Morris Minor Owners Club

There's quite a bit of adjustment still to do as I want this to be a good fit.[frame][/frame]

Very nice work! Encouraging for me to plug along with mine thanks for the pictures.

Steve

Cheers ADO16, guess you could call us AHAG amatures having a go.

davidmiles wrote:Cheers ADO16, guess you could call us AHAG amatures having a go.

Absolutely!

Steve

self tapping screws in place holding the two panels tightly together.[frame][/frame]

The panel welded into place, I have a towel soaked in freezing water propped on a tin lid under the panel as a heat sink.[frame][/frame]

I purchased this proprietary body filler from Halfords, it has a strong smell of resin when you prise off the lid with a screwdriver, there are no instructions as such, but its self evident, there's a small tube of pink hardener gel that you squeeze in and mix until the colour is uniform. I was amazed how easy it was to manipulate, I had misgivings about it that proved groundless.[frame][/frame]

I've placed down an initial coat of filler onto the bare metal, once this is sanded back I'll put a further coat on later when the rest of the panels are ready to be done together, hopefully this will guard the bare steel from rusting in the wet weather, its started to snow again!
There is no short cut to experience for us AHAG's (amatures having a go) using filler is the only way of learning about it. does anyone have advice on what body filler to use as a fine last coat.
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Yes.... the body filler is porous and will not hold of moisture. Use a zinc rich primer to do this job but remove it completely when you come to finish paint.
AHAG's first port of call is 'ask' before progressing, and to take onboard the advice, this saves time and money and is the cheapest route to experience, not knocking you , but trying to give guide you through the complex field of restoration

yes thanks Jonathon, thats what this site has done for me since I started. Its an invaluable source of info and advice. Talking of info and advice, what body filler do you recommend? That is if you endorse the use of filler.

OHHHH, ive just re read your last, "will not hold of moisture", (thought you were going all Edwardian for a moment) "it'll not hold off moisture", ah. well thats quite different, I'd better re-think my strategy then. I'd better get some zinc rich primer on there before it starts to be reclaimed by mother nature

I use U-Pol Easy-1, but I think it's pretty much the same as P38.

Your second layer of filler should be alot wider spread the the first, and if you do another layer again make that even wider spread. But make sure you strip all the paint before the filler goes on.

David
The " mix "quantaties I always remember is..... golf ball size ( Filler ) pea size ( hardener ).
If you are " over generous " with the hardener, you can buy tubes of hardener separately.
The mix will " go off" quicker, the hotter the weather gets.No problem at the moment but a different
story in the Summer.
Bob

Thanks gentleman. Ive started to chemical strip the panel using Nitromors. the panel looks rather ill now. But it feels stronger now with the new metal welded in, its less flexible than before. More nitromors needed to finish of the last bits of paint still hanging on.

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this area was extensively rusted through, I cut it out further to the right to include several pesky rust holes. Then marked out a fresh new piece of steel to go in there. I will make the section with the rear lights seperatly, don't want to cut that off yet as its a good reference point for the new section.
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be careful of nitro mors when it comes to painting, make sure it is all off the panel, better to use a random orbital sander and quicker

Thanks Dennis, that Nitromors is dangerous stuff near paint you want to keep. But it can be neautralised with water. Trouble is we want to keep water away from these panels when we're working them don't we. I'm using water in the old towel, soaked in freezing outside tap water, makes a great heat sink, sizzles away beautifully taking the heat right out of the work.
This shot shows the self tappers screw holes being welded up as the screws come out. Ive already welded the other side. with a nice wide area of flange either side, the moisture doesn't tend to enter the weld area.[frame][/frame]

the rear light cluster area is quite a complex shape to make as a repair, I'll have a go but maybe better to get a proper repair patch to go in there. I'm having trouble making a deep enough step with the joggler, I may need a joggler with a deeper step. Do they come with different gauges?
In the meantime Ive discovered three 5mm holes in the panel, anyone think I should just fill them with weld? or should I patch them with mini patches?
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looking a bit purple now, the outside of the panel has been covered in rust treatment. The silver new metal almost camouflaged against the background. getting there, slowly, well slowly is the only way I can go. just the rear light cluster and the strip at the front of this panel where it joins the cab to go. course, Ive still got the interior side to paint strip.[frame][/frame]