That epoxy sure looks good.......

 

I took about 2 hours to sand out the runs. Cleaned them and sprayed the second coat. NO RUNS! Let them cure overnight, base & clear after a couple dust/dirt correction. The end is near. Two weeks till I spray the body parts. Military weekend next weekend.

BTW, rehung them today as 2 of them fell when I bumped them. Ain't happening again

 

Now that looks awesome.......I definitely like that color even though it's not the paint......

 

It dulls down when it cures.

I will take a close up before I spray base tomorrow

 

Okkkkkay.......cool

 

It only flattens out some in 24 hours. Can't tell much of a difference from yesterdays pic to today. 7 days for full cure.

Applied base coat this afternoon.



Still a little shiny as it hadn't flashed off yet.

Since the base is solvent based, the clear I am using recommends at least 1 hour before clear or you can get solvent pop in the clear. As an added precaution, I am waiting two hours. It can be sprayed up to 24 hour after applying so well within the window. Mid to low 80's so I should be good to go after the 2 hours.

I will post a pic after completing the gloss sauce.

 

Gloss sauce is on, one run not bad for an old out of practice painter.


Had to take a picture of just one with flash to do it justice.


BTW, I know I have a nice rack.... to hang them on.

 

Man, those wheels look great..........You did a great job on them.........how's the durability on that paint.......

 

Wow, with flash that looks like black chrome. Excellent work, what brand paint, SPI?
Did you have them sandblasted or, god forbid, did you hand sand all of them?

 

After all my research, should be good to go after full cure. There are "harder" clears in the line up but their web forum had a lot of users that used what I did. The clear actually cures with UV so for the next couple weeks while I finish repairs/upgrades, they will be hanging outside to cure letting the sun do its thing. I am waiting at least two weeks till I have the tires mounted. I went with Conti Dws06 ExtremeContact.

I am really getting anxious to get this project done but trying not to rush it.

 

Wheels look great!

If the brake line repair is done, then this is just an FYI, otherwise it may be worth a search…. That is, there are companies who makes OEM pre-bent brake lines for MINI. Here is one (link) There may be an option to get them through a MINI Dealer. The dealer just did both rear lines on our 21 year old R50 with OEM style (coated) lines.

 

I used SPI's epoxy primer, Dupont ChromaBase paint, and SPI's Euro 2020 clear. I could have went the lower $$$ base but, I am hoping to only do this once. First time spraying epoxy or clear. I did a BUNCH of research before doing this. I used to work in a body shop when I was 16 - 18. I learned how to spray lacquer and enamel back then. I had the "technique" just needed to figure out the proper paint volume and air pressure for my gun. I didn't go crazy on the spray gun either. It was like $160. My brother was like, "You are never going to get a good finish with a cheap gun!". He worked at the same body shop when he was that age. Again, I did a lot of research before I purchased the gun I got. He was impressed with the results as well. I have a couple of dirt specs, one mosquito, and one run in one of the barrels that I don't even think I will mess with.

I tried blasting them in my blast cabinet. That epoxy primer is like trying to blast stainless steel. I found a local powder coat place that offers chemical stripping. They did them $25/each so $106 for the set (tax). I did a light blast after that with crushed glass, degreased them, masked that back plate where it matches to the brake rotor, bought some lug stud plugs for like $16/set and inserted them, degreased again, waited an hour and started painting them. Epoxy has a 24 hour wait before base unless it is sprayed as a sealer, then 2 hours. 1st epoxy was Friday, the 1st rim I did had some BAD runs, the second some runs 3 & 4 looked great. Had my gun set right and the speed to spray figured out. 12 hours before you can wet sand so Saturday AM I wet sanded the runs, degreased the wheels again and shot a second coat. Told my brother I put a pepto bismol tablet in with the paint and that got rid of the runs, LOL. Sunday afternoon prepared them for base/clear. Started shooting paint about 4 PM, base was done by 6. Two hour wait for the base to gas out then started the clear, finished around 10:30

 

Thanks.

I have all the stuff to do it and do it correctly. I have the flaring tool, copper/nickel alloy brake line and bought some flare unions. I don't use the kind that aren't designed for brake lines. They might work in a pinch but not long or will fail when an emergency comes and you stab the brake pedal and they let loose. I considered getting new lines but I would have to totally dismount the fuel tank, and take most of the stuff on the top/back side of the engine compartment in hopes that I could get them to go through.

 

Here is all four. Not patting my own back but I really like how they turned out.





Started cleaning up the JCW big brakes. They are in decent shape but haven't been cleaned in there lifetime

 

Well damn, those last pics really have me wanting to paint my rims now, and I hate painting rims! The SPI epoxy and clears are some of the very best out there, I've been a painter most of my life, my little Finex 1000's are my go to guns for most everything exe complete paint jobs and I have sprayed complete bike jobs with them. I do have Sata's, Pro Lites and a few others but all I bought used so yes, you can get a great job with an inexpensive gun if it's a nice gun. Your wheels look fantastic! Damn good job

 

I didn't have time to bargain hunt a good gun. The body shop owned the guns I used years ago. Again, I did a lot of research for a low $$$ spray guns. I ended up going with a Aeropro Tools R500/A610 LVLP from Amazon for $75. I forget what the #2 choice was but it ran $150. I am not doing it for a living so I went for the lower $$$. I added a disposable cup/liner/lid system. I used the 1.5 setup for the epoxy primer (1.4 recommended) and for the base. I used the 1.3 for the clear. PSI ranged 25 epoxy, 30 base and 35 clear with the volume set at 2.5 and lower. I used full fan on the epoxy and clear and messed with it on the base about 1/2 is where I was happy.

