Katiegan's Garage | Winter Plans

  • Thread starter Katiegan
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homeforsummer
Yeah, to be honest I'd not bother. To take the default GTP stance, do as little as possible beyond basic maintenance to the Panda, and allow it to serve as your necessary transportation until such point as you can afford something faster/more fun/modifiable. Or even keep the Panda and get something daft on the side that you can experiment with, without harming the Fiat's legality or its ability to get you to work and back.
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Yeah, that's the plan really. There's not much point in me modifying it anyway since my insurance will just sky rocket, and it's not worth the risk not declaring mods. I'm seriously considering getting some kind of project car while the Panda is my daily, but I just don't earn enough money for it to be worth it. I'd buy a car that'd be sat in the garage for months not being touched because I can't afford to do anything to it. It's hard enough just running the Panda when insurance is £154 a month.


This is also my 5,000th post, go me!
 
ExigeEvan
Sorry, what? Is that really the case or was he keeping quiet about a few other the things?
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As far as I know that was the case. That was an Ibiza Cupra TDI, yet he somehow managed to get insured on a slammed Fabia VRS after that. Green calipers are more acceptable, I guess.
 
We're getting there!



Took the front bumper off after work today. It was a lot more hard work than I was expecting it to be, battling with hidden bolts in hard to reach places. Once the bumper was off, I also got to see how hard the woman who owned it before me hit whatever the hell it was she hit. If you look under the passenger headlight on the photo above, you'll see how out of shape the impact bar is on that side. A close-up comparison:

The right side, in perfect shape.



The left side, in not-so perfect shape.



I still can't believe how well the bumper actually held up. I have no idea what she hit or at what speed, but there was some force behind it.

New bumper will be going on tomorrow. I'm not sure if it's just the poor lighting in the garage, but the front bumper doesn't really match the colour of the rest of the car. It should look better in proper natural light, and even if it's a slightly different shade it'll look a lot better than the mess the other one was. Depending on how much time I have tomorrow I might make a start on the rear, but the main focus is the front.
 
That's a hard hit. Possibly a tow bar or similar based on the damage to the bumper. But there isn't any round scuffing on the top part of the crack damage so maybe not a tow bar. Definitely something pointy though.

Painted plastic can be hard to get to match painted metal. After a while plastic or urethane bumpers can change the colour of the paint compared to the metal parts on the car. SW20 MR2s are terrible for this, pretty much all models from 89-99 with factory paint are showing signs of this. A slight mismatch in paint colour can sometimes be better than a damaged bumper when doing repair/replacement work. Looking forward to see the final results. Looks like a lot of hard work and I hope it pays off.
 
GDII
That's a hard hit. Possibly a tow bar or similar based on the damage to the bumper. But there isn't any round scuffing on the top part of the crack damage so maybe not a tow bar. Definitely something pointy though.

Painted plastic can be hard to get to match painted metal. After a while plastic or urethane bumpers can change the colour of the paint compared to the metal parts on the car. SW20 MR2s are terrible for this, pretty much all models from 89-99 with factory paint are showing signs of this. A slight mismatch in paint colour can sometimes be better than a damaged bumper when doing repair/replacement work. Looking forward to see the final results. Looks like a lot of hard work and I hope it pays off.
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Yeah, something pointy would explain the hole in the bumper. I thought the damage was just to the bumper itself and maybe she'd caught it on something, I couldn't believe the state of the impact bar behind it.

SEATs are quite bad for that too, I think I've yet to see a 2005-2011 Leon with bumpers that matched properly, in fact there's a dark silver one in at work now with a mismatched bumper. But yeah, I'd much rather have a slightly different shade of blue on my bumper than a massive hole in the front.

Thanks a lot! I'm looking forward to the results too. Should make it look a lot cleaner, and a lot more like the low mileage car it is!
 
Good news everyone!



New bumper is finally on. It matches a lot nicer in proper light than it did in the garage, thankfully. The bumper itself is still dull though, even after I buffed it with rubbing compound and colour enhancing T-Cut. I think it may need a layer of clearcoat on it, even though the paint shop told me I wouldn't need it. But still, considering it's not OEM it fits quite nicely (comes a way a little at the edge on the wings, but I can live with that), and looks miles better than the one on before. The plastic grill trims aren't clipping in to the new bumper very well though so I'll probably have to glue them. I'll also be leaving both bump strips off until I can find a replacement for the left side. Number plate will be put on properly tomorrow at work, we've got some proper sticky stuff (inb4 out of context quote) that will hold it on, which I'd rather use than drilling screws into the new bumper. Now just to fit the rear one!
 
