Want to remove ads? Become a MK3OC Club Member today!

Rieger wide arched astra on sbd throttle bodies

Yeah been quiet on here I will admit. I kind of left the Vauxhall scene and went to Audis. Still have mine in the shed in Ireland but lack of time to do anything means it's still the same as it was 2 or 3 years ago. First baby on way now aswell so that isn't going to help progress either! Plan now is for my dad to finish off the spraying end of the year. Looking forward to yours being done now. Might be the inspiration I need
Congrats on the baby. I know myself how difficult it is to juggle family, job and car. let alone the astra being miles away.
 
That bonnet looks well, to be fair all your panels look like glass! How long did you leave the bonnet to cure before sanding and what grades did you use if you don't mind me asking?
As i'm going for a glass/show car finish I waited over a month so it was cured and shrunk back. High solid clears are thicker anyway, probably double the thickness of your ms clears. I tested this by putting my lacquer in a mixing cup and waiting for the lacquer to cure. First couple of weeks the lacquer didn't move away from sides in the cup, third and four week the lacquer shrunk and remained at its size.
Most bodyshops cant wait for paint to cure so leave it a couple of days before flat/mop if not done in an oven. I had a few bits flat/mopped after 2 days at the bodyshop and I've had the cut them back again as it shrunk slightly and im fussy.
I you want it to cure quicker push the car out in the sun over a a couple of days and you should be good to go. If you have a rotary buff you can cut with 1500 and buff, if you have a da i would go 1500,2000,3000 then buff. The grades of paper will also depend on amount of orange peel and dirt nibs you have in the job. You got any close up pictures of the work?
 
As i'm going for a glass/show car finish I waited over a month so it was cured and shrunk back. High solid clears are thicker anyway, probably double the thickness of your ms clears. I tested this by putting my lacquer in a mixing cup and waiting for the lacquer to cure. First couple of weeks the lacquer didn't move away from sides in the cup, third and four week the lacquer shrunk and remained at its size.
Most bodyshops cant wait for paint to cure so leave it a couple of days before flat/mop if not done in an oven. I had a few bits flat/mopped after 2 days at the bodyshop and I've had the cut them back again as it shrunk slightly and im fussy.
I you want it to cure quicker push the car out in the sun over a a couple of days and you should be good to go. If you have a rotary buff you can cut with 1500 and buff, if you have a da i would go 1500,2000,3000 then buff. The grades of paper will also depend on amount of orange peel and dirt nibs you have in the job. You got any close up pictures of the work?

Yeah, I've heard that its best to leave it cure plenty.... even the primers to stop it sinking into the scratches after hitting it with top coats. I've not left it long at all so that may come back and bite me too... I've found more issues though, came to it this morning and it's got dirt stuck in the paint that must have landed in it overnight :doh: I think i'm going to live with the slight orange peel, if I try cutting back any I'm sure I'll get a load of random colours start to pop through (they're big lumps whatever they are).
 
Yeah, I've heard that its best to leave it cure plenty.... even the primers to stop it sinking into the scratches after hitting it with top coats. I've not left it long at all so that may come back and bite me too... I've found more issues though, came to it this morning and it's got dirt stuck in the paint that must have landed in it overnight :doh: I think i'm going to live with the slight orange peel, if I try cutting back any I'm sure I'll get a load of random colours start to pop through (they're big lumps whatever they are).

youd be surprised what u can flat out, i picked a fly out of the bumper of her car and wet flatted after and it was alright but it depends how much effort you are willing to put it.

For the megane, i basically sorted out the stuff that looked really bad, but i have left the rest. As said, the paint takes weeks to shrink properly and then you will know what you are dealing with. On the megane i have just made sure everything looks nice, sealed the whole car and let her drive it. There is no way i'm going to spend years getting it show room for it then to get stoned chipped while she is racing someone :lol:.
 
Just spent all day at the body shop masking up today. A few pictures of car before it went on the trailer.DSC00595.JPG DSC00596.JPG
 
Tomorrow the car will have two more coats of clear. Got the weapon of choice all cleaned out, devilbiss gti pro lite.DSC00604.JPG
 
Congrats on the baby. I know myself how difficult it is to juggle family, job and car. let alone the astra being miles away.
Thanks mate. Yeah unfortunately it's not going to be a quick process now. Selling a lot of the rare stuff I have as won't get around to use it.
 
Thanks mate. Yeah unfortunately it's not going to be a quick process now. Selling a lot of the rare stuff I have as won't get around to use it.
Welcome to the world of getting old and having kids. Yeah i see you were selling off bits, thing is your never use half of it anyway, I'm just as bad for that, a mk3 hoarder.
 
Wow, and NICE one the new doors! Can see they're GSI ones too with the bottom so bet even rarer!
 
Wow, and NICE one the new doors! Can see they're GSI ones too with the bottom so bet even rarer!
The drivers side is a gsi door but the passenger side is a normal three door. The rivets are still available though so I will be ordering some up, other than that they are identical. These are just not available anywhere now, so I took what I could get. Thought you would be at vboa? Glad I went for the first time, I don't often see mk3's my way and it was a pleasure to meet people from the club.
 
Picked up some new genuine doors today from VBOA, they have come all the way from the Netherlands.
They are great that company I know them well as a friend lives near them and gets me things when I need them lol
 
The drivers side is a gsi door but the passenger side is a normal three door. The rivets are still available though so I will be ordering some up, other than that they are identical. These are just not available anywhere now, so I took what I could get. Thought you would be at vboa? Glad I went for the first time, I don't often see mk3's my way and it was a pleasure to meet people from the club.

I was at VBOA but only went on the sunday.... You may not have got them doors if I went earlier lol.
 
They are great that company I know them well as a friend lives near them and gets me things when I need them lol
Yes Great bunch. Nice of them to bring the doors over free of charge, would have been a long road trip otherwise.
 
I was at VBOA but only went on the sunday.... You may not have got them doors if I went earlier lol.
Seems that allot of people came Sunday, wish I would have waited another day. The doors were purchased as soon as I found out they were attending the show back in may!
 
Seems that allot of people came Sunday, wish I would have waited another day. The doors were purchased as soon as I found out they were attending the show back in may!

haha, fair play. very rare to come across doors like that! I have 2 sets in my other garage but they all show their age.
 
Yes Great bunch. Nice of them to bring the doors over free of charge, would have been a long road trip otherwise.
Not a bad trip tbh and some nice places to visit lol
 
New door rubbers, front window channel rubbers and tailgate glass seal.DSC00682.JPGDSC00683.JPG DSC00687.JPG
My plan was to sand and polish the paintwork and refit everything but I'm having to move my car because the garage is having a refurb. So it's been a mad rush to put everything back together over the last week and I'm going to sort the paint later. So it looks more like a car now rather than a shell, will put some pictures up soon.
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top