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Author: Subject: MG Midget Restoration
Daddylonglegs

posted on 31/7/13 at 08:05 PM Reply With Quote
MG Midget Restoration

Been restoring an MG Midget for the past couple of months on & off. SWSBO has always wanted one and we found a suitable candidate. Payed a little more than we should I reckon, once we got it stripped down there were a few 'suprises'. But pretty much got the bodywork sorted now and she's almost ready for etch & filler/primer. I did have the car outside under a large gazeebo, but it was just too much hassle with the wind trying to wrap the sides in polythene ready for spraying so..........I thought I'd move the midget into the garage and do the spraying indoors. I've created a masterpiece of DIY and got myself a spray booth!

Got 2 car cooling fans tie-wrapped into a heavy-duty cardboard box, wired up to a spare battery and sealed into the polythene.
When I ran them up, the sides of the polythene pulled in nicely, so it's removing the air OK .

Just got to wait for the weather to warm back up a little and the humidity to drop. Sunday is looking favourite at the moment, but we will see.

At least once she's primed it will be sealed against anymore moisture.

A couple of pictures of my 'Locost' efforts

Booth1
Booth1


Booth2
Booth2


Booth3
Booth3


Air conditioned spray shop it ain't, but it was cheap and hopefully it will keep the dust and bugs down

We wil see.....





It looks like the Midget is winning at the moment......

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Andybarbet

posted on 31/7/13 at 08:19 PM Reply With Quote
Nice one :-)

I did exactly that years ago when I resprayed a TR7, worked a treat.

Mind you, someone mentioned after about static from the polythene & overspray in the air not being a good mixture but we didnt have any issues.

Fingers crossed for sun on sunday then, good luck.





Give a man a fish & it will feed him for a day, give him a fishing rod & you've saved a fish.

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Jed

posted on 31/7/13 at 08:49 PM Reply With Quote
Ooooh - good luck with it. So what engine are you going to put in it?

I've dropped a 4A-GE in mine but progress is slow and it probably won't be on the road until next year.

Jed

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AndyW

posted on 31/7/13 at 09:26 PM Reply With Quote
I was always told as well to dampen the floor before spraying as it will keep dust down. Love the locost booth. Look forward to the results!!
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MikeRJ

posted on 1/8/13 at 06:20 AM Reply With Quote
My brother has just finished his RWA 1275 Midget. He sprayed it in his garage as well (cellulose) and it's come out very well.
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SCAR

posted on 1/8/13 at 07:07 AM Reply With Quote
Give some thought to where your extracted air is expelling, it should be ducted to outside, its no use extracting it then sucking it back in again. The replacement air coming in should be filtered.
The sparks in the motors will be worse than the poly static.
If you could it might be a good idea to use the motors the other way round to create pressure in the booth drawing in fresh filtered air and than have a ducted exit, this will reduce the problem of motor sparks as they will be running in clean air.
We used to dampen the floor to hold down any dust. Don't be tempted to use two pack unless you have an air fed mask

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Daddylonglegs

posted on 1/8/13 at 02:50 PM Reply With Quote
Thanks for the comments guys

With respect to 2K, been there, seen it, done it! The Locost was done outside in 2K with full protection and charcoal filters not air-fed. But it was not in a confined space so I'm still here. I've read 100's of comments for and against so let's not go there again Anyhow, I'm doing this baby in celly but just got to etch the wings and scuttle with 2K etch-primer (apparently the 1K is no good for large areas) - so I'll be all suited and rubbered and will probably drop one side of the booth at the door end just for that part.

I did think of a light spraying on the floor to help with any dust, but a little worried about making the atmosphere too damp and encouraging blooming!

Not sure there is going to be an issue with sparks from the fans to be honest but might be worth trying push rather than pull as suggested. The doors will be open, just closed in the photo, and the fans blow the air out into the ether. But if it's as hot as it has been then the celly will be dry dust by then anyhow

The engine going in is the original 1500 spitfire donk, we're trying to keep it as original as possible.





It looks like the Midget is winning at the moment......

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Daddylonglegs

posted on 4/8/13 at 09:18 PM Reply With Quote
Managed etch-primer and 2 coats of filler-primer today. got a little dry 'sandpaper' type finish, I think it was a combination of low pressure after a couple of minutes (need a bigger tank!) and the fact that the primer is a little heavy and I only have a 1.3 nozzle, should really be about 1.5-1.6 I think.

Still, it knocks back really well with a light sanding with 400-grit. 3 more coats of primer to go then it's on with the colour

Description
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Just need a bit drier/warmer weather.





It looks like the Midget is winning at the moment......

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Andybarbet

posted on 4/8/13 at 09:22 PM Reply With Quote
Fantastic :-)

Its always a nice big result getting it all primered up, starts to look really good when the body is in one colour.

Roll on some more sunshine, im looking forward to seeing it topcoated.





Give a man a fish & it will feed him for a day, give him a fishing rod & you've saved a fish.

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