So It's Started ... Dnepr Resto

I got the car off the frame today after cutting a few bolts. Started to sand with my angle grinder and a sanding disc and put a bit of primer on the sanded spots ... till I ran out of primer of course. They are still rough though.

So, the $64k question is .... now what??

I have no idea how to do this properly so any hints on killing the rust, fixing the dents and generally making it look decent will be appreciated. The PO cut the loops for the tonneau off and I'd like to replace them at some point.

Trust me , just get it either sand blasted or chemical dipped to strip all that crap off inside and out.
The hours and hours and hours you'll spend doing it by hand will not be worth the money you thought you saved.

Paint jobs are all about preparation. Those sanding/grinding marks will show through the top coat unless you put a lot of effort into it. Thinking that an extra top coat of paint will hide things ... doesn't work.

Good high build primer of your choice with lots of final sanding before top coating it.

Followed by your choice of paint , 2K , acrylic etc. Avoid paint that is COB ( clear coat )

this low budget rebuild isn't sounding as low budget as I thought

Wonder how much sand blasting would cost?

Sand blasting a tub will be cheap. Not much more than what you would spend on sanding discs and sandpaper alone for one in that condition. Then you still need to figure in your electricity bill , time and effort ( getting into all the nooks and crannies will drive you insane ) ... and the mess it will make.

I told you I didn't know how to do this

OK, I'm googling local sandblasters as we speak, I'll call tomorrow as it's a holiday.

Frame too I suppose??

Why not as the frame will be another day or so of stripping and prep.

Ask if they'll throw on a quick primer coat to seal it from flash rusting ( they likely will anyway )

I'm thinking of Rhino lining the interior and maybe the bottom as well, hopefully they have a grey.

This seem logical?

Why would a bike that new need restoring? What kind of ham fisted brute owned it before you?
My sidecar is from 1954 and has only been restored three times!

If you spend time on prep it'll come out just fine, have fun.

Low budget is smearing bondo and rattle canning, that you'll get to do over and over at way too early intervals. If you expect/want it to look good and last do it right once or sell it to someone that will. There are no magic smear on rust killers/encapsulator nonsense regardless of the products marketing hype. Even sandblasting only goes so deep. If it's into the metal beyond surface rust the only way to stop rust is to cut it out and weld in new metal. And yeah depending on your goals and the quality of results you can live with will very likely cost significantly more than you initially planned. Big eyes with a thin wallet gets you a middle seat tourist class ticket down the restoration rabbit hole. Good luck.

Seems logical too me, you could coat the whole body.DB

Guilty as charged.

I'd say it's had a tough, short life. There are dings and dents all over, some look like they were done at the factory though I bought it from a Harley dude who was going to use it for his dog. He already had a Velorex on the bike though so maybe this was too much work for him?

Even when I see pics of newer ones the sides and trunk area don't seem nice and smooth like a fiberglass one. There are marks from where the body parts were welded together etc.

So, I'm thinking a concourse finish isn't what these cars are all about. Plus I don't need it to look way better than the bike it's attached to

Rattle can and Bondo were my original thoughts! Rhino lining at least half of it would reduce the amount of major work for that smooooth finish though.

I'd like it grey to match the GS with those shark teeth decals on the sides.

I've read the Por 15 is supposed to be good at killing or at least sealing in the rust. Thought I'd try some Evaporust also ... not true ??

get it blasted, or buy a blaster from hf and diy.

Get a gallon of bedliner and go crazy.

Just a word of advce.I did a restore on a Ural tub about 10 years ago with a chemical strip it was alot work.I'm hoping to repaint my Ural tub soon.This time I'm going to have it soda blasted then Rhino line the inside and paint the outside. It took 2 gallons of aircraft strip and then it was like $40 a gallon.I can get my tub blasted for $100,Drop it off one day pick it up the next day...Its alot easier and quicker..Good luck like to see the finish product.......

Why soda blasting over sand?

I've been reading and it seems Line-X is preferred over Rhino but it's not a DIY. Are there good Diy products?

Hi Dan,

That tub doesn't look that bad. It could be brought back with a little elbow grease. My question is how far back to you want to bring it? Do you want a showroom paint job, or a serviceable "10 foot" car that won't rust?

You could rent a hopper and a compressor and mediablast it yourself, or take it somewhere. You could also get to work with a drill and cup brush and some sandpaper. Epoxy or Bondo and POR15 will work. You have to follow the POR15 directions to the letter to get the benefits. Otherwise it's just nasty paint. My Dnepr car rig has a POR15 undercoat and there's been no rust over 2 years on. The rig lives outside on the East coast- lots of weather.

My wallet is very thin too. My car was in really bad shape. This is what I did:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=713860

I was thinking more tugboat or tractor than hotrod.

There is a Valspar waterbased rool on product but it's gotten tough to find, Rustoleum has a roll on product, I just put a little more on my floor.You'll have to prime anyway most of that stuff doesn't stick to bare metal.Anyway you look at it you'll have stuff to do this winter.DB

Soda blasting doesn't warp the metal like sand blasting does.Its just baking soda but it does a wondderful job...