To tidy up my posts because I now have two build threads in this forum since the move around I'm going to make this the primary one and let the other one disappear.

Model: 1985 Polo Hatchback

Engine: stock 1043cc

Suspension: lowered on Spax gas struts and springs.

Brakes: stock

Wheels and Tyres: 13" VW Tarantulas with new rubber, sometimes stock steelies with ancient Sieberlings.

Exterior Styling:

Brush applied coach enamel paint (to be cut and polished)

removed previous owner applied wooden bumpstrip and rear arch 'bananas'.

Hillman Imp bumpers front and rear (split at rear)

Relocated number plates

Landrover front indicators

Ford Escort roof aerial

Ford bonnet mascot

VW Type 3/4 double headlamps

Interior Styling:

Retrimmed seats

Hand made cloth headlining (to be replaced)

Fitted carpet throughout (to be replaced)

Finally getting everything sorted out after a long absence from the forum, including renewing my membership online (just waiting for that to all go through). Since I was last here, things got a bit rocky and I nearly scrapped the car but happily, all that's behind me and work has resumed in earnest.

So, I'm doing some things differently this time around, having learned from some mistakes, and seeing just how much I can change visually without my insurance being affected too badly. Best quote so far is about £500 from Lancaster fully comp, but if I can get lower than that I'd be a very happy bunny indeed.

You probably want some pictures.

About 12 years ago, when we bought the car for my mother, brother and I to learn in. Not bad, cost £250. When Dad got a newer car he was going to scrap it, so I paid them £25 for it about 10 years ago.

Did some work on it, but I never really finished the job properly and after a while I lost my impetus. It sat like this for a while.

The interior I did faded quite badly too. I'd used the wrong fabrics for the job and it shows.

So I bought the correct fabric recently, and have started retrimming the interior.

Scored some Mk4 hubcaps on eBay for less than was polite. Oh, and a few years ago a neighbour wrote off his breadvan and I inherited the green parts off it, not much else was good enough to take.

Then, very recently, with the help of a borrowed Freelander, we ran away to a garage.

Some anti-glamour shots at the super-secret garage location.

There's only so much I can do here, since I only get to the garage once a fortnight. So, having to travel by train, there's a limited amount I can bring back to work on. Here's a tip though, if you want to part the crowds at the train station use four axle stands on string.

Better yet, bring two front wings back on the 3.5 hour train journey.

So, the most recent action has been brush painting coach enamel onto the wings and hubcaps. A slow process because of drying times, but gives a fantastic finish. These aren't quite finished yet, the red needs another coat or two and the whole lot will need cutting back and polishing when it's hardened up.

I've also being doing some smaller detailing, like the horn boss.

I'll try and keep this thread updated as I go along with the project. The target is to have the car and myself road legal by the end of September, and providing my income stays the way it is and I don't have a repeat of the past year or so, this should be eminently acheivable.

Oh, and before I forget, the madness that is my concept for the completed car. Not to everyone's taste, I'm fully aware, but that's half the fun.

Edited 2 September, 201214 yr by Angyl

cool, nice to see something creative :) not sure on the rear arch plans but the rest looks wicked.

the finish looks pretty good on that wing for coach paint!

look forward to updates

very intrested in the coach painting

id like to hear more when you have time , what products and methods etc , looks good so far :)

very intrested in the coach painting

id like to hear more when you have time , what products and methods etc , looks good so far :)

Ask and you shall receive... though it's so quick a reply since I'm ill right now so I can't work on the car, which sucks.

I bought my paint and brushes from:

Dacrylate Paints

42-44 Infirmary Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S6 3DD

Tel: 0114 272 4952

including VAT I paid £40 for:

2.5 litres of black coach paint (this is as much as you need for a car of this size, I'm told)

1 litre of post office red coach paint

2.5 litres of red oxide primer

3" fine quality brush

1" fine quality brush

6p in the charity box

First of all, strip off the old paint (obviously). Since the front panels were stripped back to bare metal and I didn't finish the job, they've got some flash rust. Ran over it all with a wire cup brush on the drill so it was all shiny before applying red oxide primer. This is before I'd wire brushed the panel, and while I like the look of it, I'd like my car not to turn into a pile of tin worms more.

