Long journey?

[geoff80]

Hallo, this is the first opportunity to introduce myself since joining the Westfield Club.    I have over many years owned several  kit cars but only this year aquired a 1992 Westfield Sei wide body which in view of its condition and the fact there was no engine, I decided to do a chassis up rebuild.  Presently, I have drilled out literally millions of rivets, been driven to distraction by rivnuts which keep turning and refusing to come out and having to ' stand on my head' to access some of the fastenings which were put in before the bodywork was added.  Soon I shall arrive at a bare chassis which will be full of holes, needing to be stripped of paint/powder coat and then refinished by either of the before mentioned finishes.  I wonder whether anyone out there has, in order to save work and effort,  had their chassis professionally stripped and if so were they happy with the result?  I feel that blasting is probably out of the question?

I have attached a photo of the rear of car showing the number plate and as you will see, on its left is a small alloy plate with B.E.A.R engraved.  I am curious to find out the car's history and shall be grateful to hear from any members who have any previous knowledge of my car.

I guess this journey is going to be longer than a new build?

Edited October 25, 2017 by geoff80
Better title

[Kevin (Mr T)]

Can't help with the car, but  anyway and make sure you post pictures along the way!

[toys4x4boys]

That's what it's all about.

Just make sure a nice crossflow goes back in

 

 

[SootySport]

You're already doing all the time consuming work so why not continue with the chassis stripping?  Use these plastic stripping  pads to remove old paint and light rust.   I'm sure you'll have a  grinder of some sort, they come in different sizes and make stripping really easy and don't damage the metal.   To help preserve the chassis you can spray Dinitrol or Waxoyl into the box sections then weld up all the old rivet holes.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Yeah, I've used those stripper wheels, or something very similar; they're really, really effective, and as Bernie said, don't damage the steel.

[Mark (smokey mow)]

Very similar to the link above I use these in the angle grinder. They make easy work of stripping paint and powder coat.

[geoff80]

Thank you for the suggestions and support  to date.  I've still to get underneath and tackle some reticent rivnuts before I can remove the grp body to fully expose the chassis and then set about the cleaning where your suggestions will be implemented.  

I have read a number of threads regarding painting v powder coating.  As I'm now forbidden to weld (pacemaker won't take it) I think powder coating  will, because of the many holes, be out of the question.  This then poses the next question, 'which is the best paint?'.   It would be helpful if those of you who have repainted your chassis would advise of the type of paint they have used and with what results.  Your experiences will be invaluable!

Lastly for today, I'm still very curious to find the significance of the B.E.A.R. plate on both the rear and dashboard of the car???   Was it a person, company or what???

Edited October 31, 2017 by geoff80
Punctuation

[Thrustyjust]

Hasnt been on the road, since before 2005 , according to DVLA MOT's , as none showing for it.

[geoff80]

 That's right.  It had  been standing for a long time before it came into my possession minus the engine.  It was the challenge to rebuild from the chassis up that attracted me and caused me to name this thread 'A long journey' !

B.E.A.R. must have been in possession  between 1992 and 2005.  I suspect that it might have  been a corporate body rather than an individual that put on the plate, probably the builder?   Although latterly neglected it was very well built and should ultimately become a decent Westfield again.

[jeff oakley]

1 hour ago, geoff80 said:

Thank you for the suggestions and support  to date.  I've still to get underneath and tackle some reticent rivnuts before I can remove the grp body to fully expose the chassis and then set about the cleaning where your suggestions will be implemented.  

I have read a number of threads regarding painting v powder coating.  As I'm now forbidden to weld (pacemaker won't take it) I think powder coating  will, because of the many holes, be out of the question.  This then poses the next question, 'which is the best paint?'.   It would be helpful if those of you who have repainted your chassis would advise of the type of paint they have used and with what results.  Your experiences will be invaluable!

Lastly for today, I'm still very curious to find the significance of the B.E.A.R. plate on both the rear and dashboard of the car???   Was it a person, company or what???

You could still powder coat the chassis even if the holes are not filled, Pity you are not nearer as I would happily weld the holes up for you. It makes putting the body back on easier in my mind as you just redrill where you want without having to worry too much.

If you really want to use paint, POR15 is great if not a bit involved prep wise and you would then have to put a good quality top coat on, something like Chassis black from Frost or satin black paint from Upol, which is a good match for the powder coating they came with.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

As pointed out recently by a few others, POR15 is now available in a version that is UV stable for doing the chassis and needs no top coat.

Its horrible stuff if you let it dry on your skin, it just doesn’t come off for days/weeks, but it’s about the best chassis coating many of us have come across that can be done at home and doesn’t involve an industrial process!

