black stuff on panels

[JaneHibbert]

oh, and another question. I have bought two new kick plates but they have black coating on them, can you just spray on top of that or do you need to sand that off first? thanks again. Janey

[ASL642]

It's only a covering to stop the panel rusting. Sand it all away. Many people on here have had trouble getting paint to key to this black paint.

[bmcecosse]

I wouldn't 'sand it all away' - which will take for ever. By all means lightly flat the surface and then spray with several thin coats of a good undercoat. What final finish are you aiming for? Be sure to paint both sides!

[ASL642]

Having seen the recent "finish" on the new black panels that are being sold you really need to remove it. Some of the panels a 6 year old could spray better -lumps and bubbles etc

[charlie_morris_minor]

remove it the black paint falls off and has no rust inhibitor proprties

[JaneHibbert]

okay thank you.

[bmcecosse]

If it's lumpy/bumpy/falling off - then obviously it needs to go. Any panels I have used (mainly Mini) it has been smooth and well attached!

[ASL642]

I've found it's mostly the panels from Sri Lanks that have this bad black paint finish on. We just sanded on down and got a reaction to the primer, so ended up stripping the lot off. Looks like the mini panels use a different coating.

[bmcecosse]

They certainly didn't come from Sri Lanka....

[sawnee]

The black coating should be an anti cathodic primer but like all after market parts there is no telling what it is or even if the metal has been etched before it was applied.
Personally I would remove it all and apply a quality etch primer

[ASL642]

Ditto

[rayofleamington]

If it's lumpy/bumpy/falling off - then obviously it needs to go. Any panels I have used (mainly Mini) it has been smooth and well attached!

Mini?? I don't think they will fit a Minor.

The Morris MINOR panels I've had over the last 5 years have needed the black paint to be removed, and are not Sri-Lanka ones either. It's nothing like what you used to get on good repair panels. Not only does the paint fall off in chunks (and have runs & bubbles) it has a tendency to react and turn to treacle underneath new paint
I'd recommend to find a good etch primer for the bare metal. There are zinc rich etch primers around which can be good, but a good non-zinc etch primer is more beneficial than a poor quality zinc primer.

[bmcecosse]

Indeed - Mini panels were for Minis...... and the black coating was very good and well attached!

[rayofleamington]

so your advice is to buy a Mini instead?

[bmcecosse]

If you wish! My point is that my experience of black coated repair panels (which happened to be for a Mini) from Heritage, is that the black coating at that time was smooth and well attached - and perfectly suitable for overcoating with primer after a light flatting down. Presumably now - standards have fallen....

[chickenjohn]

The black coating should be an anti cathodic primer but like all after market parts there is no telling what it is or even if the metal has been etched before it was applied.
Personally I would remove it all and apply a quality etch primer

The cathodic primer is as good as an etch primer but black transport paint is not! The way to tell is to test a small area of the panel with cellulose thinners. If the paint comes off then you have cheap transport paint and you need to remove it all and use a weldable etch primer, if the coating does not come off then you have the good cathodic primer and you can leave it on.

To remove the cheap paint, use thinners (well ventilated area or mask, and gloves!) and a scuff pad/ scourer is the quickest way to take the paint off.