I learned a few things, having never used this paint before. The brush on primer is really thick and it stinks so it's an outside job. I made the mistake of not sanding it back far enough between coats which gave me more work later on. With coach paint, the smoother your primer layer, the smoother the paint will settle out.

So, once the primer is nice and smooth (ideally smoother than the above) which is usually 2-4 coats with sanding between, the coach enamel can go on. The enamel should ideally be done indoors, and is actually quite a low odour paint. Allow 5 hours to touch dry and 8 hours before sanding. Definitely a slow job, but worth it.

Coat 1

Coat 2

Coat 3

Remembering to sand back between coats, of course. This also helps make the surface smoother with every application of paint.

Coat 4 (the grey area is going to be painted red)

Coat 5, with red detailing. The red needs another coat here to be properly finished.

The key to getting a good finish with coach paint is technique. I've worked with enamel and oil paints on a smaller scale in the past, so I knew roughly how they behave, but doing some research on Youtube and via other forums helped no end. You have to apply the paint evenly and in one direction, being sure to put enough on to cover the panel but not so much it runs or so little that it goes patchy. Then, before the paint begins to dry, you hold the brush lightly and stroke the paint in the opposite direction (this is called dressing) to how it was applied which pops most of the bubbles and helps the paint to settle smoothly. Getting the hang of paint thickness and 'dressing' makes all the difference and turns a brush painted car into a thing of beauty rather than a streaky mess.

The most difficult thing about coach paint, I find, is leaving it alone. You can sit and watch it dry, but you're best to actually go away and ignore it for a few hours since the more you fiddle with it, the worse it settles out. When the paint goes on it can look really streaky and messy, but it will eventually level out like a sheet of glass. It's amazing stuff, and if you have the time, space and patience to do the job, well worth it. Tidier than spraying, less smelly and a lot easier to clean up after, but does, I think, require slightly more specialist skills to get right (no offence to any sprayers out there!).

Edited 30 July, 201016 yr by Angyl

cool, nice to see something creative :) not sure on the rear arch plans but the rest looks wicked.

Thanks :) The spats are something I'm determined to get on the car, because I'm a bit obsessed with them as a styling addition, but I'm yet to find anyone willing to give me a quote for making a pair of removable ones, so if you know of anyone...

While I think on, the bumpers in the digital concept are Dolomite bumpers, but the guy I was buying a pair off seems to have vanished off the internet, which is worrying and frustrating.

does that paint polish up okay when its all done? i read about some coach paint but they said you cant buff it ?

does that paint polish up okay when its all done? i read about some coach paint but they said you cant buff it ?

As far as I'm aware, you have to use a stronger cutting compound than with modern paints and a bit more elbow grease, but apparently it does buff up just fine. If all else fails, wet & dry paper of a really fine grit beforehand will do the job I expect. I've got the panel almost perfect, and I reckon a good bit of polishing will get it spot on but with practice and correct preparation you can put the paint on and it flattens and polishes itself really.

how long until its dry enough that flies dont stick in it ?

and how long until you can flat it

I've often fancied trying it , but dont have anywhere i can work thats dust free

how long until its dry enough that flies dont stick in it ?

and how long until you can flat it

I've often fancied trying it , but dont have anywhere i can work thats dust free

Fly-proof in 3-5 hours, depending how hot it is. I would advise working indoors if at all possible though, it does give you less work. I'm doing a panel at a time in the house (oh, what it is to have an understanding partner!) and I'm hoping I can wiggle some barn space when I come to paint the bodyshell.

Flatting back needs about 8 hours from when you apply the paint before it can be sanded, otherwise it's still a bit soft and clogs up the paper.

The reason the process is such an involved one is really the drying times, if it weren't for that it'd be a lot faster. However, I do hear there are some synthetic enamels out there that dry very quickly and can be sprayed on, but I have no experience with them so I couldn't advise on that score.

I've gone and exceeded my website bandwidth so I'll be moving the pictures when I get half a chance and/or upgrading my bandwidth.

Hopefully this issue will be resolved soon, apologies for the inconvenience.

So... I'm going to be raising the bandwidth on my website to deal with the increased traffic, but in the meantime here's a mini update of what I got up to today.

