Paint Prep need some advice

[SteinOnkel]

Hey guys,

got a couple of questions as I get ready to paint my bucket in a few weeks.

1) How do you remove the top? Not the cloth, the whole thing. Does it come out in one piece easily? Seems a disaster to tape off.

2) How would one remove the windshield? I can see the dpo got creative with some sealant, so that needs to be fixed properly.

3) How does one remove the tray where the windshield wipers go through? I see a couple of rusty fasteners in the engine bay, but other than that I'm a bit stumped.

That's it for now

Thanks
Steiny

[18Fiatsandcounting]

1) How do you remove the top? Not the cloth, the whole thing. Does it come out in one piece easily?

Yes. The top is held in place by four things: The two clasps on the windshield frame, 4 screws (2 on each side) that hold the frame to the body, fasteners on each side that hold the steel "drawstring" that goes along the outer edge from the front of the top to the back, and the holddown clamp that holds the rear of the top against the body. Loosen all of those, and the top (with frame) should come off.

2) How would one remove the windshield?

Four bolts (two in each door jamb) hold the window frame. Remove those four bolts, and the windshield should be loose. Caution as it's easy to drop the windshield at that point and scratch or crack it.

3) How does one remove the tray where the windshield wipers go through?

Four screws hold the cowl into position, and all are located in the engine bay under the hood. Loosen all those, and the cowl should slide directly forward until it can be removed. You'll have to disconnect the windshield wiper and windshield washer tubing to completely remove from the car.

-Bryan

[toyfiats]

Hey guys,

1) How do you remove the top? Not the cloth, the whole thing. Does it come out in one piece easily? Seems a disaster to tape off.

Unless you are completely gutting the car for paint (removing entire interior, doors, etc), it's not necessary to remove the complete top assembly. Both times I've had my Spiders painted I've simply detached the back section (brackets hidden behind the curved black piece right above the seat back) and that is enough to expose the entire rear cowl for paint. You're going to be removing the windshield, so at least having the top still in place will make lining everything up marginally easier.

[SteinOnkel]

Thanks guys, super helpful!

It is excellent news that I can simply lift up the back of the top. I'm not 100% sure the windshield will come out yet. I remember seeing some insulating foam (grrrr!), but I'm not totally sure if that was in the windshield seal or the vent window. Fingers crossed for vent window - those windshield gaskets are outrageously priced.

Oh, and no, we are not completely gutting it. My brother and I are painting two cars - his '62 Studebaker Lark and my Spider. None of them need to be show winning or whatever. Sand it down, do some bodywork, epoxy primer, single stage white and done. Not making a crazy fuss about it. Better than the terribly flaking paint the spider has now is the benchmark. I'm pretty sure they didn't use primer last time, they just slapped some white paint on it.

Cheers
Steiny

[aj81spider]

Unless you are completely gutting the car for paint (removing entire interior, doors, etc), it's not necessary to remove the complete top assembly. Both times I've had my Spiders painted I've simply detached the back section (brackets hidden behind the curved black piece right above the seat back) and that is enough to expose the entire rear cowl for paint. You're going to be removing the windshield, so at least having the top still in place will make lining everything up marginally easier.

This also has the advantage that when you are done your sulky teenage son who is helping you put the top back on won't drop it on the new paint causing a giant scratch. Not that I'd have direct experience with something like that.

[baltobernie]

[18Fiatsandcounting]

This also has the advantage that when you are done your sulky teenage son who is helping you put the top back on won't drop it on the new paint causing a giant scratch. Not that I'd have direct experience with something like that.

I almost spit out my coffee and laughed out loud when I read that. So funny (except the part about the scratch), but now you have to share the rest of that intriguing story, A.J.

-Bryan

[SteinOnkel]

Unless you are completely gutting the car for paint (removing entire interior, doors, etc), it's not necessary to remove the complete top assembly. Both times I've had my Spiders painted I've simply detached the back section (brackets hidden behind the curved black piece right above the seat back) and that is enough to expose the entire rear cowl for paint. You're going to be removing the windshield, so at least having the top still in place will make lining everything up marginally easier.

