308 Airbox - refurb/painting

I was pretty chuffed with the results of my recent coolant tank painting exercise. So I decided to do the same with the airbox.

I stripped it back using paint stripper and then sandpaper. At one point I realised that I had spent 1 hour trying to get sand a good finish on the inside of the airbox! The stupidity of this dawned on me and I concentrated on the outside, life really is too short...

The external surfaces will be painted using black crinkle paint (VHT Wrinkle Plus? Coatings) so I don't think the priming will be that critical. But either way I've done my best...

Here's the last of the undercoat/primer going on. I'll start applying the black over the next few evenings.
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Just think how nicely air will flow over that smooth inside!

Looks good and reminds me that I should probably do the same.

 

Spray the inside first, with a gloss finish black. Spraying the outside with the crinkle paint can be a bit tricky. I found that the air temp had to be relatively high for the VHT paint to crinkle properly. You definitely do not want to do it in a cold area like a garage in winter. If it is not warm enough, the paint just doesn't crinkle much.

 

Use a halogen spot light to warm the metal and crinkle the paint. It's easy once you do it 5 times.

 

Another option would be to get it crinkle-finish powder coated.

 

You can get really good and even results using the wife's hair dryer to make the freshly applied paint crinkle. If she catches you in the act, by the time you regain consciousness the paint will be dry and ready to reinstall

 

Yes, the gloss black interior was tomorrow evenings job.
Thanks for the heads up on the crinkle paint - I'll bring the operation indoors for that. I'll warm the rattle cans and the metalwork up in the airing cupboard before I start.

I think that's the proper way to go & it probably wouldn't be that expensive. However, I'm trying to save the pennies and this is quite a fun job to do!

 

I baked the VHT crinkle painted parts in the oven at 200 degrees. Worked great till my wife came home.

 

Yup, I considered doing this but my concern was that the parts may twist under the heat?
Also I'm not convinced the base would actually fit - but the lid certainly would.

 

I tried the self-crinkling option, twice.
Didn't come out so great.

So, I sent it out for powder coating --> http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/308-328/346762-gt4-airbox-correct-paint.html

Good luck.

 

All done, the main box is now drying off but the lid is dry and pictured below.
I followed the steps on this video [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZMMS3uihkY]Wrinkle Paint - How to Refinish a TR3 Dash - YouTube[/ame]

i.e. 3 wet coats with a 5 minute gap between each coat.
5 minutes after the last coat I ran a hot air gun (used for paint stripping) carefully over the paint. After 5 or so minutes the paint begins to cure and hoop-la! a crinkle finish.

I started the job indoors but man does this stuff stink the place out, way worse than normal paint. It also travels beyond where you are spraying and where any dust sheets you will have put down. As a result I have spent this afternoon with white spirit getting the black paint out of the light brown carpet...
I finished the job off in the garage but the cooler temperature leaves you at risk of paint runs when applying the wet coats.

If I did this again I would warm the parts and the paint up indoors for a day or so. But paint them in the garage with a number of heaters running to get the air temperature up.

I used VHT paint if anyone is interested...
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Looks good and thanks for the tips.

 

That looks totally pro, nice job!


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That looks perfect! Excellent job!

This is on my todo list as well. I actually have some rust starting on the inside of the intake...close to the rubber flexboot.

 

Just follow the steps in the embedded video (How to refinish a TR3 Dash) and it's a nice job to do.

When applying the heat, you start to worry that it's not going to crinkle but eventually it does. It actually makes watching paint dry exciting

 

And please tell us about the paint fumes? The watching of paint drying could be a sign of intoxication.

 

I'm actually going to try out a crinkle powder. Will post info on how it goes!

 

I was talking with the engine builder at DK Engineering yesterday on this very subject and surprised to learn they use the VHT paint on all the concours cars. They dont get the covers powder coated.
Also he said he usually has to have 2 goes at it. So even the pros mess up sometimes!

 

Interesting.

I've only used VHT products to dye vinyl/plastic, but was extremely impressed with them.