Rear Wheel Arch Polished

Finally found the time to get the van's rear wheel arch paintwork finished.

As per the previous post shows the paint process I was left with a orange peel rough surface.

To finish it off I wet sanded with 1200 Wet with soap. As I was flatting it back I say a few spots of primer to show through.

Worried that I was cutting back too far I switch to using a G compound instead. I had purchased G3 but they sent G6 and also G10.

As I was worried about cutting back too far I went for the G10 compound as it is a finer cutting compound.

I started 2 passes by hand and then dug out the old buffering machine. Lots of water and gentle cutting back the process started to work.

Gave a good rinse off the compound to ensure it was not left on the surface.

I then polished a wax in. I am please with the shine. Yes the reflection is still not mirror finished but could cut back again using the G6 and repeat G10 at a later date.

Bodywork - Part 7 - Before / After

So you are probably reading this in the reverse order as blogger likes to post in date order with the latest first.

This is the re-cap post to show the before during and after photographs.

Inner front wheel Arch

Before

During

After

Front Inner Sill

Before

During

After

Outer Sill

Before

During

After

Rear Inner sill / Closure

Before

Before

Before

 Before

During

During

After

After

 After

Rear Wheel Arch

Before

Before

Before

During

During

During

During

After

After

Battery Tray

Before

During

After 

Rear Bumper / Valance Mount

Before

 During

During

Sorry no After! Too exciting to finishing!

I hope that covers it all! Its been a busy time. Did about 50 hours work on this.

The van has now passed the MOT! Inspectors comments was "that someone has done a lot of work under here!"

Only the paint left to do.... Wait for a week of good weather!

Bodywork - Part 1 - Inspection

Betty went for her MOT in March and failed on a number of things.

Mostly the bodywork around the drivers side (right hand side) lower sections.

I had seen rust developing around the outer sill under the sliding door and also rear wheel arches. Not that surprised on the failure. Could not be too bothered to argue as it's not within suspension area but I suppose the sills do add some structural support.

So the main areas are the outer sill under the sliding door and the rear wheel arch and a small spot at the end of the bumper mount where the rear balance attaches.

I had a call around to see how much it would be to get the work done at a VW specialist. Could not believe the price they charge. Ranging from £50 to £30 per hour. Unsure how long it would take but concerned that it could roll into many £1000s of pounds.

So after consideration and a few phone calls no one would agree on a time limit and they were all booked up to the autumn.

So I decided I have the equipment and money for parts to have a go myself. The only down sides is the time and the lack of covered workshop space.

So here are the starting photos a few days after the MOT.

Rear Bumper Mounting Point

Front Right front inner arch

Right Outer Sill Front

Right outer sill

Right rear outer sill to wheel arch

Right rear wheel arch

Right rear wheel arch

Quite bad after the MOT man had a good prod around and got his crayon out

After reading the defect list he says its within the 25cm of a suspension component. I beg to differ as its just external bodywork and not suspension or even load bearing but as you can see its quite bad!

Got to work removing the interior on the right hand side as cutting and welding around materials is not such a good idea.

So had another look and preliminary prodding with a screw driver. Also climbed underneath to check for other yellow marks. Did not get any photos from underneath but there were holes in the rear closure of the sills in the wheel tub and also small holes in the inner sill near the jacking points.

Once inspected I created a comprehensive list of parts and detailed planning list of work to be carried out and some holidays booked around Easter.

Stay tuned for Bodywork - Part 2 - Parts & consumables