R

ReadySalted

Active Member
Hi all,

My defender will be 23 years old in march, and it's paintwork is about as flat as I've ever seen on a landy.

I'm also considering removing the county defender decals from each side, but I might be wiser waiting til the summer to do that when it's warmer. It will certainly be shiner underneath in any case, so if I can get a bit of a shine on her now then it'll make blending the colour under the stickers easier.

Question is; How do I do it?

I've T-cutted before but had minimal success, as my patience and elbow grease wore off long before I had buffed it to a shine. I'd be willing to buy a cheap electric buffer for the job if I had faith it was going to work. I'm guessing I simply give her a quick wash, then work on one panel at a time, rubbing in the t-cut as per the instructions, then buffing off with water, which hopefully will produce a shine?

Oh and another thing, anybody ever taken a landy with a snorkel through a car wash, or am I resigned to the jet wash from now on?
 
I bought a cheap buffer off ebay about 5 years ago, about 40quid with loads of different mops. Hard sponge one with some compound (G3 is most popular) will actually act as an abrasive, taking the very top surface away and if you get it hot enough (I did my apprenticeship in a body shop) it will actually smudge the paint into the fine scratches. Plenty of water needed ie a dribbling hose but it's so easy to burn through. I have revived a few cars on that same £40 but I reckon an old landy may actually look worse if it's all dented and scratched beforehand. What's more, the buffer then becomes a sander, or a very large and fast wire brush too!
 
Hmm I thought as much.

A cheap respray is perhaps an option, but I wonder I've found it hard in the past finding body shops willing to respray anything cheaply, because they have to put their name to it, and a good paintjob secures repeat work I suppose, whereas a 'budget' one might deter potential custom. Mind you even a cheap respray on just the outside with minimal body prep is still gonna mean the landys off the road for a week or two and still gonna cost about 500 quid. Money that could be better spent on swapping out all the bushes, getting the timing belt done, or some other life prolonging job.

I'm gonna give it a decent wash polish and see if that improves it. Any polishing tips?
 
Hi RS, for decals, be cautious with a hot air gun in softning NOT melting the decal will help in the stick becoming more easier, as I`ve watched my son use this method in the past.

t cutting is a hard task at most times, and as the op says, you gotta be careful..

there is an alternative....
a quick light rub down, mask up, pre select the colour of choice even try to match it, and carefull use of a mini roller to give it a shine..
should be a link on here somewhere on how to paint your landie with a roller..

you`ll need a nice non windy day, and maybe a garage or coverd area to let it dry..


I used to spray cars and lots of vans in oil based paints once upon a time,
and the joke was > any colour you like as long as woolworths sold it.....

lol..
worked for me..
 
Might be worth wet flatting with a very fine wet and dry paper first to get down to decent paint and then T cut it.
 
ReadySalted said:
Hmm I thought as much.

A cheap respray is perhaps an option, but I wonder I've found it hard in the past finding body shops willing to respray anything cheaply, because they have to put their name to it, and a good paintjob secures repeat work I suppose, whereas a 'budget' one might deter potential custom. Mind you even a cheap respray on just the outside with minimal body prep is still gonna mean the landys off the road for a week or two and still gonna cost about 500 quid. Money that could be better spent on swapping out all the bushes, getting the timing belt done, or some other life prolonging job.

I'm gonna give it a decent wash polish and see if that improves it. Any polishing tips?
Click to expand...

I do my own paint for this very reason.
Hay it isn't show quality doing it in a shed/garage/gazebo, but it's always a massive improvement on before hand.
And it's an lr so it's going to get scratched and the like again anyway.
£150ish in paint etc. Job done.
 
Yes, put plenty of time aside and start off as you mean to go on, or you'll have one end shinier than the other. Or, try looking for commercial body shops. Remove everything possible, rub it all down yourself, fill your own Dents etc. have you considered painting it yourself? I'm going to do mine, but then again I do paintwork now and then anyway and have the compressor for it.
 
Haha I knew it wouldn't be long until somebody suggest roller painting.

I'm sure people have been roller painting landys for a long long time, but 5 or 6 years ago roller painting was doing the rounds amongst the online mini forums and I posted a guide of how to do it as I did mine. I gather it's now a popular way for people to restore cars bodywork in a cheap but satisfactory way.

When I did it I learnt alot, took a good week with all the prep, and was great fun, but I think that having the landy off the road for that long, plus all the problems with finding somewhere decent to paint (no space off road or garage anymore), would make life difficult. (Plus a 110 has about 100 times more surface area than a mini so I think the prep would take significantly longer!)

I posted it on the mini forums, and although picture's are no longer visible, there are a few pictures on the second page of my results, and a long-winded guide for anybody who hasn't done it: Okay, So I'm Going To Do It... - Bodywork, Paint and Detailing - The Mini Forum
 
I wasn't suggesting roller painting. I've done it once in the past and now I've done a few with the gun I'd never roller again.
I was scared at first, but was easier than I thought, but I've tought myself and it isn't perfect, but an improvement on roller and have been chuffed with the ones I've done.
 
A machine polisher should sort the paint out, providing it can still be saved.

You're looking at about £100 to buy a DA polisher, so may be worth finding a mate with one or just paying someone to do it if you don't want the investment.

I've got one and it's paid for itself several times over as everyone suddenly wants a nice shiny car :D

My disco went from pink to red. Mine had gone quite flat on the vertical surfaces particularly.

These are the two closest angled pics I have got.

.
 
Never thought of that I just assumed that a bodyshop wouldn't want to do it as it's not particularly cost effective for them, and the only valeters you ever see or hear of are the foreign ones which seem to have infested supermarket car parks and disused garage forecourts. The sort of people who clean the brake dust off the wheels, then go about washing the bonnet, with the same rag and bucket of brown liquid. lol
 
Is there any one close to you that already has a polisher?
Ask around and see if they will either give you a loan or come round and test a section to see if it'll come up.
I would suggest you try doing the back then it won't be as noticeable as just a door or wing if it makes a difference and you decide to buy your own stuff and finish it later or it doesn't work and you do go the repaint option.

What area are you in?
 
jbenekeorr said:
A machine polisher should sort the paint out, providing it can still be saved.

You're looking at about £100 to buy a DA polisher, so may be worth finding a mate with one or just paying someone to do it if you don't want the investment.

I've got one and it's paid for itself several times over as everyone suddenly wants a nice shiny car :D

My disco went from pink to red. Mine had gone quite flat on the vertical surfaces particularly.

These are the two closest angled pics I have got.

.
Click to expand...

Fantastic result, well done that man. :)
 
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