FTO AUSTRALIA

A little about me.
Not a qualified beater or painter. Have been playing around with cars for 30 years and bodywork has always been my interest.
I work out of an old shed so "off the gun brilliance" is not my thing. I have to work for a decent finish. I take on the jobs that some deem too hard or cost is just so damned ridiculous people think hard about trashing the car.
For me it is a hobby and labour of intense anxiety that keeps me moving through life.
Every car is a learning experience for me...and i love it.

So here we have Kaz's GR FTO filled to the gills with GPX gear.
Most of the suspension has been rebuilt as has the 6a12 Mivec. My job here is to repair roof rust and make the roof flat to suit the sunroof. Repair and respray the body in original Pyreness black. Hope you enjoy the thread and maybe learn something along the way...and teach me a few things as well.

Ok, so we remove the headlining and other associated parts previously. Cover the interior well cos sh*t is gonna get messy.
You can basically see how bad the rust is from the under side. Drill some holes out either side of the inner bracing a little further than the actual rust. These holes are nothing but a backup in case you put too much heat into welding.
Mask up the sections you need to cut and then cut them out.
Once you have the crap steel out you can start cleaning up.
Please note....the centre section on the rear very rarely needs removing. It does not touch the glue and should be ok to leave alone.
A wire wheel on a grinder brings the steel up nice and clean. Cold gal the clean steel then finish it with an epoxy primer.
Am still to finish off the rear cut on this roof.

Just getting through some repairs.
Cracked/broken plastic.

I gives these a rough sand and clean up with metho. Repairs are done with loctite 401 and heatgun.

My front bar was split through the centre and repaired this way. Still solid after 3 years.
This type of plastic the loctite melts it's way into the plastic when heated and gives an excellent bond.

Front section welded in.
I generally tack every 10mm then test for any weak spots and throw in another tack in between.
Do all the heavy work with a grinding disc and then clean up with a flapper disc.
Once the new panel is flush grab some drip check or other seam sealer and rub it right in. Soak a rag in thinners and remove all the excess.
You need a good clean keyed up surface for filler so hit it with 36/40 on a wizzer. All bare metal, try not to fill over paint/primer.
Inside is going to be hard to get too but make sure you get some good zinc rich primer in there and then spray some epoxy after. A body deadener gun is pretty good for this.

Nice big sunroof

Rob Furniss wrote: ↑Wed Jan 09, 2019 3:07 pm Nice big sunroof

That's for my head to fit out

Well that is the rough cut ready to trim up and finish filling.

And we have a succesful fitment.

Nice work Jimbo, looking shmick

bjk wrote: ↑Sun Jan 27, 2019 1:30 pm Nice work Jimbo, looking shmick

Ta mate, it was a bit of a mission. Many changes throughout.
The 1.5mm mild steel made a huge difference as did cutting basically most of it out to create a flat roof.
Any way hard work is done, rest is a breeze.

Had an absolute cracker of a run getting repairs done and primer on. A few major changes on the way that have worked out well.
Just a little more priming/block and re prime work.
Would like to say i may get some colour down weekend after this coming, but not going to rush the final sand and mask up.

All taped up. Little more sanding to be done. Base and clear going down this coming weekend.
Get the body done then roll it out and set the panels up for painting.

When is the white vinyl going in?

Nice work, more pics of progress please

A little base coat.
This is Concept Unicolour Pyrenees black. 1:1 mix. It sprays nice and covers well. Good bang for buck.

And some clear.
Spralac with a medium hardener. A good clear coat for $120 for a 6 litre kit. I sprayed it with a 1.4mm tip but would be better with a 1.3mm. On the shopping list.
Bit of a slow cure time, but sands and buffs very well.

The Qcut & wet & dry will arrive to me this week. Will bring it up Sat morning.

Remind me to grab some Frazer Briggs after 10am some day this week lol

This is looking great .

Still cracking along. Get some clear on today.

It’s good to see you wet down the flor as well to keep dust levels down .
Some ppl don’t even think about things like that, even the painters that have been spraying for years. .