
So, attached the flaps to the hydraulics covers, looking very schmick and shiny! Very happy with it. All the reinforcement strips have been zinc plated and clear coated.
Then assembled the rear bumper again. Most of the time was trying to remember what type of screws, nuts and washers were used where - surprising what you can forget in 6 weeks time... getting old!
Assembly of the bumper pads however was a tad annoying. One of them was still in very good nick, but the second one had a couple of cracks and a chunk missing out of it and then I snapped one of the bolts anyway - so it was rooted and I ordered a new one from Holland. But: It is one of those poorly made repro parts (I hear you Mark!). Thought about routering or sanding into it to get the correct radii, as it is remade with a flat mating surface, but as it has the steel insert that wouldn't work either... so I opted (for now) to add a foam rubber strip around the outside to fill up the gap to the bumper - looks acceptable (did the same to the original one to close the gaps more as well and the two match)
Enjoyed the bumper installation and putting the mudflaps onto the rear, adding the gold zinc plated parts that offset the polished stainless bumpers. Here a few more shots...
What's next on the list?
The roof is at the painter - will be interesting to see what it will look like - should have it back end of next week. Might need some help putting it back on... thanks for the offer Mark!
I then bought all the goodies to start sanding, prepping and priming the boot lid (to start with, then rear fenders, etc). Still confused about what paint system the professionals use however.... Looking at YouTube videos it appears to be:
Sand back to bare metal, then etch prime
Then putty, dolly work, etc and add 2K high build primer
Then primer sealer (whatever that is)
Then base coat
Then clear coats... but five layers seems too many...
Speaking to the guys at Queensland Paint Supplies they however told me to use their 2K high build primer straight onto the metal/puttied surface (as it has an etch system built in) and then just add the final 2K paint coats and polish that - no clear coats at all... is that what you used Matthew?
so I took the plunge and accepted their recommendation and might try that over the next weeks - what's the worst that can happen? It all looks like crap and I sand it back off. The litre of AC630 Bleu Danube looks great in the can - can't wait to have a go! But only two layers... hmmmm, still suspicious... 
Anyway, I am about to find out... :wink2:
Sven
A week gone by - and no comments? Everyone on leave..!?
Anyway, would you guys have any more comments on suppliers and models of seatbelts? Like to get on with that... and prefer to use someone's experience, rather than buying the wrong type...
And a few more bits and pieces done, but the weekend was a bit occupied with kids' sport and parties... so less got done than I would have liked to, but that's life - next week...
Rather than buying the buggers overseas and not sure of the quality (see my trouble with repro parts later on...), I bought some 3mm roll of nitrile rubber and cut the patterns out myself - easy and looks pretty good (despite not having the patterned surface the originals had). Used standard rivets as I had no luck finding those flat head rivets - even the fastener suppliers didn't know and had never seen them - has anyone had any luck finding those?
So, attached the flaps to the hydraulics covers, looking very schmick and shiny! Very happy with it. All the reinforcement strips have been zinc plated and clear coated.
Then assembled the rear bumper again. Most of the time was trying to remember what type of screws, nuts and washers were used where - surprising what you can forget in 6 weeks time... getting old!
Assembly of the bumper pads however was a tad annoying. One of them was still in very good nick, but the second one had a couple of cracks and a chunk missing out of it and then I snapped one of the bolts anyway - so it was rooted and I ordered a new one from Holland. But: It is one of those poorly made repro parts (I hear you Mark!
). Thought about routering or sanding into it to get the correct radii, as it is remade with a flat mating surface, but as it has the steel insert that wouldn't work either... so I opted (for now) to add a foam rubber strip around the outside to fill up the gap to the bumper - looks acceptable (did the same to the original one to close the gaps more as well and the two match)Enjoyed the bumper installation and putting the mudflaps onto the rear, adding the gold zinc plated parts that offset the polished stainless bumpers. Here a few more shots...
What's next on the list?
The roof is at the painter - will be interesting to see what it will look like - should have it back end of next week. Might need some help putting it back on... thanks for the offer Mark!
I then bought all the goodies to start sanding, prepping and priming the boot lid (to start with, then rear fenders, etc). Still confused about what paint system the professionals use however.... Looking at YouTube videos it appears to be:
Sand back to bare metal, then etch prime
Then putty, dolly work, etc and add 2K high build primer
Then primer sealer (whatever that is)
Then base coat
Then clear coats... but five layers seems too many...
Speaking to the guys at Queensland Paint Supplies they however told me to use their 2K high build primer straight onto the metal/puttied surface (as it has an etch system built in) and then just add the final 2K paint coats and polish that - no clear coats at all... is that what you used Matthew?
so I took the plunge and accepted their recommendation and might try that over the next weeks - what's the worst that can happen? It all looks like crap and I sand it back off
. The litre of AC630 Bleu Danube looks great in the can - can't wait to have a go! But only two layers... hmmmm, still suspicious... Anyway, I am about to find out... :wink2:
Sven
Whitewall tyres
One more:
I have had a look at those Atlas White wall inserts from Portawall - has anyone used those on their DS? Price appears to be OK and it gives the flexibility to add it to any tyre brand, so could combine white walls and XAS...
Am quite keen to get a set of 3" inserts - would look great with the blue and the white roof I think.
Thoughts? Easy to install?
Sven
One more:
I have had a look at those Atlas White wall inserts from Portawall - has anyone used those on their DS? Price appears to be OK and it gives the flexibility to add it to any tyre brand, so could combine white walls and XAS...
Am quite keen to get a set of 3" inserts - would look great with the blue and the white roof I think.
Thoughts? Easy to install?
Sven
Loving your updates, the rear end is looking tops :wink2:
The advice you have from Queensland Paint Supply is pretty well industry standard these days for 2K - It is the way I have prepared for paint. Once that high build primer is on you can use filler over the top to get your final shape, you will then need a coat or two of primer before top coats.
With 2K there are two options, clear over base, essential for metalics but also used with solid colour if you are looking for a deep finish. Or, you go with solid colour. You opt for one or the other, seems your paint supplier has given you option 2 and this is the way I intend painting my own car - a finish closer to original and easier to match if repairs are required later.
Just a point, when using 2K with clear over base, there is a window under which the clear is applied after base. It is a matter of several hours but if you go beyond specification the clear will not adhere to the base. Even when applied to specification, under extreme conditions the clear can delaminate. Clear over base is better left to professionals in a controlled temp/humidity booth. I hope you are taking precaution when using 2K, it is nasty stuff. . . with acrylic lacquer (the system Matthew used) the clear can be applied much later as the solvents will etch through to the base coats.
Cheers
Chris
Yes I used acrylic... it doesn't kill you if you breathe it in... well not at first lol. I did 3 coats base coat three coats clear, as advised by the guys in my paint class. There has been some shrinkage since my wet sand and polish.... will probably do another wet sand and buff and polish later in the year.
Matthew
Matthew