| Overview |
| One of my (Katie) tasks for Gweneveer was to try and restore all of her paintwork, inside and out, as she is a 13-year-old defender that needs plenty of love. I have taken on the mission to turn the bubbling and flaking paintwork into something more respectable. I am not expecting her to look like new nor would I want her to be, but I think a little TLC and a lot of sanding, will make her look much smarter. |
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| Removing Oxidisation and Bubbles |
| Most defenders her age the bottom section of the doors had developed bubbling paintwork. The cause of bubbling paintwork or oxidisation on the panels is from the reaction that aluminium and steel generates from being in contact with each other over time. The first step was to get rid of these bubbles and get back to the aluminium. The easiest and quickest way I found, to the concern of most people who saw me, was to take a chisel to these sections and just force it off! Once this has been taken off, I switched to a more gentle approach. |
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| Using wet and dry sand paper, 400 grit, I simply sand, sand and sand some more. I actually find this task very relaxing and Steve often came home finding me doing a bit more. As my Dad always says it’s all in the preparation, which means that I spent hours going over and over these sections. The extra bit of effort is worth it though, spurred on by a couple of test sections that came up beautifully. I then used 1200 grit sand paper all over to key the surface for painting. |
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| Removing Rusty Bolts |
| All the doors and bonnet were removed to ensure an even coat of paint, which sounded like a simple job. However the last 12 years have not been kind on her and all the bolts were rusty and getting close to being rounded, which made them nearly impossible to undo. This was until my Dad gave a little insight, by heating them up with a blow torch for 5-10mins makes them much easier to undo. So I ended up being sat next to the defender, in the cold, with a blow torch on the bolts. Most of them came undone with minimal effort within a few minutes. Though there are always a few little suckers that end up being impossible, so out came the power! With the angle grinder in hand I made short work of the remaining bolts. |
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| Paint Job |
| We decided to go with rolling on the paint, partly as we didn’t fancy shelling out approximately £1000 for a professional re-spray and because it works for the Army so why not us. We also don’t have a dust free environment where we could put the defender while we hire a spray gun and attempt to do it ourselves. Plus the benefit of rolling it on means that if we scratch her we can just roller over the patch with minimal effort and cost. So it has ended up being a freshen up and new colour scheme for under £85. |
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| A fresh change the colour has turned her into a light sandy/stone colour, to give her a fresh look after all the effort. Plus, I was not able to find a colour that was close enough to the original green that would be suitable for rolling. The paint we have used is designed for military vehicles and is said to be strong and durable, which can only be good news. The paint has been bought from Fascinating Finishes Ltd, who sell their paint through eBay (www.ebay.co.uk) and I have found the service to be very efficient. The paint has been easy to apply with a small roller over most areas with a paint brush only being used in the smaller, fiddly areas. I have used one coat of etching primer as it is suitable for painting over bare aluminium, with all my sanding there is rather a lot of it now and then 2 coats of military paint to ensure an even coat. |
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| Exterior Result |
| So far I am delighted with the effect and the paint that I have chosen. Time will tell on longevity, as I have heard a few different sides to using military paint, but overall I am very pleased with the efficient service I received from Fascinating Finishes Ltd, along with the quality and how easy the paint was to apply to the vehicle. I am thinking of taking a small tub with us for any small touch ups that might be needed. Especially with recent off road experiences that we have had and Steve’s ability or passion for driving straight through trees and bushes, even when there is an easier route available. |
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| Interior Sprucing |
| The inside of our defender looked rather battered, bruised and pretty dirty when we bought her. So we took the option of stripping her right down, due to the distance that we are doing and the amount of dust and sand likely to be getting in the inside. We also wanted to protect panels, especially as like most defenders, water comes inside from under the doors and pretty much anywhere. Plus we would rather be seeing the sights of Africa, than worrying about cleaning her all the time. |
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| We decided to rip out all the carpets and sand down the panels to get rid of the flaking paintwork. This meant using the angle grinder again to remove all the bolts and screws that we could not undo that were holding the carpet in place. The inside was painted with black Hammerite, which will protect the bodywork for 10 years and can be painted straight onto rusty metal. This not only has protected the metal, improved the look but will make cleaning her out easier as we can just use a dustpan and brush |
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| Top Tips |
- Chisel off the bubble patches to save time and effort.
- Use wet and dry sandpaper 400 and make the surface damp while sanding
- Use a blow torch to loosen any rusty bolts
- Hand roll using military paint |
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| For more photos see the Gallery section of the website. |