Vauxhall speedometer from Matt. Awesome looking bit of kit and, if I can get it to work, will probably be the centrepiece of the new binacle I want to build eventually, probably flanked by a rev counter and a clock in front of the steering wheel.

Then I got the paint stripper out. Don't bother buying Nitromors, that stuff is expensive! Instead, buy Wilkinsons' own brand paint and varnish stripper. The Wilko brand stuff is just as lethal, slightly slower acting, but does exactly the same job for about a 5th of the price.

All cleaned up with a tiny amount of non-bubbly surface rust scrubbed off with the wire brush. I'll be painting the hinge mechanism red I think, with the rest of the flap being black.

More to come soon, I hope, just got to wait for my sprained knee to heal up before I can get on with more panel work. Can't stand for long periods of time so paint stripping and painting big panels is a no-no. Boo :(

Edited 30 July, 201016 yr by Angyl

Rain stopped play. Boo. I did get some work done and when I sat down to sort out new pictures and check e-mails I had one from Maccess http://www.maccess.co.uk/ who were offering me the opportunity to apply for job as regional sales manager of their paint division, which I found very peculiar. I'm going to pretend they were impressed by my painting skills and obvious manager type stuff.

Quick before and after, with the two wings on the lawn while there's a bit of good light outside. What a difference a week of work makes.

So, today the plan was to get outside and get to work on the other wing, really crack on and spend a decent amount of time steadily working through to getting it primed. My knee is almost better so I can at least stand up for a bit longer. However, I got the first lot of paint stripping done and was ready to get the drill and wire brush out when the weather decided to save me the trouble of washing the panel down by doing it for me. Bumflaps.

Not to be defeated, I left the wing in the rain, it's not going to do much harm since I'm stripping it back to bare metal fully so it can stay outside for now. Cracked open the black paint and got on with the inside of the first wing and finishing off the detailing on the hubcaps, which now look great.

I've decided I'm leaving the hubcaps plain black and red rather than chrome/silver/gold for the VW logo since I think they look good just they way they are. Going to try them on the wheels to see if I like them on gold steels or if I need to repaint the steels. Eventually I'll be paying Mr Whitewalls http://www.mrwhitewalls.com/ a visit too since I like the look of his work... but that's a present for myself much further down the line at this point.

Hopefully the weather is good over the weekend so I can get more paint done. If not, I'll just have to get some more work done on the interior instead. I doubt I can get the seats done by the 5th as well, but if I can they can go in the car along with the (bubblewrapped) front wings when I pootle off on the 6th.

Then there's another driving lesson on Monday moved forward from last Thursday and another lesson again on next Thursday so I don't miss out on them... I just seem to be spending money like it's going out of fashion lately XD Which is why my usual visit to the farm on the 13th is looking likely to be cancelled, annoyingly. Friend said he might be able to do some work for me while I'm at home though, which is very good of him I thought.

Edited 30 July, 201016 yr by Angyl

just a thought on the paint stripping...

if you have any sound original paint and primer on some panels , id scuff that and go over the top , its decent stuff and would protect better if left on the car

just a thought on the paint stripping...

if you have any sound original paint and primer on some panels , id scuff that and go over the top , its decent stuff and would protect better if left on the car

Much of the car was stripped to bare metal the first time a repaint was attempted which means that I've not go much choice in the matter. Front wings, bonnet and tailgate are all going back to bare metal. However, the rest is pretty easy to key back except for rust spots like the arches and sills so that'll go a little quicker. I'm told the paint on the bodywork shouldn't react with the stuff I bought, so it should be all good.

For now, I'll keep plodding away at stripping to bare metal and eliminating rust as I go :/

STOP RAINING! Stupid weather >:(

Ah well, I got some work done and some stuff arrived today, happily.

Solid and transparent red 3mm perspex. I wonder if you can guess what I'm doing with this?

NOS Desmo towing mirror extension arms. I do plan further down the line to have a mini-caravan built from a Mk2 Breadvan painted to match the car, so these were worth snapping up I thought. My partner also bought me a pair of NOS Desmo Boomerang mirrors and arms which mean I now have a full pair of Desmo mirrors, extensions and plinths for the nose end. The little plinths in the packets below are up for grabs if anyone wants them since I shan't be making use of them myself.

