Bongo Fury

I've spent an hour or two here and there over the last week dealing with a few rust spots on the bongo.

The general approach to this has been sanding back affected area to bare metal. Then using por 15 to treat the area. Then wet and dry to try and blend the edge of the por 15 in. Then spray paint over the top with the correct colour.

This has gone on to my abilities and all the areas done now look much better than before and aren't immediately obvious from the other side of the road. You can see where the areas are though.

Now this is the point where I get stuck on previous jobs I've done like this. Obviously I still need to lacquer over the top but I need to blend it in a little. I have sprayed fairly small localised areas but have a hard edge between new paint and old.

Any tips as to how to proceed before spreading lacquer over the top? I'm not after a perfect job. Much more interested in keeping the dreaded rust at bay.

Do you have a ridge or mask line you can feel with your nail?

Yes, currently there is.

Most are down low and I'm not too worried about them. They are better than the rust that was there before.

There are a couple higher up though that are a bit more visible

That por 15 is some tack. I completely covered the underside of my van with two coats of it (one was topcoat).

I've a few bits of rust on the rail over the window now but I wouldn't tackle it myself since its in such a visible area

I decided that the permanent removal of the rust was more important than the cosmetic appearance. Some of these rust spots are in an area that was professionally repaired not that long ago. Hence my reluctance to pay to have them professionally repaired.

You ideally need to flat those areas with 400 or 600 wet and dry, then treat/paint again if needed, then spray with no masking paper close to your painting zone and gently blow into the surrounding inch or so. That way you will have no lines, just maybe a slight color fade. You only wanna mask areas 6 inch from where you're painting. The slight mist of overspray at very edges will help colour blend and then wont have a ridge. Don't get too close with spray can. Keep to light coats with the base colour and you will get better atomisation and closer match.

It will look much better but you will never match most paints that are this old. Well not perfectly. You would need to do a full panel and a fade out.

Hope that helps. Marc

Great, I'll flat it out and spray again. Looking at it, there is only one area that needs this. The others are all low down and I used a deliberate line to finish them.

Once it is blended more like you describe what is next before lacquer?

Do I flat it again before lacquer or just go straight for the lacquer?

Do I use any cutting compound?

Google 'soft masking techniques' and start having a read / youtube. You can buy special tapes or do tricks with 'soft folded' newspaper taped in place.

sotal wrote: Tue Apr 10, 2018 8:14 am Great, I'll flat it out and spray again. Looking at it, there is only one area that needs this. The others are all low down and I used a deliberate line to finish them.

Once it is blended more like you describe what is next before lacquer?

Do I flat it again before lacquer or just go straight for the lacquer?

Do I use any cutting compound?

If it's not metallic you can, if it's a base coat though you just lacquer and then should use more lacquer mixed with fade out thinners on the edges to bond old lacquer to new lawyer correctly. Then you can buff with compound a few days later but go steady as 1k lacquer is soft.

Just have fun and see how it looks. It will still be better than rust either way and save you money, even if isn't perfect.

Brilliant thanks - I'm happy with all the metallic silver parts, as I say they are all low and fairly hidden.

I have one particular spot of white next to the drivers door which bothers me. I think I'll sand it right back and try again blending it better.

Good man, don't give up.

I have had a decent go on our Bongo, larger areas and smaller spots. It is all reasonable and keeps rot out. You really just have to do your best.
I know now to never do it on a day with direct sun, little or no wind is ideal. I did my bonnet which has faired well, only thing is the section below it has now started to go a bit white, I think it is the original lacquer breaking down after 22 years. I may have to have a go at the lower section later in the year.

Doing a really neat job outdoors is very difficult without some skills, experience, there are lots of small thing to go wrong. Tidy and protected is the best I expect of myself now which is fine really.

You can get blend in and out spray to apply to your lacquer coat, you kind of wisk the can outwards over newly painted edged / overspray onto existing paintwork to kind of blend it in... it helps a little. Good luck, knowing your vehicle is protected feels good.

mikeonb4c wrote: Tue Apr 10, 2018 10:13 am Google 'soft masking techniques' and start having a read / youtube. You can buy special tapes or do tricks with 'soft folded' newspaper taped in place.

To blend the lacquer in with the original and avoid a raised edge fold the masking tape in half with the fold bordering the area you are lacquering. You can then attach your masking paper to the folded back tape to mask off the rest of the panel. Don't try to fold newspaper back on itself; the fibres in the paper and possibly the newsprint itself will wreak havoc with the new paint.
Also spotted a query about flatting back before lacquering. Definitely don't so it with a metallic, you'll destroy the particles that make it sparkle. Try to keep the spray nozzle at 90 degrees to the panel you're painting when applying a metallic so the particles all stand the same way.

Great post Mark - I've got away soft masking with newspaper but can see it holds the potential for trouble. The advantage i found though was that i could improve the soft mask width using the bigger radius/shadow area created by soft folding a wide strip of newspaper.