SVX
That looks a million times better!
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It looks a lot better on the camera, but still way better than the one before. Just a shame it's so dull compared to the rest of the car.

homeforsummer
Or maybe the rest of the car needs buffing to a matte finish...
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Matte is my least favourite kind of finish. :lol:
 
It might pay to leave it for a week or 2 then compound it to get it smooth. Depending on how much paint is on the bumper you should be able to get it to a gloss finish with a lot of elbow grease. I've done this before but sadly there wasn't much base coat so I rubbed right through it. Main reason I had to compound it was due to the fact I ran out of paint just as I was going to add more coats. It left a rough finish but compounding it made it better. I'll repaint during summer when I buy more paint.
 
GDII
It might pay to leave it for a week or 2 then compound it to get it smooth. Depending on how much paint is on the bumper you should be able to get it to a gloss finish with a lot of elbow grease. I've done this before but sadly there wasn't much base coat so I rubbed right through it. Main reason I had to compound it was due to the fact I ran out of paint just as I was going to add more coats. It left a rough finish but compounding it made it better. I'll repaint during summer when I buy more paint.
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I was thinking of maybe buffing it with the machine buffer we have at work, but I'm not entirely sure how thick the paint is and like you said, I don't want to rub through it. It's really difficult to buff it by hand because the rough paint just absorbs the compound and you can't buff it off properly. It was left out in the rain all day today and the compound has started showing on the bumper like a white powder. It's almost as if it's primer just absorbing everything. We'll see how it goes, I still have the rear to sort out too.
 
The paint should stop absorbing the compound once it starts to get glossy. The other option is to put a clear coat on it but that tends to peel after a short while if not done with 2K and a paint booth with baking capabilities. Also you have already compounded it, it might not adhere properly to base coat anymore. Just a thought, may not be true.
 
Katiegan
Good news everyone!



New bumper is finally on. It matches a lot nicer in proper light than it did in the garage, thankfully. The bumper itself is still dull though, even after I buffed it with rubbing compound and colour enhancing T-Cut. I think it may need a layer of clearcoat on it, even though the paint shop told me I wouldn't need it. But still, considering it's not OEM it fits quite nicely (comes a way a little at the edge on the wings, but I can live with that), and looks miles better than the one on before. The plastic grill trims aren't clipping in to the new bumper very well though so I'll probably have to glue them. I'll also be leaving both bump strips off until I can find a replacement for the left side. Number plate will be put on properly tomorrow at work, we've got some proper sticky stuff (inb4 out of context quote) that will hold it on, which I'd rather use than drilling screws into the new bumper. Now just to fit the rear one!
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Mud!
Mud does wonders on matching bumpers with body, but it needs to be good ole clay mud as it sticks to everything.
Oh and "Bruiser" needs some lovin too.
 
opelgt1969
Mud!
Mud does wonders on matching bumpers with body, but it needs to be good ole clay mud as it sticks to everything.
Oh and "Bruiser" needs some lovin too.
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Really? I've never heard that before.

Bruiser is getting some loving! He's just had a new set of tyres all round. ;)
 






The Pandaghini has a nice butt again! A lot easier to do than the front. A few brackets on the old bumper were broken, but the new one came with them intact so it was a lot more simple just putting it on. Wet sanded it and put some rubbing compound on while I figure out if I should machine buff the bumpers or put clearcoat on. I'm not entirely sure there's enough paint on them to machine buff, so I may have to go the clearcoat route. Super happy with it though, the whole car looks so much nicer now, and I don't have to be self-concious about people seeing the damage and thinking I'm a terrible driver. :lol:

Oh, and some of you may have noticed I got new plates, without the GB logo on them. I think they look a lot cleaner than the GB ones and they've also got the garage I work at stamped on them, so technically I'm advertising too.





Shout out to Bruiser and my neighbour's Escort XR3i (daily driven, even in winter) in the background.
 
How many coats did you apply? If you did 2-3 you should be OK. I think my problem was one coat then I ran out of paint. You were properly prepared so you don't let my silly comments put you off buffing it.
 
GDII
How many coats did you apply? If you did 2-3 you should be OK. I think my problem was one coat then I ran out of paint. You were properly prepared so you don't let my silly comments put you off buffing it.
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I didn't exactly count, but I did put quite a few on. The only reason I'm reluctant to buff it is because when I wet sanded it, it started to go through to the primer in some places, and I was only lightly using 1200 grit sandpaper. I'm not sure if it's just thin in some places or thin all over.
 
Katiegan
Shout out to Bruiser and my neighbour's Escort XR3i (daily driven, even in winter) in the background.
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Was going to comment on that. Missed the boat with XR3is, the prices have started going silly now along with all its 1980s rivals.
 
homeforsummer
Was going to comment on that. Missed the boat with XR3is, the prices have started going silly now along with all its 1980s rivals.
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He's had it for two or three years now, not sure how much he paid for it. It's a typical Ford so the back arches are rather rusty, but nothing to fail an MOT. It was a little rough when he bought it so he's done some good work on it. I just wish he wouldn't rev it up so high from stone cold all the time.