Finally, after about 10 years of trying to find an intact one, I have an early passenger side light cluster. Every one I've found in the past has been broken one way or another, but this one is in excellent shape. So thanks to Narrow_Lane from here on CP for this!

So, when the sun came out I took the partially stripped driver's side wing out and began laboriously wire-brushing the grot and surface rust off.

Then it rained ¬.¬ So I put the wing in the cellar for now and I'll finish it off later tonight or tomorrow and get it primed up ready for paint.

Don't quite understand this weird crease in the bottom of the wing though, it appears to be a manufacturing flaw rather than a repair and disappears when paint is applied.

So now it's time for one of these before putting the last coat of paint on the inside of the other wing.

Finally, being a workaholic is paying off! Tonight is the milestone of the first completed panel on the car.

Got the second coat of paint on the back of this wing. The finish isn't as important as the waterproofness since it won't be seen but will be wet a lot of the time I expect. Dead chuffed with this.

from the front.

Next job was to do a bit of prep work on the fuel filler flap. Lots of fiddly hinge components, had to strip the whole thing down so I could clean all the stripped paint out before putting fresh paint on.

Black on the flap, red on the hinge, green plasticine to help things dry and be held without getting paint and fingerprints mixed up.

More tomorrow, perhaps. We'll see what the weather's up to. Really want to get the other wing stripped back and in primer ready for coach paint but I need to be able to do that outside.

Jacking point my friend

Jacking point my friend

I know about the jacking point diamond stamp, but if you look carefully you can see a crease line that runs across the whole wing side to side about half way down the jacking point. It's like they had to put an extra bit of metal in the pressing machine (I have no idea if they're called that) when they made it. Seems really odd.

Interesting project :)

Those first shots are stunning, never seen such a scruffy arrangement. I like this horn-button, you did a great job on that.

Please notice, that the correct wording is DER Polo :)

Interesting project :)

Those first shots are stunning, never seen such a scruffy arrangement. I like this horn-button, you did a great job on that.

Please notice, that the correct wording is DER Polo :)

Thanks ^_^

Obviously, I don't speak German (not for want of trying, mind) so I went with what I was advised would be correct since I initially thought it would be Die Polo. I understand that German has several different ways of saying 'the' based on what you're saying, but I've not come across Der before. Could you educate me as to why it should be Der rather than Das or Die? I like these things to be right.

I try, i hope you get it... it´s pretty hard if you aren´t a native speaker.

We have thre articles for the english word THE, they are DER,DIE and DAS. You can´t choose one without reason there are rules for it.

DER is used for masculine words, DIE for the opposite ("female") an DAS for neuter words. For a German it´s easy to find out the word by listening to it. For example:

DER Mann (man)

DIE Frau (women)

DAS Haus (house)

...

DIE Bahn (railway

DER Lastwagen (lorry)

DAS Fahrad (bicyle)

...

DER Staubsauger (hoover)

DIE Kaffeemaschine (coffee maker)

DAS Waffeleisen (waffle iron)

etc.

So you may see, that it´s not about the word-family or the scence.

Furthermore, the casus plays a role. If you ask for a female word with the genitive odr dative it´s DER Frau. Quite difficult :)

This is the hardest part for a foreigner wich want´s to learn german. Be happy with your THE, so you need not to think about that problems.

Anyway, i hope you were able to get a glimpse of our "easy" grammar :)

Interesting project :)

Those first shots are stunning, never seen such a scruffy arrangement. I like this horn-button, you did a great job on that.

Please notice, that the correct wording is DER Polo :)

Thanks ^_^

Obviously, I don't speak German (not for want of trying, mind) so I went with what I was advised would be correct since I initially thought it would be Die Polo. I understand that German has several different ways of saying 'the' based on what you're saying, but I've not come across Der before. Could you educate me as to why it should be Der rather than Das or Die? I like these things to be right.

There you go my man. Altough I have to say das polo sounds better, it's not grammatically correct.

http://german.about.com/library/blgen_der.htm

But DAS is neutral, DER is potent

Like this link, good explanation

jimkarthauser and da_flo, you have both excelled in being helpful. I now understand better why Das is inferior to Der in what I plan to do so will be changing that accordingly. I'm still tempted to have Das Boot on the rear end though >.>

Nice little project. Always good to see some have-a-go-heros about.