82 Brat Noob, many ?'s

[tacotim]

This is actually my second 82 brat, but I never bothered to make the 1st one look nice as it was rusted pretty bad when I got it. This new one though is in pretty great shape, only 83K miles!! so I'm gonna try to do what I can to help it look good. This site has been fantastic, particularly the USRM. Many thanks. Questions below.

 

1. My brat is torreador Red -45. Is there some touch up paint i can get somewhere that is reasonably close to this color? no huge spots, but there are a lot of little nicks and scratches that i'd love to touch up.

 

2. What kind of paint should I use on the plastic bits of trim? Mostly the vertical peice of plastic right behind the driver and passanger windows. Looking to brush it on, so I don't have to tape up for spray, but if spray is more reccomended, i'll do that.

 

3. There is very little rust, it's all in the bed. I want to paint a DIY bedliner, reccomendations on brands would be appreciated.

 

4. AC. no ac in this car, but the "this car is equpped to handle AC" sticker is on the dash. What does that mean exactly, Can I expect to be able to take the compressor and other bits out of my other 82 brat, put'em in this one and get it charged and be done. Is this a major operation or something i could swing as a DIY tinkerer. I'm no mechanic, but i did a lot of the repairs on my other brat.

 

Lots of other plans and questions for this little brat of mine, but I'll leave it at these for now. Huge thanks again for the info on this forum, I hope that I will be able to contribute to the wealth of info here.

 

thanks, tim

[86BRATMAN]

First Tim, welcome to the usmb. Hope your stay here is pleaseant, and we are here for anything. Don't be afraid of the search feature (it doesn't like three letter entries).

 

1) Can't be much help here. Other than that some auto parts stores that miv thier own paint may be able to fix you up with something.

 

2) Spray well give you the best result, Krylon Fusion is probably among the best for plastic surfaces. And get some of the blue painter's masking tape, it won't still to the chrome.

 

3)I can't remember the brand name, but its a roll in type. Just make sure to neutralized the rust before you put it in, or the brat won't be happy with you.

 

4)You will need to get every last assorted part for your ac from the donor. Don't go cheap on it though. While its apart get new o-rings, and evaporator, and convert it over to r-134a.

 

Shannon

[subyrally]

the dealership should be able to get you the factory touch up paint in a tube.

 

for tyhe plastic bits, krylon fusion is good, i also reccomend duplicolor paints.

 

as far as the rolol on liner, duplicolor has a good kit there as well, its about $60, but it holds up rather well.

 

just make sure you fix any rust you come across before you paint, you dont want that under the new paint.

[northguy]

Herculiner bed liner works great.

[Seahag1978]

the dealership should be able to get you the factory touch up paint in a tube.

 

for tyhe plastic bits, krylon fusion is good, i also reccomend duplicolor paints.

 

as far as the rolol on liner, duplicolor has a good kit there as well, its about $60, but it holds up rather well.

 

just make sure you fix any rust you come across before you paint, you dont want that under the new paint.

 

Welcome to the board tacotim! Never, ever apply new paint of any sort without neutralizing/eliminating the rust completely, it WILL bite you in the butt in short order.

 

Next, I would spend the extra money to go to your local auto paint supply place or online and have actual auto paint (even black) mixed for the application <bumper, trim, metal> in a spray can. Krylon, Rustoleum and others will oxidize in a short period of time. The most important thing is to treat any rust and make sure everything is CLEAN and CLEAR of wax, fingerprints and water before you spray any paint.

 

Bedliner... DON'T do it. You can't keep it clean, it WILL peel and look like total crap in less than a year. I thought it a good solution, I spent forever stripping mine back off. Trust me on this one. Check my gallery.

 

I got a quote from Rhinoliner, $600. the guy remembered the BRAT nad the seat rails. It would probably hold up, but the spray-on and roll-on stuff you do yourself is bogus, I've tried both and repainted the bed to original.

 

Silver leaf and metallic paint pens are great for fixing badges. You can find these at WalMart or Michael's Craft shops. They hold up well to NE weather.

 

Best of luck getting her back to looking good