If you look in the same photo with the Escort, above the Panda's roof and towards the fence of the house the XR3i is parked outside of you may also notice the back end of a Mk2 Golf GTI. That belongs to another neighbour's son. It hasn't moved for a good year or two, I keep meaning to ask about it but he'll probably want too much for it.
 
GDII
I love your Panda sticker. It fits really well with the car. A Badass Panda on a Badass Panda!
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Also suits the nickname 'Pandagan'...'cause it's a Panda, with a gun. :dopey:

I love the stickers on it but I also don't. Stickers are really the only way I can 'mod' the car and represent companies I like, but I also prefer the look of a clean car with no stickers. My Blipshift +5hp sticker is starting to fade though, so I might take that off and swap it for something else.
 
I know what you mean, I'd like to put more stickers on my car but the clean look it has would be ruined. I've only got the rising sun on my fuel filler door that is obvious.
 
Katiegan
I didn't exactly count, but I did put quite a few on. The only reason I'm reluctant to buff it is because when I wet sanded it, it started to go through to the primer in some places, and I was only lightly using 1200 grit sandpaper. I'm not sure if it's just thin in some places or thin all over.
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Hey Katie, what paint was used? Acrlyic? 1k?

I would proceed like this:

Get 1 can again of that paint.

Just lightly scuff the bumpers again with M3 pads. Sandpaper is not needed and takes more time.

Apply an other fine coat of the paint.

Let it dry for 20-25 minutes (till it's matte again) then apply a few coats of clear coat on it.

That will give you a nice glossy look and the colour matching should be near perfect.

Very important, seal your work off by using a 2k clear coat. Those are chemical resistant and UV resistant.... 1k will not hold and look good for long.... and the price difference isn't a game changer....


I would say 2 cans per bumper. Maybe 3 to get more coats on if you want to buff it to an abolute shine.

UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003VDXZM8/?tag=gtplanetuk-20

But it comes from germany eitherway, so it's cheaper if you order directly on the german amazon site.
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00CLAGWAY/

Also a handle for the cans is always good as it sprays a nicer pattern , but even the button on the 2k cans are awesome, you can tilt and change the spray pattern (horizontal / vertical)
 
Ibonibo
Hey Katie, what paint was used? Acrlyic? 1k?

I would proceed like this:

Get 1 can again of that paint.

Just lightly scuff the bumpers again with M3 pads. Sandpaper is not needed and takes more time.

Apply an other fine coat of the paint.

Let it dry for 20-25 minutes (till it's matte again) then apply a few coats of clear coat on it.

That will give you a nice glossy look and the colour matching should be near perfect.

Very important, seal your work off by using a 2k clear coat. Those are chemical resistant and UV resistant.... 1k will not hold and look good for long.... and the price difference isn't a game changer....


I would say 2 cans per bumper. Maybe 3 to get more coats on if you want to buff it to an abolute shine.

UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003VDXZM8/?tag=gtplanetuk-20

But it comes from germany eitherway, so it's cheaper if you order directly on the german amazon site.
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00CLAGWAY/

Also a handle for the cans is always good as it sprays a nicer pattern , but even the button on the 2k cans are awesome, you can tilt and change the spray pattern (horizontal / vertical)
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I don't know much about paint, all I know is that it was cellulose, and the sticker said 2K although I'm not sure it was since I was told I wouldn't need clearcoat.

I actually went to see one of the painters we use at work to get his opinion on the bumpers. I gave him a spare can I had so he could test it himself, left it overnight and it came up pretty shiny. Not crystal clear, but not matte like my bumpers. He says it could be down to the fact I painted them in hot weather (ranged from 20-28C over the days I painted them), or I held the can too far away and was just building up thin dry layers that turned out flat. His advice was to machine buff it up with some T-Cut and see if that helped, and if not, try painting again with the can held closer. He did buff a small part of the front bumper himself with a machine polisher while I was there to see what happened, and it brought it up a little but still not perfect. Obviously I wasn't expecting the glossy finish like the rest of the car with using a can, but I wasn't expecting plastidip matte either.

Would you say I'm better off spraying clearcoat on it instead of buffing?
 
20° (is okay)-28° (a tad too hot, but in addition with the sun, the particule dry to soon) Had the same problem when I did my moms Chrysler with a can in the sun.

The 2K paint is good. Normally no clear is needed. But the clear gives more shine

Experience is always good, I would start trying to buff it.

Start with 2000 - 2500 -3000 (all wet). you can go 3500. It helps buffing it quicker... An a sanding block is a must.

That should get you a long way to achieve some shine.

If you sand slightly through, you can spot repair as it's already sanded and a single coat paint.

If you are not happy with the result, do as above (light scuff, a slight layer of paint, then clear)
 
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If you do try to repaint it again go to a junk yard and see if you can find a damaged bumper to practice on (practice on small sections at a time not the whole thing). I've tried body work before the only thing I found to be good at was making primer spots.
 

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