The 'E' Type Forum

I purchased my E type in 1977, drove it for two years (great car to drive) and then started on a restoration process. I rebuilt all the suspension, brakes and engine myself so it was mechanically sound and paid someone to replace several rusty panels (eg door skins and bottoms, sills wheel arch panels). I built up a new bonnet from separate Jaguar supplied panels myself and then paid for a respray and rechrome of bumpers, etc.
This took about ten years and looking back I think I did quite well considering it was all completed in a small lockup garage with no water or electricity several miles from my home. Also, in those days there was no E-Type Forum to get advice and so information was gained mainly from common sense, Jaguar Dealers and a Hayne's car manual.
After finishing this and being amazed that the car ran well despite the fact that I had no prior mechanical knowledge I was left with the interior to complete. However, It was at this point that I realised my finances would not stretch that far and as life went on I just left it in the cold, damp garage untouched and undriven until a couple of years ago when I retired and with more time and a little more money I decided that either I should sell it or I need to get it on the road again.
I was lucky as the garage I eventually entrusted with getting it back on the road got the engine started (amazing considering it had been idle since 1990) and replaced a few safety parts (brakes included) and it is now back on the road and driving well. Time has left it needing a respray and some bodywork together with a new interior, rechrome and some tidying up here and there.
The lockdown has also given me an incentive to get stuck in on this and that's why I'm introducing myself as I will have questions for sure.
In fact my first question is to do with paint. What black paint would you recommend to touch up the steering column and other black metal items inside the car?
I have other questions but I'll put them in the correct forum slot later.
Finally, thanks for this forum, I wish it had been around in 1977. I have found it most useful.

Satin black aerosol cans.

Floor mounted bench grinder with wire wheel attachments. (Sealey/Clarke?).



Every decent garage has one. Use it for paint preparation, rust removal, cleaning valves, cleaning bolt threads everything.

It removes old paint and rust, de-grease with a 5l can of U-pol degreaser, one coat of aerosol black primer, or straight to satin black.

Or you can use aerosol crinkle finish stain black

All on ebay.

Don't catch any edges ( watch the direction of rotation).

Hang bits up to dry on bent wire( coat hangers).

Wear gloves and at least eye protection.

You can do loads and loads of bits without the need for powder coating.

If you want to get into production, dry the paint with a heat gun. It drys to the touch in 60 seconds.

The best investment you will ever make in garage equipment. Really allows toy to get on with it.

I was 13 in 1977!!!! Welcome to the forum....

Chris, this makes for an interesting read. Good luck with getting it all finished. It is a very valuable forum, ask your questions and you’ll get good advice and help

Geoff

Hello Chris, and welcome !

I enjoy painting, and from my experience, the prep work as everybody know is very important , and can really be time consuming for parts with complex shapes. So investing in a small sanblasting machine is a good idea. I used to buy special sand, very expensive and found recently that "00" sand for swiming pools or found in construction work shops is absolutly fine. And a powerful compressor of course.
A coat of primer ( I like industrial phosphating paint , to protect from rust) after degreasing is always a good idea , then scratch the surface with a 3M black pad, degrease, and go for the aerosol black paint as said, it's good to give a thin finish, not too shiny.
If you want something more like a lacquer aspect, very thick and shiny, very strong, nothing beats an epoxy paint.
And a spraygun is not expensive neither and is so useful. But you'll need filters plugged to the compressor.

Sorry if I am too long, I just like painting technics!
Enjoy !

Hi Chris here is what i have done for sanding with glass balls blasting:






















It's better to plug a wacuum cleaner on the side . and the compressor is a 200 liters one strong enough
It works fine and i use it very often
Have fun …!

Yves, that is brilliant!

Ha ! Formidable Yves ! That's the best home-build I've ever seen.

Welcome to the Forum Chris.

Identifying the right kit and then systemising your approach to the refurbishment of the smaller parts is a good way of making the job quicker, getting better results, and - importantly, I think - keeps the motivation going.

My beadblaster came from Gunson 35 years ago and was amongst the best money I ever spent, although as Yves says it's the compressor and its capacity to sustain the flow which is the trick, and neither the oft-quoted tank capacity nor the pressure have anything to do with that - it's grunt expressed litres/minute that count.

It is worth experimenting with different media, and critical to NOT try and blast at too high a pressure in the belief that it is quicker - the glass beads get broken, get sharp edges, and produce a rough matt finish which is fine for painting but gets dirty very quickly if used as a finsh on aluminium parts.

Never underestimate the damage that can be done by beads left over in any kind of mechanical device ; I blast in a workshop extension that is partitioned from the rest with a fringed plastic curtain, I vacuum the floors frequently, and would never even wear the same clothing I had blasted parts in earlier (whatever gloves I wore) to then work on an engine.

I am not a fan of rattle cans as I find the paint finish too weedy, and easily scratched ; I gather parts together until I've a reasonable batch, then mix up 100ml of 2-pack black epoxy in a cheap gun and either spray over a massive wafer-thin dust sheet spread across 300 sq feet, with all the workshop doors open and a fan blowing air out at one of them, or under a pop-up barnum pit-tent outside.



I wouldn't paint a car in those conditions, but last week's lot included a water pump, belt-pulleys, a radiator, steering column parts, brake master cylinders, and the petrol tank, none of which really care about a speck of dust here and there.

You can get everything you need including a stock of the latest disposable 3M baby paint-pots with incorporated filters, mixing cups etc, and a gun, from a source like this

https://www.vinnybyrne.com/body-shop/sp ... /besa.html

all in for under 150€, black epoxy paint is incredibly cheap, and I find that the painted finish is incomparably superior and more long-lasting than anything you can do with a rattle can.

As important, or maybe even more so, is to find someone who will do electrolytic zinc-chromate galvanising for you - seeing bits come back like new has to be one of the most rewarding and motivating moments of any gradual restoration, when things can flag at times ; I pay my guy between 20€ and 50€ for batches of between 10 and 100 bits, of all sizes, and without his services I would honestly be lost - silver rattle can just isn't the same.

These are post-beadblasting, pre-plating.



How else could you restore parts like these ?

Or these ?



Some die-hards here even do their own plating ; I think access to it, one way or another, is a must.

And getting the odd part that you make from scratch plated is a guaranteed way of buying credibilty and the "Not Home Made" stamp ! Can't resist flaunting this one again ...........



....... the Megajolts will understand.

Wow! All I can say is that I am humbled by the fantastic resources you people have put together and use. Afraid that I am several divisions below you and my garage has no power and is a good mile from where I live.

When I cleaned up parts in the past I used a wire brush rotating on a metal black and decker drill. That was in the 1980s when equipment was built with more resilience.

I was really just looking to touch up a few black interior items.. maybe with some smooth Hammerite or whatever is recommended. As I say I'm not in the same league as the posters in this thread.

Thank you for your replies.

Hi Chris...I have found Simoniz tough black to be very good...aerosol available most places and and in different finnishes....Steve

Hi Chris - welcome! You are amongst friends and experts on here. It’s an incredible forum.

Like you I do not have the incredible setups posted (they are all very impressive). You can do a lot with a wire wheel on a drill!

Paint wise I like Hammerite too - find it better to thin down and use small model brushes.

Hammerite black gloss spray is very good but it’s a pig to apply. Patience is the key - the lightest of coats repeated many times.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Cheers
Ash