Spencer

If its old as in 80's or older then it will be lacquer, I wouldn't go straight to 2K top coat or urethane primer as above. Would want epoxy primer on there, its not ideal but you can block on epoxy primer and top coat straight on it as per the sheepers method. Use protec 408 have to just take of the waxy top layer then it blocks down pretty good. So you get sealing and blocking in one step with basically the cheapest good epoxy taht exists, then do single stage white 2k on top. Probably as cheap as you can get while still using decent paint.

Only thing with single stage 2k urethane on old cars is it looks super plastic spec and makes older stuff look like a fridge or something. Hard to explain but I'm not a big fan of straight colour urethanes and would go base + clear all day on my own shit.

Also for repainting a car with 2k, you want a epoxy primer layer between the old paint and the new. Almost any will do but they have all sorts of different properties some sand better than others etc. Some are labelled as a sealer primer for this very use case.

How do you think you will get away with out blocking it down? that is asking for a shit outcome. I would do a test in the boot or something and make sure the epoxy sits on the existing paint good (which 99.9% chance it will). Then I would do urethane 2k primer as it is the easiest to sand and block on, then top coat. Like 100% when you block it you will see all the stone chips and low/high spots and they will need filler and attention, will look like shit with just primer and topcoat no blocking or sanding at all.

You can get away with two wet coats of clear 2k urethane. But 5 coats is fine, I would put shit load on a car I was keeping for ages so I had heaps to work with when correcting defects/scratches etc in the future. Premium car brands generally have much thicker paint with heaps of clear, its a good thing to have more to work with in the future.

It can be hard to spray as said above need to put it on pretty thick and cannot see it. IMO its safer to spray it a little thinner with more coats and deal with the orange peel later than try get that glass finish that you can get when everything is dialed in perfect.

Yup I used the KBS dark grey header paint. Stayed good for the 5 years I had the car.

You can do a test patch/panel if worried. Its not the end of the world it happens that clear goes on in two separate coats due to errors or some fancy places like to block down the clear and apply more after. Generally its keyed with rough scotch-brite or say 800 grit.

There is a video of that running, it is the real deal, there is another vid of it at idle and it moves though the range super quicl. AS KPR said on normal engines you need a big sweep so packaging, control, friction etc etc are all pretty decent engineering problems. That F1 solution earlier is super slick but only moves like 2 inches I guess due to the RPM and small operating range of the engine etc. 2 step design seems much easier, there are a lots of examples from manufactures.  Thread hijack but hey.

Someone build this, OS engineering challenge.

I have seen a restoration guy melt out the lead and use a 3M epoxy product, ling post as I cannot remember exactly what it was but it was spendy. Use some nutech, jokes aside that shit works in those spots also.

That toolpro will be sweet as, very similar to the rupes copy I have borrowed and used. Used to be only a few shit china ones out there and they have cottoned on in the last few years and pumped out many iterations now so they are cheap and great for DIY.

IMO you have done the right thing getting a polisher, if you paint a car its pretty much a needed tool to finish the job and then maintenance in the future. Pretty hard to fuck it up with a DA.

If you dig into this guys youtube you can go way too deep and learn all the shit about detailing. He will have videos on 105/205 with a rupes.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYsa8SOy3TkoxI5D17s1u-w

I mean a electric dual action polisher in say 6" size, a smaller one is super handy also they come in all sorts of sizes and flavours. Way more forgiving/safe than a rotary for me anyway. Hand cutting and polishing is pretty full on, you will be jacked at the end.

I have one similar to this in 6" (which I cannot find), but have used one of the $100 Rupes clones and for DIY they are sweet also. They are china spec but do the job, doesn't stall out easy or do anything shit.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SPTA-125mm-8mm-780W-DA-Orbital-Polisher-Dual-Action-Car-Polisher-Polishing-Pads/283633888088?hash=item4209e5ab58:g:y8IAAOSwSRJcivaN

If you have some spare money can get a china DA that is pretty good for like $200, pretty useful thing if you have a few cars with nice paint.

2000 should be fine. You have a DA or two? on 2k paint I like a microfibre pad to cut then a foam pad to polish, using Meguiars older 105/205 compounds just because I was recommended them and they worked well for me (bottles have lasted for years as only do a few cars). The rabbit hole is endless on pads and compounds but need a DA and then after that its all downhill, watch a few youtube videos if needed.

Yeah good work dude. When you can go get a sheet of cold rolled steel in 0.8 or 0.9 whatever that gauge is and you will be amazed that shaping panels just got 100% easier. 1.1mm zinc plated is for horse floats.

Yup makes sense, so safe to say $1600 is reasonable. Time to climb under the car and start grinding?

I Imagine any blasting would charge 100 an hour? a stripped out shell is easy, more surface area but less prep just roll it in the room and go. To do a good job you would want to mask shit off under the car and do the job on a hoist? I would think you wouldn't get much change from $1000 or more, $1600 seems in the ball park?

You have to weigh how much bullshit you will put up with to save $1000, if you have free time and some determination lay under the car for 2 days and save some coin.

How much are they in NZ? we have millions of CL9's here. They often pop up on the euro FB page for $4-500, probably $800-1000 from a wreckers. CL9 is a cheap P-plater car here now so lots of them getting stacked. A early base spec whole car with highish km can be had for 2-3k. Probably hold more value in NZ as seen as brand new still compared to the fleet.

I do agree that getting it going is key for momentum. But what are the chances that motor is a turd anyway? 80% chance? I guess get it going and test oil pressure and compression and see whats up. No one ever regretted going K-series honda though

K24a3 from accord are around $500 here, cheap torquey 200hp /bias

Just the aftermarket support make the K series a win. If you are feeling rich Fit some Kinsler ITB's please

IMO 1.1mm is too thick for this, you will find that despite what people say about yank shit these things are pretty much all ~0.8 unless its a gusset/structural piece. The zinc plated is harder to work with than cold rolled but I am guessing you cannot go to the shops to get some so see how you go.

Edit: Also yes, be hard work to make that in one piece without some tools/experience doing it. No problem making it out of a bunch of pieces either on the bench or on the car so you know they all fit lush.

Unfold the outer door skin (there are good youtube videos on this to do it good if needed) cut out that whole lower corner then make up some compound patches. Make it out of 3-4 bits, if you are using some nice new cold rolled steel you easily be able to bend that shit up by hand or over a pipe etc.

Also for the noob with a mig (like me) use big tacks hotter than you would normally think, look at the back of the panel if you can and make sure its penetrating all the way through. Do like 10 tacks and then grind them and hammer as needed, you put way less heat in this way. Shrinking disc helps lots for finishing, but in this case hammer bog it up. Doing runs of weld will make things extra bendy and is for the expert or TIG welder type of chap. Those OG sanding discs with the backing plate on the grinder are great for finishing welds also, a bit safer and nicer finish that the flap disc in many cases/skill level. With the tack method, beating and sanding discs you can make patches look mostly invisible.

Agree with above also that the whole bottom of the door will be rusty in the seam, depends how many cans of worms you want to open etc.

Yeah just depends what turds are under the existing paint, I would say a few.

This is rusted in all the same places as my wag was. How is the rear window sills?

Dunno if you need tailgate rubbers and shit, I imagine they are melted. Save this guy for reference when you feel rich or the dollar is good, stop it rusting out the bottom of it again.

http://einstyn.com/einstyn-tailgate-parts.htm

Weld the rust, skim it and blend into existing bog, do it again in 10-15 years