General time to wing it.....

[Jai]

well i couldn't put it off any more, time to change that really nasty near side wing.....i

anyway, off with the bonnet:

all the bolts except one (typical.....) came out no problem, after much swearing and deep thought, i figured a flat blade screwdriver in the plastic plug to keep it still, and away we go!

of course the final fastener, a screw right down under the wing would be a cock, and so it came to pass that i lost all patience (sorry chas)....and just ripped the fricking damned wing off....

not too bad in there, inner wing seems to have been fairly well protected by the liner...the inside of the outer wing though was caked in 20 odd years of road poo....

now, when the going is good, you quit while you are ahead.....but us uno owners just have to know....deep breath, i removed the liner, yes i know, leave it, you only have to put it back, but.....i just had to know.....

still looks good under there....phew....

the inside of the panel though was another story........

anyway, as you can see there is a ton of that goo mastic, spiderwebs, and assorted gunk.....


will jet wash it out tmrw....


while the bonnet was off had a closer look in the vent are:

someone in turin was a bit over enthusiastic with the gloop......

just for kicks i had to try the new wing:

which being a pattern part requires major fettling:

before prep and paint

and i'm getting more suspicious that the passenger did not leave the factory on this car:

still, tomorrows another day......cleaning and scraping....oh goody

 

[antsuno2]

I would clean off any surface rust on the innerwing and paint in white hammerite, and when have made the wing fit properly dont forget to bond it back on, as they are from new and form part of the integral strenth of the shell, not many people do this which causes more flex ie screencrack! not to mention water ingress and rattle rattle!! how much was the wing and what make, they was only £20 oe from fiat i bought 2 wings and 2 doorskins for £90 bonnets were £45 Ant!

 

[stealthstylz]

What springs are you using on the front? Unusual to see some with the bottom 2 coils completely coilbound. Matt

 

[Jai]

jamex, i noticed that....something wrong there.:chin:

 

[Hellcat]

2 coils coilbound on my Bilsteins + Venturi springs.

 

[Jai]

i'll have a look at the red one tmrw as well, that was a matching set of coils and dampers.....

 

[alexGS]

i'll have a look at the red one tmrw as well, that was a matching set of coils and dampers.....

Good work Jai - just as well the old wing was a throwaway - look at that creasing (caused by removal I guess!) Keep at least some of the steel for repair patches, won't you...

-Alex

 

[Chas Uno]

That wheel arch on your old wing really was a bit crusty! I'm worried what I might find beneath my plastic arches now...

 

[dave]

you could not bother to paint it, just prime it in white primer. then every day off strip another pannel back to metal and white primer it, after a while every pannel be done then can just pop into a spray shop and get a top coat for cheap

 

[stealthstylz]

Don't do that ^^^^ primer is porous the metal will go rusty under it and when you topcoat it it'll micro blister.

Matt

 

[Jai]

welll first couple of coats are on:

i think they are ok for an amateur

 

[alexGS]

You've done well!
What kind of paint and spraygun are you using?

-Alex

 

[dave]

You've done well!
What kind of paint and spraygun are you using?

-Alex

he use rattle cans and mrs Jai's best curtains

 

[Jai]

spraygun as dave said halfords finest rattlers, it seems ok, if a little rough, so like dave said will get the wet and dry 2500(?) and go over it

still not entirely sure about not putting lacquer on though...dave reckons just a waxing will do the job

 

[Chas Uno]

still not entirely sure about not putting lacquer on though...dave reckons just a waxing will do the job

Dave is right. 80's non metallic Fiat paintwork would never have lacquer on top (to my knowledge). It's only since the 90's and the use of soft water based paints that manufacturers have started lacquering non metallic paintwork. Ant (AntsUno2) will be able to confirm this (or tell me I'm talking b0llocks!)

With your paintwork you should give it a week or so to fully harden, then cut it back with very fine wet and dry or rubbing compound. Then use T-cut to buff/ polish the paint and finish off with a couple of coats of polish.

After that you'll have repeat for the rest of the car

 

[Jai]

so it's on, and we have gone from:

to:

i wonder i should leave it like this:

for max airflow:devil:

 

[alexGS]

Hmmmm - aerosol cans... :yuck:

I take my hat off to you, Jai, for what you've achieved given that you're working with aerosol cans It's a bloody brilliant coverage, smooth and even, nice sheen, dunno how you've done it really. Six coats? You must have the patience of a saint and a strong index finger.

Now, <RANT>
Where do I start - well... firstly I always find it interesting how in England you call the clear coat a 'lacquer'. BTW I agree completely with Chas; cars from the era of the Uno should only have a clearcoat if there is a metallic basecoat.

My understanding is that 'lacquer' is a term for any paint that dries by evaporation of a solvent. So that makes all aerosol-cans lacquer. Well, some are an enamel but those are the ones that stay sticky and soft for a really long time, so almost never get used for painting anything worthwhile.

Of course what you really need for a car is a two-part enamel. Much lower solvent content, so the paint covers better, the hardener makes the paint set properly hard so it's much more durable...

