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MG TD TF 1500 - Taken for a ride!

Looks like the soda blasting of the body panels I had done a few years ago was never done.....just primed over rusty metal. Luckily I am slow at the restoration and it had flaked off in a number of places.
Can't tell you how angry I am though that someone would save themselves a few quid like that and jeopardise a costly paint job.
Really need to have your wits about you. Definately a case when I should of insisted on pictures to ensure the work was done.
Hope someone may learn from my mistake.

Anyone else have horror stories as it's nearly Halloween!
D Lamb

Does soda blasting remove rust? Whether it removes rust or not, the shop was full of #@*&^! for not doing the job right.

Funny "horror story" - My dad had shocks installed on a car that he was selling. Looked good. But on closer inspection, we saw that the shop had only painted the shocks that were on the car.

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

Hi Lonnie Your right soda blasting not great for removing rust...they new guys used crushed glass instead and got rid of all the rust. They finished with an epoxy primer.
Like the shocks story....I once bought a Fiat X19 without checking if the windows would go down. When I got it home I discovered a H made out of wood holding them up. Not my best moment!
D Lamb

Plenty of horror stories down under with media blasting using various media distorting panels due to excessive heat being generated. All down to the skill & experience of the operator. Safest method is to remove old paint with stripper, wash thoroughly to remove all traces of stripper, dry, then sand to remove any surface rust followed by an immediate application of a quality bare metal primer. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

If your panels were primer by itself is not a sealer. A sealer is over coated afterwards. If the panels are in an environment with high humidity over extended time the panels will rust under the primer. Epoxy being the exception. Epoxy primers have sealers within the formula. Now if there was old paint under the existing primer topcoat then you got cheated.

Bill Chasser
TD-4834
W. A. Chasser

The situation with body treatment fails fall into the simple to rectify process bucket compared to the malpractice I experienced with a engine re conditioner.

I purchased a TF that was sold with a documented reconditioned XPAG. Only thru dismantling the motor to fit the Moss rear seal conversion did I find the true situation.

No 4 piston had been inserted by hammering it into the bore breaking the skirt and compressing the ring grooves, con rods assembled back to front, rear cam shaft welsh plug not fitted, new valve guides installed in a head that was cracked in 4 places.

Imagine the damage if the motor had been started with these issues unaddressed.

Today it is necessary to be very careful taking anyone on their word which is a tragedy in its own right.
G Evans

It could be that the metal was properally stripped and cleaned, however, the primer allowed moisture to seep in to cause the rust. You need to use an epoxy primer to properally seal the metal if the primer is not going to be top coated. For some time.
Be well,
David
D. Sander

David is right. The old lacquer based primers almost soaked up water causing the rust underneath in weeks in humid areas. George
George Butz

Thanks guys for all the feedback. It's all a learning curve but I don't like to be taken advantage of and in this case I was. Anyway it was spotted in time and the panels are now rust free and epoxy primed.

Surprised other than a couple of us there are no more horror stories!
D Lamb

David Sander & George Butz -

Your descriptions of moisture in the paint describes the paint on my TF exactly. It has tiny raised spots every 1/2" all over the car, except for the tub.

I spoke to the painter who did the job for the previous owner over 20 years ago. He told me that the tub was primed with epoxy primer, and still looks great. The rest of the car was painted in pieces with lacquer primer, and has the spots. The previous owner told me that the spots started appearing about ten years after the car was painted.

Hope to strip and paint the car next year. It's sad, because the paint looks good at 30-feet.

Hard to take a photo that shows the problem. The white spots in this photo are actually red like the car, but are reflecting the white light.

Lonnie
TF7211

LM Cook

This thread was discussed between 27/10/2016 and 31/10/2016

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