Project "NEOstead 2000" restoration

[Neostead2000]

Hi all,

This will be my 1997 ECR33 GTST restoration journal, I will try to keep it updated  with progress and pictures, however I tend to write a lot so please bare with me.

The car is not in super bad shape as the previous owner had already fixed some major rust hiding in the sills and rocker panels, however it was not done fully nor properly, so I will be trying to fix everything that's left out to the best of my ability. My plan of action was to start from the boot area then onto the engine bay and finishing up with attaching the GTR overfenders I was given with the car, fitting GTR front fenders and finishing off with paint. I cannot weld and I do not have access to a professional paint booth so for welding I am using my friend's services, and for painting I am trying to get it done (properly) via spray cans. So far it turned out great however the outside of the car will of course be professionally painted once the car can move on its own wheels. From what I've been told, the car had a full body kit which was molded into the chassis with tons of filler. It was chameleon green/purple. So now I've got to dig through all the filler, paint and bad welding to fix it all up.

So without much more writing, here's some shots of the car before I started working on it:

 

This is how the trunk looked and I'm glad I chiseled all the old factory seam sealer and sound deadening as that's where most the rust was hiding!

 

As you can see, all the rust I could get my hands on was mechanically removed, then with the help of Wurth Rust Converter, it was chemically converted to inert clean metal state, then fully primered with two good coats of Epoxy Primer (Novol's Spectral 395 line), followed by Mipa white polyurethane seam sealer in factory places as well as many areas where they do not seal from the factory (due to cost and time reasons). I took care not to block any drainages. After seam sealing, another coat of epoxy primer was applied, then sprayed with gloss white. At this point I was still unsure what tone of white to use, however most of this work will be hidden behind panels and will not be seen. The important thing is that it was done properly with good preparation and I firmly believe the rear portion of this car will not see any rust for the next decade.

The previous owner had re-welded some weird arches which will not work with the GTR overfenders, so those were cut out, welds ground, rust cleaned and the arches were fully welded. They were also primered and seam sealed inside and out. The top of the boot lid area underwent the same treatment, as well as the rear end and bumper support. I must say I am very glad with how it all came out and the same work will be done to the engine bay in the upcoming weeks. However, I ended up spending too much money on spray can primer and paint, so this time I am thinking of getting a cheap paint gun from a friend and using my 24 liter compressor. I am not so worried about the finish of the job as much as getting adequate amounts of paint and undercoat on the chassis. I will also save a lot of money this way.

That's it for now; when I have more I shall update this thread. I am open to criticism as well as helpful feedback and suggestions! Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 30, 2022 by Neostead2000

[PranK]

This is really cool. I'm looking forward to the updates.

[Murray_Calavera]

You are doing god's work saving this skyline. Bless you child. 

[sonic99]

What brand of primer did you use in the boot? 

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

Wow, fk me that's dedication!

Great work and great to see another boat saved.

[Neostead2000]

On 2/2/2022 at 10:25 AM, sonic99 said:

What brand of primer did you use in the boot? 

I am using an epoxy-based primer from Novol. The specific one is Novol "Spectral 395" white. It is a light-coat non-sandable primer, so what I do is I prep the surface with 240 grit sandpaper then apply two-three coats of this primer with 10 minutes in between.

For the underspray I use another product by Novol called "Gravit 600 Antigravel" coating, sprayed at 4 bar from a cheap spray gun, two thick coats.

Also I use a variant of Wax/Grease remover called "Silicone remover" by OFO. Professional painters told me it's a good product to use when you need to wipe down bare metal or painted surfaces inbetween coats etc.

Lastly, I was recommended to apply seam sealer OVER at least one coat of epoxy primer, but never over bare metal. The epoxy is what gives the bare metal protection against moisture and oxidation, and the seam sealer is what repels water from inter-panel space.

[Neostead2000]

Slight hiatus over the summer months; in the meanwhile I was procuring the rest of the missing bits and pieces including an R33 GTT 5 speed transmission and a good ol' HX35 twin scroll turbo. Super excited for when those parts come to life!

For the past 2 weeks I finally worked on the engine bay and it got the same treatment as the boot, however this time I decided to try out using a spray gun for the first time with my little 24L compressor. Now, let me preface this, I've never sprayed with a gun like this before and I've never had to mix paint. Additionally, I had bought the cheapest possible gun (Parkside LVLP from LIDL for like $15) so I guess I shouldn't have expected anything great. When I went to mix the paint, I ended up confusing the hardener and thinner ratios so the paint came out different and produced A LOT of runs (I was also spraying close to some areas, my fault...). Also, the gun had a factory defect where the spray needle was not retracting quick enough after letting go of the trigger, which made it DRIP lots of paint over my work area and over the panels. In the end it was a MESS but I got good coverage and in fact the strut tops became super smooth and glossy! I ordered factory QM1 paint so the engine bay would be color matched with the outside of the car.

As for prep work, same as before. Chiseling/wire wheeling all the old seal sealer, undercoat and rusty areas. Then treating with rust converter, then epoxy primer. Then, I tried using masking tape and applying seam sealer that way. It does look a bit neater I must say. Definitely not as sloppy as from the factory!

Enough writing, let the pics do the talking!

 

 

Edited October 22, 2022 by Neostead2000

[Neostead2000]

I haven't done this page any justice. Initially I wanted to keep it regularly updated, but I've had some moments of pause then moments of too much progress and too many pictures, so I failed to catch up. I decided to make an Instagram page to showcase the entire process with even more pictures, so if you're interested in following up, please do drop by:

 

https://www.instagram.com/skpro_jects/

 

If I can find the time, I will update it here also, but I really cannot find the time. I'm doing 10-11 hour days every day to get this Skyline finished up by the end of this year!!