This also has the advantage that when you are done your sulky teenage son who is helping you put the top back on won't drop it on the new paint causing a giant scratch. Not that I'd have direct experience with something like that.

Also, how difficult is it to remove the driver's side fender? That one has a bit of a kink in it.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Also, how difficult is it to remove the driver's side fender? That one has a bit of a kink in it.

The fenders are welded to the other body parts, so they'd have to be cut off.

But what size kink are we talking about here? Depending on where it is, you may be able to get behind it and push/pound out the kink. I've heard experienced body shops can do this very well, but my luck has always been not-so-good. I've always just sanded down the area, filled it with bondo, sanded smooth, then primer and paint. Of course, within minutes of finishing the painting, I've always found some way of managing to scratch the new paint job.

-Bryan

[davidbruce]

Bernie, you made my day with that quote Steiny the fenders are a ton of work to remove / replace. If you can get at the back of it, a hammer and dolly is probably your best bet. If not, judicious use of a slide hammer or a puling tab soldered on, in combination with a body hammer on the high area can work. If the kink is very big you may need to leave it slightly low and fill the rest if you aren't experienced with shrinking the stretched metal. Also be sure to respect the recoat window for epoxy primer. It is not very forgiving.

[SteinOnkel]

Also, how difficult is it to remove the driver's side fender? That one has a bit of a kink in it.

The fenders are welded to the other body parts, so they'd have to be cut off.

But what size kink are we talking about here? Depending on where it is, you may be able to get behind it and push/pound out the kink. I've heard experienced body shops can do this very well, but my luck has always been not-so-good. I've always just sanded down the area, filled it with bondo, sanded smooth, then primer and paint. Of course, within minutes of finishing the painting, I've always found some way of managing to scratch the new paint job.

-Bryan

wtf for reals?

Oh man.

It's about an inch wide and on the outside edge of the wheel arch, about halfway. Not sure how somebody managed to fuck it up in that way, but here we are. Got it, fender stays on. Yeah, it won't be fun, but we'll get it looking decent.

The hood also has a nice kink in it, running the whole length of the radiator support. Pretty sure some idiot slammed it down without making sure it clears.

Bit of hammering, bit of bondo here and there no big deal. The rest of the body is (surprisingly) straight. I'm expecting about two solid days of paint prep. And as I type this I'm sure I will eat those words soon.

PS:

Recoat window? What's that?

[davidbruce]

What I mean by the recoat window is the wait time before you can top coat the primer and the end time before you have to sand the primer.

[SteinOnkel]

Oh, that. Yeah it's about 7 days.

I suppose I could block the old girl with 400 wet. It's a small car, may as well.

[baltobernie]

Bernie, you made my day with that quote

Dino and Mel Brooks have everything you need to know about life
These little cars have a surprising amount of substance in their sheet metal. My guy was able to save all of this, and use only a tiny amount of filler.

[Nut124]

Hey guys,

got a couple of questions as I get ready to paint my bucket in a few weeks.

1) How do you remove the top? Not the cloth, the whole thing. Does it come out in one piece easily? Seems a disaster to tape off.

2) How would one remove the windshield? I can see the dpo got creative with some sealant, so that needs to be fixed properly.

3) How does one remove the tray where the windshield wipers go through? I see a couple of rusty fasteners in the engine bay, but other than that I'm a bit stumped.

That's it for now

Thanks
Steiny

Steiny, if you are going thru the mess of painting a car body, then removing the top and the windshield would seem like minor things to me. The top and the windshield come of easy, like others have stated. The sheet metal forward of the windshield also comes off easy, particularly if you already removed the windshield. Then you can remove the plastic grill and perhaps paint it matte black vs body paint.

Should not take yo longer than a few hours to do these. I would, but I would not want to paint a car.