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MG TD TF 1500 - which paint

Do I spray with cellulose or a modern epoxy and waterbased paint. I have purchased a breathable air head covering/mask
JK Mazgaj

I used cellulose as the only paint I used when younger.
Mel Pascoe

Thanks Mel. What sort of quantity did you need? It's for a TC
JK Mazgaj

I am no professional and only used a fairly cheap gun and compressor. I used about 6.5 ltr. which I suspect is a lot. It depends on how much you find you need to rub back and redo !

This was on my TD and included under wheel arches in inside body work.

I kept half a litre for subsequent touch up which is easy with cellulose paint.

Definitely best to buy it all in one go as colour matching later can be troublesome.

I found I needed more after buying 5ltr. The supplier that sent the first batch failed to match with the second, but after some time I did get them to supply a matching pot!

Good luck with your endeavours Take your time with it - I thoroughly enjoyed doing it myself it is very satisfying.
Mel Pascoe

I've spray painted a couple of cars in cellulose (TR3 & TF) and it took about 5 litres of undiluted top coat for each. Buy 7.5litres so that you have some spare, for the reasons that Mel gives. You need at least as much good quality thinners. Don't forget solvent wipe and tack rags in addition.
With cellulose a high quality filter mask with the correct organic solvent cartridges is good enough. If you have a separate air supply mask then you can use a more modern paint that will be longer lasting, though it may look more glossy than cellulose.
Dave H
Dave Hill

I must confess that my TF I believe was painted with a modern paint and whilst it does "look shiney" it doesn't need as much elbow grease to give it a good "glow"
JK Mazgaj

If you purchase multiple cans of the same colour pour them into a single container and mix thoroughly. This avoids mismatches. If needed you can decant into small containers.
G Evans

I know we have different names for types of paint between the US, UK, and Australia. We have a few choices (less in California), but I am using a single-stage Acrylic Urethane. I personally don't like the overly shiny results from clear coat over color cote. I know they make less shiny clear coat, but a single stage lasted for the first 23 years of my cars life, and again for the next 47, so I feel it will be good for at least another 20.

I like Acrylic Urethane as it gives the quickness of lacquer paints and the hardness of enamals.
Bruce Cunha

Hallo,
When I respray all the 4 wings in and out of my TD, I used a 2 Component paint system from PPG. The color was mixed in the shop ready to use
I ordered 2 ltr. Paint, 1 ltr hardener and 0,5 ltr. thinner. It is NOT a Water based Paint and also not a clear coat. It works fine for me and some imperfection could be polished away.
Good luck
Ganter

GK Guenter

Strange, the different names of paint in different countries and especialy when ppg is everywhere
Ganter--that system is known as 2K here, or more commonly, 'two pak'

willy
William Revit

It depends :-)

I just taught myself to paint on my MK2 Jag so here is what I learnt.

Your best choice for final coat is cellulose. Try Jawel or HMG in the UK. Get 'top coat' thinners.

It is forgiving for the novice. You can correct runs by scrapping them out with a blade. You can sand out things that get stuck like dust and flies. You can flat sand out the orange peel - you will get some no matter how good you are. You can blow in small areas after if you sand / buff through or ding the car later.

As someone mentioned mixing the paint properly is absolutely critical ( don't ask how I know). In the end I took it to the local DIY paint store and had them put it in their shaker for 5 mins - perfect. Once diluted with thinners it is much easier to keep stirred. Decanting from one container to another and scrapping out the bottom is a good tip.


The other consideration is what type of surface you are applying the paint to. If the original paint is sound you can scuff it up and paint straight on. Cellulose will go on top of a 2K paint or old cellulose. Worth spending time flatting it with wet and dry before hand though to get the best finished result.

Cellulose has a high quantity of thinners so is 'aggressive' to layers of paint or spots where fillers have been used. If for example you are spot filling and priming using an aerosol primer then the thinners will soak in and you will get rings at the edges ( dips ) or the paint will react and wrinkle.

To stop this use a sealer over the filler area (HB BODY P962 ISOLATOR PRIMER in a handy aerosol). On top of this use an epoxy primer/ filler. You can get in single stage aerosol from ProXL 1K Epoxy Primer for small areas and they do 2 K Epoxy in a can for slightly larger areas ( you need to use the whole can once activated).

Be prepared to spend a lot of time on the final buffing and cutting but you can get great results even as a first timer as long as you have patience.

Dave




D Moore

Thanks Dave for such a comprehensive comment. Have Jawel in my sight.
JK Mazgaj

Dave, Your point of using a blade to scrape drips/runs reminded me of a trick I learned.

Use a double edge razor blade. Put scotch tape on one edge and along both sides leaving just a small gap in the center that is wider than the drip.

You can slide the blade along the paint to remove the drip without digging into the rest of the paint.
Bruce Cunha

It should also be noted that if spraying lacquer make sure you are not spraying over old enamel substrates. The lacquer solvents will cause the enamels underneath to lift and wrinkle even when using sealers. However, spraying enamel over old lacquer does not cause this problem. Any quality paint job requires starting with clean bare metal to build paint upon to prevent adhesions problems. Make sure you use products supplied by the same manufacturer for the system you plan on using whether you choose lacquer, enamel, latex or urethanes. Do not mix and match, primers, thinners (lacquers), reducers, catalysts, base/top coats or clears. Epoxy primers provide good adhesion and are best for urethane finishes.

I go one step farther and have all my panels powdercoated first. The epoxy prime powdercoats are excellent for adhesion of topcoats. Although, it will add to the overall costs of the final finish. This is especially helpful when completely restoring tubs with new timbers as the powder coating will permanently seal interior surfaces prevent future moisture trappings in timbers which can cause rust and panel failures from rot. As an example I had to be very persuasive with a 4 lb hammer in beating a panel into submission. After multiple blows directly onto the panel there was no loss of adhesion to the powder coating. T estate tax to its durability

Bill Chasser
TD/c-8151
W A Chasser

This thread was discussed between 11/11/2020 and 20/11/2020

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