Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello
I have now removed the old wings from my traveller and have two replacement shiny fibreglass ones to fit.
Do I need to sandpaper them before using primer?
How many coats of primer?
What is the best primer to use?
How many coats of paint and do I need to clear laquer final coat?
Thanks

If you have a yacht chandlers local to you they will sell you fiberglass etch/primer - for example:- .https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aerosol-Grey ... 70ueB2Gdeg
If you cannot get the fiberglass etch primer you will need to use a medium grade wet and dry on the surface to be painted so as to key the paint to the wing.
The number of coats depends upon the depth of colour and the ability of the paint to cover the surface below adequately. It will become obvious as to the number of coats required as you apply the paint.

The problem with fibreglass panels is that they rarely come out of the mould straight enough for a quick flick of primer and some top coat. By this I mean that once top coated you will look down the side of the car and see wobbles in the surface of the panel.

To eliminate this you can work the gel coat a little before applying a primer, surfacer. So, once you have bolted up your new wings and adjusted them to fit with nice even gaps. Remove them and dust with a guide coat of a contrasting colour. Use some 120 grit dry paper on a flexible foam block to sand the surface and you will soon see the high and low spots I am talking about. If the wings are well made you will be able to block down the high spots until the guide coat disappears from the low spots. If the guide coat shows up imperfections that can not be sanded out then a little body filler can be applied and sanded in a similar fashion. Once your happy, clean and degrease the surface and apply three to four coats of surfacer followed by a guide coat. Block sand again this time with 240 grit, this time you are removing the coarse sanding marks in the surface. Two more coats of primer, a guide coat and a block sand with 800 grit and lots of hot soapy water and your good for a top coat

Rod

Redmoggy wrote: Two more coats of primer, a guide coat and a block sand with 800 grit and lots of hot soapy water and your good for a top coat

Rod

Since fibreglass and primer both absorb a certain amount of water, I would suggest NOT rubbing down with lots of water immediately prior to top coat spraying. Fibreglass panels seem to suffer even more than steel ones from micro-blistering and the reason for this is usually dampness trapped beneath the top coats. For that reason I would always prefer not to let water anywhere near a primed panel and do the rubbing down dry.

Yes and no. Whilst fibreglass will absorb water if left submerged for some time it is actually sealed by the gel coat, so not really an issue. Whilst primers are porous it has been common practise for many, many years to wet flat the surface and dry with compressed air or simply in the sun on a warm day. Micro blisters are far more likely to be caused by painting on a damp or humid day.

That said, each to their own.

Rod

Gel coats nowadays are far superior and don't absorb moisture like the old ones

I'd stick to metal

Are you that magnetic then ?

firedrake1942 wrote:Are you that magnetic then ?

Glad someone got the joke!