Like I say if you search anything dealing with automotive painting and you see it referenced in any of SPI's forums, go to that. Solid answers with good recommendations. I am very particular on what forums I join/get advice from. When I 1st got my Mini, I looked at numerous different ones. I went with this one for several reasons. It is organized, knowledgeable admins and users, NO USERS BASHING USERS (most Mini Facebook pages are loaded with these), search function works, this is all true of theirs as well. Unfortunately, I tried to join theirs last PM and there is supposed to be a CAPTCHA verification wasn't popping up.

I also watched a bunch of YouTube videos from U-Wrench TV (Fred reminds me of the painter I used to work with years ago, they are a different breed), Paradise Garage, Paint Society and Garage Noise.

I think I could have done better on the base. I messed with the gun settings quite a bit but still got more overspray than I wanted. For being the 1st time with epoxy that stuff shot great. The only clear I have ever done previously was from a rattle can. If you haven't done this before and are considering it, watch the videos. Not just what they are saying but the speed that they are moving with the gun. It is about twice as fast as you spray primer/base. I also went with 3 coats of clear, a little lighter than what is recommended in order to reduce the likelihood of runs/sags or orange peel. I will say as I read in the SPI Forum the Euro 2020 clear does have a very factory looking orange peel. It is most noticeable in the barrels.

The one downside to automotive painting is paint product pricing. Buying smaller quantities is expensive. Because of this and a possible future project, I bought the epoxy in a gallon quantity (mixed 1/1/0 with optional 10-50% reducer to be used as a sealer), clear gallon (mixed 4/1/1) with a Qt. of activator and reducer. I have plenty of both remaining for the this and my possible future project. Paint is the only thing I bought what I needed as it is expensive. I went with a quart and used dang near all of it to get the coverage I wanted. Some of this has to do with the complexity of the rim surface. A quart of the Midnight Blue will do my hood/fender and Aero kit pretty good I think. Much flatter surfaces and not as many nooks and crannies.

 

Man.......I definitely give you the high-five.....those wheels really tell the story......on an amazing resto job.....
I was going to take my wheels for powder coating.......that option is out the window now....my wheels are
the same type on my JCW only silver......

 

Thanks! I love the R112's! That is one of the reasons I bought the parts car that I did. I am doing my mirrors and roof black as well so I should look sharp. Haven't fully decided whether to paint or wrap on them.

As long as there isn't a huge difference in the body panels/Aero kit I am spraying from the existing paint it should turn out really good.

With the handling performance upgrades (larger intercooler, Koni Reds, front/rear sway bars, PowerFlex bushings and Conti DWS06 ExtremeContacts) I am really getting anxious to get him back on the road.

 

Tell me some specifics on this lift.....I'm BRG with envy right now.

 

This is the newer model

https://www.snaponequipment.com/prod...model=EELR338A

I have the 6000 lb capacity. Ran into a good deal on it, $1250 (list new was almost $6000), most new are $2500+. When it is all the way down, it is maybe 4-5 inches tall. My Coupe drives over it no problem, if it was lowered it might have issues. Once my Coupe is done, I plan on tearing it down and painting it. It is mechanically sound but butt nasty looking with grease/grime/pealing paint. I did modify the safety catch. It originally only had all the way up or down. Now I have a 3 position up safety

 

Hit a stopping point in the brake line repair. Ordered a different flaring tool from Amazon. I messed up! The mini lines are bubble flare, the union connectors are double flares and the tool I got only did bubble. New tool does single/double/bubble.

Still need to order the JCW rotors, brake pads and stainless steel lines.

Guess I will have to work on the Xenon conversion and putting the Union Jack tail lights in. I can also continue cleaning the JCW brake calipers.

 

Just a heads up - On the 2nd Gen MINIs the conversion to the JCW brakes includes a re-coding of the ABS ECU. There is also a larger diameter rear rotor and corresponding caliper carrier (caliper doesn’t change). I would guess others have made this change to the front brakes and not performed the re-coding or put in the larger rear brakes, and have found the brakes to be ok. So, this is just FYI and for your consideration.

 

I have the carriers, calipers and back guards (tin things, not sure of the actual name) from the donor car so that shouldn't be an issue. I knew the rotors were different as well.

Thanks for the heads-up on the ABS ECU, I was unaware. I will have to dig into that.

 

BTW, you don't "HAVE" to get the ABS coding performed. However, if you ever get into a situation where ABS is needed, you'll be glad you did get the coding done. The coding changes the modulation of the ABS pump.

 

when doing something, I try to do it right so either Protool or dealer.