...and as an added bonus, the paint is mixed to recipes from the big manufacturers, so you get a good colour match. White is an awful colour to match and, personally, I think that the match we see between Jai's front wing and the left door is - not good! It just doesn't do justice to the hard work that Jai has put in. And, it's not Jai's fault. Once the paint is in the aerosol can, there's nothing you can do. That's why I hate aerosol cans!
</RANT>

EDIT: Should also point out that I have a Dell Ultrasharp $1800/£720 LCD that has been calibrated to correct colours. I checked the second photo on an average, uncorrected LCD and the difference wasn't nearly as apparent. Also the difference might vary according to the time of day - early evening light is the worst for taking photos of whites, in my experience.

I think that working with lots of different paints over the years has made me a lot more picky when it comes to things like colour matches. The important thing here is that people are impressed with the outcome. And, I think it's still impressive The panel fit is good, especially against the bonnet which is always tricky at the corners.

So, good work Jai! Keep it up.

By the way Dave, how did that gravity-fed spraygun work out in the end?
-Alex

 

[Chas Uno]

well... firstly I always find it interesting how in England you call the clear coat a 'lacquer'. BTW I agree completely with Chas; cars from the era of the Uno should only have a clearcoat if there is a metallic basecoat.

My understanding is that 'lacquer' is a term for any paint that dries by evaporation of a solvent. So that makes all aerosol-cans lacquer.

The full name over here is "Clear Lacquer" to differentiate between colour coats and clear coats. However, people generally call the colour coat a "paint"/ "base coat" and the clear coat a "lacquer". You should really ask AntsUno2 what he calls them as he's in the trade and will most probably tell us that we're all wrong!

Of course what you really need for a car is a two-part enamel. Much lower solvent content, so the paint covers better, the hardener makes the paint set properly hard so it's much more durable...

I think that's what we know as "Two Pack"? Very strong paint and easy/ quick to spray with the right equipment. However, it produces cyanide during the hardening process and should only be use with closed breathing equipment. It's not really suitable for home spraying unless you really know what you are doing, plus the health and safety departments would have a fit if they found out it was being vented into the atmosphere!

The only other disadvantaged is that two pack paint tends to be very, very shiny straight from the gun. It can therefore look too shiny for older cars giving them an almost plastic appearance. But then again it's durability can make up for that, plus it's ease of spraying and quicker drying times.


As for the paint match on Jai's tub, well, considering it was originally silver... And I certainly wouldn't complain when compared with my 45S that has a patchwork quilt of red colours (I think it had at least 4 different shades of red on it ) and my 70SX that is a mixture of oxidised red and bits that have been T-Cut!

Anyway, good work Jai and you can only make it look better compared with the monkey who sprayed it before

 

[alexGS]

I think that's what we know as "Two Pack"? Very strong paint and easy/ quick to spray with the right equipment. However, it produces cyanide during the hardening process and should only be use with closed breathing equipment. It's not really suitable for home spraying unless you really know what you are doing, plus the health and safety departments would have a fit if they found out it was being vented into the atmosphere!

You are right. Well, 'cyanide' is a generalisation - it's actually diisocyanates. Might sound picky, but coffee and almonds have cyanide It's a bit like how sodium chloride goes well with potato chips, but you would definitely not want the slightest bit of sodium chlorate. Anyway, isocyanates can have disasterous effects on the central nervous system - and more sensitivity in some individuals than others. Also apparently the sensitivity increases with exposure to the point where even the slightest exposure triggers awful symptoms.

The only other disadvantaged is that two pack paint tends to be very, very shiny straight from the gun. It can therefore look too shiny for older cars giving them an almost plastic appearance. But then again it's durability can make up for that, plus it's ease of spraying and quicker drying times.

Agreed, though it can always be wet-sanded and buffed with your choice of compound. I don't think you can ever have "too shiny" except where you're alongside older paint, of course

As for the paint match on Jai's tub, well, considering it was originally silver... And I certainly wouldn't complain when compared with my 45S that has a patchwork quilt of red colours (I think it had at least 4 different shades of red on it ) and my 70SX that is a mixture of oxidised red and bits that have been T-Cut!

True - and we should probably tell the horrified crowd that I was also rude about your multiple shades of red

Thanks,
-Alex

 

[Jai]

NERD ALERT!!!!!​

anyway, cheers for the praise, never done a panel before, so just tried to keep distance and speed even, seems ok, as for the matching, it was never going to happen, as chas says, the rest of the car is a nightmare of epic proportions, (runs, spots, chips, orange peel, swirls) and also because we have no idea what white (there are 4 whites for fiat alone, and i'd guess stevie wonder didnt car what he used the day he did the tub) and when it was applied the main objective was to put on a panel that would support the bumper mounting, and the plastic arch properly. i could i suppose rough up the rest of the paint work, and spray that too....god no, slap me now wtf am i saying......

i would have gone down the spraygun route, but i'm tight when it comes to buying equipment and tighter still in paying a bodyshop to do it

the really difficult bit was using the seamsealer, really hard to squeeze on evenly, and even harder to line up the panel and get it onto the car without making a mess

i guess the only thing to hope for is that ive done the job just badly enough that it will distress quickly and fade into the rest of the car