Removed mirrors

[wayne R]

You may remember when i  received my 65 from CA, the 86 year old previous owner
had fitted  2 large mirrors about 12 inches out on fenders, well i put up with them
for about  9 months, so removed them, filled and repainted  holes, and fitted one on
passeger side door, going to do drivers side  next weekend.
And yes i know, i have fitted later 280 ones , as i like them better, so you dont have to
let me know i have fitted the incorrect ones.

[Tomnistuff]

Hello, wayneR,

I have been searching for someone who has experienced filling and repainting mirror holes on the doors or front fenders.  I just realized, as I typed, that the holes you filled are in steel and the ones you drilled are in aluminum.  I don't know how much difference there might be in the filling of the holes between steel and aluminum, but would be interested in knowing how difficult it is to make the holes disappear and the paint look good.

I have an Italian mirror with a hole pattern different (larger) than the gooseneck mirrors that I would like to install.  I have the right paint but not the experience or confidence.

Can you comment?

Tom Kizer
Levis, Quebec, Canada

[cfm65@me.com]

Hi Tom,
Any professional welder will be able to weld up the holes in your doors and then it is easy to finish and repaint the doors.
Regards
Chris

[wayne R]

Hi Tom , No differents from steel to Alum,will give you a few tips in
about 6 hours still working here,regards Wayne.  PS will
move this to Body, interrior ,paint later unless a moderator can do it
for me,regards.  Wayne

[wayne R]

Tom, a few tips to help  you, i will probably get criticized for my way of repairing holes and
 repairs, but i have been doing this for over 40 years and it works.
I hate taking any of my classics to workshops,because i know they make alot of mistakes, plus they
do other bad things to your car while it is there.
First you have to have a solid foundation like  your house,forget about welding etc, unless you can do it
and have the tools, remove the spare tire  and inner plastic liner if your car has it like mine, prep the under fender
with course 50-80 wet -dry paper  right below the holes,then cut piece aluminuim approx 3/4inch by 1/8 inch
approx 4. inches long,do the same course paper one side  of it,   see photo,now you are ready to glue it with
5 minute Araldite, use plenty of glue ,hold it with piece masking tape, remove tape after about  hour.
Although its drying is 5 minutes leave it 24 hours. Then apply 2 coats with a brush of porr 15 or i use  Bill Hirsch
miracle paint which is the same and i think better, one hour between coats. Leave another 24 hours, foundation finished, next page.

[wayne R]

Then you are ready to prep ,fill, and paint , etc,if you use rattle can paint thats fine ,dont worry if you
mess up, just sand again and have another try. As i have saidi have been doing it for years with rattle cans,
but get a quality auto paint, primer surfacer, colour, then clear, all from the same make, only mask of at body panel
joins or gaps,and spray away from  the gap---out,.But clean, fill, and sand,until dead smooth, start with about 2 to 300
weight paper then , spray about  2-3 light coats primer surfacer, sand until dead smooth, then you are ready for colour,
mine being  050,make sure it matches, same about 3 light coats of colour  about 5 minutes between coats, after about 15 minutes
spray the clear  about 3 coats, 10 minutes beteen coats---light coats,,, no sanding between colour and clear.
doing it like this the clears adheres to the colour, and it will last years.
Do the painting inside or somewhere,  so you can move car into sun for about 5 minutes between coats, over about 77 degress.
apply paint where there is no wind.After approx 12 hours, cut and polish, start with approx700-800 cut
then go to 1200 cut, then finish with 1500,only cut till you feel the finish is like a mirrow,it will go slightly flat,
but finish with ,-example  Meguiars rubbing compound,then deep crystal wet look, you will be thrilled, regards. Double click photos.

[114015]

That looks absolutely superb, Wayne! Chapeau!   

However, white (e.g. 050 or 717) are the most forgiving paint codes and easiest to work with.
Try this with dark blue or even black.
Or even better with silver 180 or baby blue metallic 906.
While the surface prep you are generating - the shine - will be the same,
the color will surley be or no match anymore ...
It's much more difficult.

 
Achim

[wayne R]

Hello Achim,thank you your reply, yes you are correct,especially if ones skill and
experiance in painting is not that great.
Thinking back i did make repairs on a 74 Alfa Romeo GTV, in dark navy blue,Wifes favorite car,
that was probably my most difficult, because although it was a factory colour
it had been painted by a previous owner  a little lighter shade, so i had to mix to
get the colour correct.
All the others done over the years have been factory colours, and have worked great,
including metalic silver GM,, imperial blue metalic,GM,yellows, a 66 jaguar E type red,1 black Porsche 911,1
Tangerine orange 911, non light shade cars ,should be compound cut before paint mixing,
 believe it or not ,at a Buick National in 1991 in CA, black 1948 Sedan, body off restoration
in black ,the owner spent double what the car was worth , the chief judge,decided that the car was painted the
wrong black, ,and deducted 5 points ,looked normal shiny black to most , owner was very upset, for memory i think there was 17 different blacks made by GM over the years. Thank you , regards, Wayne.