kaputtwagen 1982 rabbit AAZ swap/build

[jack's lack]

Finished filling

And primed the last door tonight. It's not perfect, but it is a lot better. The panel alignment between the two doors is still a bit off. Hopefully I can get it a little closer by adjusting the hinges.

The fenders, hood, and hatch lid remain. I also need to tackle the interior, including the jambs, and the exposed interior portions of the door.


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[jack's lack]

Finished sanding the underside of the hood. There was plenty of my favorite seam sealer to clean up in here too.
And primed.
The word sisyphean comes to mind.


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[deepgrooves74]

At least it wasn't for all eternity


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[srgtlord]

Holy crap cakes batman! Glad to see that the work continues

[air-cooled or diesel]

been following your recent work, love what i see, real nice, it ll be worth the work. i was thinking for one thing, when i get to bare metal, i like to use that 301solution, even if in some situations you get most of the rust off, or you get down to bare metal, mix301 properly, i put in spray bottle, and dose to all metal, after washing off, metal now has rust-resistance, light,small amounts of rust are usually neutralized. another thing the solution does, as i hear, is help the 1st coat of paint(primer) to adhere to metal.
another thing i was thinking, undercoating,rust-proofing/sealing,&sound deadening. the doors, inside, take some, the sound deadening helps there alot. keeps the doors from rattling and carrying road, and metallic sounds. one my one mk2 the sound, fire resist cloth under hood was coming apart, took it off, lot of difference in sound there. just in doors when you finish(if you proof,etc)make sure drains are cleared. the undercarriage has special difficulties, from under fenders, down floor(s), trunk, etc, has to be able to resist, weather, and take a bad beating for as many years as you can get out of it, check and work on it, reapply, periodically. when you get to the end of rear floors to trunk is an especially difficult area to get it all. inside the floors is also quite difficult, being they are down, anything, &water will just sit there. the factory rubber coating,sealant, after so many years,; in mine after ooh, 20years, 25years whatever, a good layer of moisture just sits under the coating. then again it appears the factory from bare metal applied this rubber coating, so anything(water)that gets under coating, well, ive had some work vs.rust, at times. this coating after these years, for me, will just, with a little start, peel off. so something here that adheres to next layer, for you it looks like paint, and keep moisture from getting inbetween. of course here, and undercarriage sound deadening is very pleasing. the sound deadening smooths ride noises, also loud engine noises, body creaking, noises, etc, and can keep your cabin pleasing, not being annoying for people, not getting headaches, etc, keeping noises where you can be social, and not fatiguing driver and passengers. when i took up the rugs(in my older), there is, under the carpet, those particle,board pads, by the time i got there, they about came apart coming out, just thru them away.

[jack's lack]

All the places where moisture got trapped and caused rust have become apparent as I've progressed. I'm going to use POR 15 on the entire floor, and I definitely intend to use Dynamat to deaden the sound. I don't suspect that this will ever be a quiet car, but it would be nice to be able to carry on a conversation once in awhile. I have been using a DTM epoxy primer as a first coat. Adhesion hasn't been an issue. My biggest challenge has been water drops in the compressed air. Guess I'm going to have to throw some money at that before I move on to finish coats.

The long cold winter is over so now it's update time. No heat or insulation in the garage makes it an unpleasant place to be when it is anywhere south of 50 degrees.



Top of the hood sanded.



And primed.



Hatch sanded, shaved, and rust repaired


And primed. The inside of the hatch is next and then onto the fenders. I have those cheap rabbit parts reproductions and I'm not confident that I can beat them into shape.






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[ORCoaster]

For sure buy a water separator before you move on to Base Coat and Clear coat if you are going that way.  There is nothing that makes one's heart sink faster then a nearly finished panel with water drops on it. 

Do you have a second gun to use that has the proper nozzle size for your paint?  Generally the primer uses a larger diameter opening than the final paint as it is thicker most times. Especially primer/surfacer type.

Rather than hang your parts and risk runs can you set them up on some type of sawhorses with a panel of wood between them?  Painting a panel that is laying down is so much easier and you can control runs better that way.  I know you are pressed for working space, I can totally relate there.  I have even resorted to building a small spray booth of thicker mil plastic and 2 by 2 lumber just to keep the dust off my stuff.  We get a lot of dicier winds that come from everywhere due to the tall trees around the place.  I can never count on a calm day. 

 

[jack's lack]

I have an air/water separator, but the housing is cracked so I think it isn't working properly. Also I have been reading and I think my big problem is that I just hooked it up with a hose. I am going to do a proper hard line setup with risers and add a desiccant drier before moving on to base and clear. I just need to save up some coin as I spent all my car money on baseball tickets these last couple months.

I don't have a second gun, but It does have two tips, and I am using the larger primer one. Runs haven't been an issue yet, but that might be more of a problem with color and clear. I think I can find a way to lay these panels flat in the garage.

Now for progress.

Got the inside of the hatch sanded

And primed.

I also touched up the remainder of the underside of the hood.

I have those cheap rabbit parts Italian fenders and the fabrication and fit is horrible. I figured out that I needed to trim a chunk of metal from the bottom aft end of the panel where it bolts to the unibody below the A pillar and wraps under the rocker. I'm also welding the seams that were just folded over and half crimped and left open. I'm gaining hope that with a bit more effort I'll be able to get these to work. I wish OEM fenders were easier to find. 


More soon.


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[jack's lack]

Made progress on the fenders. I welded the seams and fixed a few other issues. The inside of the passenger side one is primed



The inside of the driver fender is ready for paint as of tonight.


And the passenger is getting fit pretty well to the car. I'm sanding it and getting it ready for primer next.


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[jack's lack]

Got the inside of the driver fender primed tonight.


Sanded the passenger fender and wasn't happy with the shape. Started filling little low spots and it looks like I just need to hit the whole thing with lightweight and block it now. That's what I'll get started on Thursday night.



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[jack's lack]

Got about 90 minutes in this evening before heading off to band practice, and made some progress blocking the fender. I should get to spend 3 hours or so on it tomorrow evening.


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[jack's lack]

Finished blocking and sanded to 300 and


Hit it with primer. Only the outside of the driver side fender remains then the exterior of the car is done.


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[libbydiesel]

Almost there!  The amount of work you have done is astounding.

[jack's lack]

Almost there!  The amount of work you have done is astounding.

Thank you for the kind words. I'm beginning to feel accomplished. I can't wait to spray color, but I'm hoping that all this extra work pays off with stunning results.

Got a little closer today.



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[ORCoaster]

I have found that if I do the prep work with exquisite detail as you have done I never regret the final look of the color.  If I scrimp or get in a hurry on the prep I ALWAYS find fault in the final product. 

So invest early with the effort and it will pay you back with dividends once it is all done.

I can't believe those body panels are so dented in.  Could be small dents that just take a lot of filler to smooth out so they are not noticeable.