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

- Better still, it will go straight over surface rust, (long as any loose stuff has been removed). (The POR in the name actually stands for Paint Over Rust!)

So ideal for doing a freshly blast cleaned chassis, that’s got a little post cleaning surface rust creeping back. Just make sure everything is thoroughly degreased and any loose material, whether rust or powder coat, (if it’s not be sand blasted) is removed.

Oh, and don’t be tempted to spray POR15 unless you’ve got proper gear, ideally a full face, air fed mask, and full all over suit. As it has some nasty chemicals in that aren’t normally an issue when applied by brush, but can get serious fast when atomized by a spray gun. IIRC, it’s absorbable by contact with the skin in its aerosolised form too, hence the suit and mask.

[GaryR1983]

Hi there.

I'm a couple of days in front of you at the moment as I stripped all the panels off my chassis last week. 

I've sent the chassis off to be dipped, blasted and powdercoated, along with all the wishbones, wing stays, roll bars ect. I toy'd with the idea of doing it myself but the stripping is going to be time consuming and messy and I'm not sure I would be able to achieve the same quality finish as a decent pro powdercoater

before starting the guy I'm using has chopped the bar end stops off where possible to let as much shot and many rivets be free'd then welded back up.

when I was moving the chassis around the sound of rivets rolling around in the rails was rather bad. 

I'll spray some cavity wax into the  tubes when the chassis is back which will hopefully stop any other rivets rolling around. I know it's highly unlikely you'll hear them but I'll feel better knowing I've done all I can..

good luck with your project. I look forward to seeing the progress 

 

[geoff80]

Hi Gary, 

and all those of you who have been kind enough to set out their views on the best methods of stripping and refinishing my Sei chassis.   There is no doubt that the majority think personally 'stripping' the chassis is, whilst being laborious, the best method of removing any earlier finish . No one mentioned using a chemical paint/powdercoat stripper with everyone opting for scouring by various means.   From a personal perspective this will give me the most satisfaction and be more economic which might later leave a few more pence to spend on something else.   There is a small divergence of opinion on the refinish but most of you seem to favour a repaint using POR15 paint which seems to tick all the boxes for endurance, protection and appearance. Everyone warned me that if you get any of this on you whilst doing the job, you would, as it sticks like "S**t to a blanket", be condemned afterwards, to wearing it for a week or two.   I am forewarned!

No one clarified whether they used brush or roller (or both?) to apply the paint and any experiences in connection with that will again be gratefully received.

Gary mentioned the potential for rattling rivet remnants, left in the chassis tubes after drilling out the rivets when removing the body panels.   His solution to help eliminate this rattling by injecting cavity wax seems to be the best and easiest method of attaining a quieter life while protecting the chassis.   If anyone has an easy solution which avoids making bigger holes for rivet remnant removal/extraction please divulge your remedy as  I know of one or two members who also have mentioned this problem.  I wonder, would injecting cavity foam be ok or would this set up some future chemical reaction which might set up super rust or other horrific consequences to be dealt with????

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Not sure if anyone’s ever used a roller for POR15, it’s not an intuitive solution and could, given how much a roller can spatter, be pretty horrific in terms of mess, when used with a substance that sets like vitrified enamel.

Personally, I really, really wouldn’t use builders foam inside the box section. It’s very unpredictable stuff at times, and could easily set with voids that became inaccessible, and still have rattling debris in them, worse still, it could start to cure before reaching all through a section, and have moisture (either already in the tubes, or that gets in there through rivet holes etc,  effectively  get trapped in a small area, and concentrate any bad effects.

A good cavity wax, thoroughly injected will creep through most all of the open tube interiors, and as it sets, trap much of the debris, but any that does remain loose, will eventually get shaken,or roll in to contact with sticky wax and get trapped.

Chemical strippers. It depends what you have access too. But many of the traditional chemical strippers that were once excellent for this sort of thing have been reformulated for environmental reasons and are just not as good as they once were.

- Additionally, mechanical stripping whether it’s with the wheels mentioned, or with media blasting, give the steel a nice keyed surface for paint or powder coat, chemical stripping alone, often doesn’t and you still need to sand the surface.

Also, with chemical stripping, you need to consider how your going to clean an aggressive stripping medium off. Unlike blasting media, you can just use an airline and blow gun, and if you need to hose it or jet wash it off, you’re going to get a lot of moisture into those chassis tubes full of rivet holes. If not thoroughly cleaned, you could end up with nasty stripping chemicals that have got inside the tubes through the rivet holes, stuck in there, helping corrode away at the steel.

Again, it’s one of those things that with the right facilities can be done with no problem, but at home with basic hand tools etc, isn’t always the best or cheapest way of doing things.