20V CQ Tidy Up

[Error404]

Cheer Stu, decided to go for it after I saw the pics of your job, would have been a right PITA to pull the looms through so i followed your lead Cruise indeed, and with the 01E mated up to the 7A I should be able to average 28-30mpg on a long cruise I hope
Stu Did you need to rub yours down much after laquering? really worried about the finish I'll get with rattle can laquer
I'm going to let the paint cure for couple of days, then rub down, anther 2 coats of base then laquer once thats flashed off.

Mr Jamo has kindly lent me his tool and some special lubricant to grease the shaft up with

[Jas11n]

Mr Jamo has kindly lent me his tool and some special lubricant to grease the shaft up with

Ohh errr

Mighty fine job Alex. That engine looks tremendous mate

[4WheelDrifter]

I can imagine you need some special lube for that tool.

Regarding the paint, I didn't go too mad on the rubbing down. I did the priming by brush so that required plenty of rubbing. I did put plenty of lacquer on, and started to rub it down. But I was told I was mad, as it is only the engine bay. The worst bit is minimising the overspray when spraying around all the different parts within the bay.

Here's a photo of my mirrors I did years ago. I used genuine Audi paint, which is expensive, but very nice to use. The one on the left is just lacquered, the right one is rubbed down and polished. All done with rattle cans.



My engine bay ended up somewhere between the two finishes, which you can see in the photos if you look closely.

HTH

[Error404]

they look sweet

Yeah it was a pain to get in and around the turrets etc to get good coverage and not get runs. I'm just worried about the the laquer as i've been uysing it a lot with other bits i've been painting and its always very "orange peely". I'll see how it get on...... i'm a bit **** about this kind of stuff though, which is a handicap

[4WheelDrifter]

TBH I'm no expert, but I've been mucking around with rattle cans for a long time, and most of the time I can get a much better finish than most pro's IME. It's just not that economical for large areas, especially using genuine paint. I have used Paints4U stuff for the basecoat, then the genuine stuff for the final finish.

I got a spray gun for my compressor a long time ago, but I've not been brave enough to practice with it yet.

Obviously your primer, then basecoats need to be nice and smooth, but with a good key.
I tend to build coats up very lightly and gradually, but get a good thickness on with no chance of any runs. The same goes for the lacquer. Then I flat it back using P1000/1200. If it doesn't rub down perfectly flat, then I add more coats, then rub again. When it ends up nice and flat but dull, I then polish using a cutting compound.
Make sure the paint's fully dry between processes of course.

If I'm using a paint that's new to me I usually practice the whole process on a bit of board, metal sheet or sometime, to see how things go.

[Error404]

haha... well it looks ace Stu, you've got a hand for it thats for sure. I think with any of these kind of things if you take your time and do it properly it turns out ok

Unfortunately I've not got a huge amount of time to spend on this job, so hoping it turns out ok after the laquer... PITA with the engine bay is all the weld pins and curves, edges etc are soooo easy to rub through on and tough to get at - luckily most of it won't be that visible!

[4WheelDrifter]

Just concentrate on the visible bits. I'm sure there's no need to be too fussy anyway, as most people interested in looking under the bonnet will be looking at other more interesting things there, like the blingin' 7A for a start.

I wasn't 100% happy with the finish in my engine bay, but IIRC it was also October, and about the only decent sunny, warm, dry weekend we got that year.

[andy10v]

Good progress as usual sir, however you need to do more so I have something to perv over in the evenings

[Error404]

all in good time my friend
day off tomorrow so expect some progress :mischeif:

[b3robo]

Just wanted to say, awesome post, wish my scruffy old coup could become as nice as yours

Did you sort out these issues yet?

Diff lock switch is broken i think. - I removed the one on mine and reconnected, works a charm now, could do with contacts cleaning but you might have tried this already

Some switch illumination is out.
The heater fan only blows on the highest setting - Did you sort this? mine has low or high only and was wondering what the fix was?

Rob

[Error404]

cheers dude

Well I no longer need the diff lock switch anymore since i have a TORsen rear diff.
Fan speed issue is the resistor pack playing up normally, try replacing that

[Error404]

Well i made a bit of a pigs ear of the final base coat and the laquer the other day - orange peel city :rik:

So i have spent about 10 hours rubbing back and polishing as much of it out as possible, got to a reasonable finish that looks ok on quick inspection, never going to win any awards though but what the heck its only an engine bay at the end of the day:

Apologies for the gash quality picture


So.... 2 more days off to go before ADI and onto the home stretch - putting it all back together

[terrybullwon]

Nice Rad mount :-D

[Error404]

hehe, thanks for that dude - i did consider leaving it pearly white..... for about 5 minutes
then I welded the **** out of it with extra braces, so it now takes my weight jumping up and down on it

[Jon441cc]

Looking good Alex, i like the new shiny wing bolts