Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[alec.elliot]

Hi

Am about to paint the bonnet of my Morris 8 in Black and Blue. Anyone have any good ideas which order to paint ie inside first or last? Sides first, top first, Blue first or Black first?

Also handling this is awkward has anyone any ideas to make things easier?

Alec

[goneps]

Alec,

This topic came up some time ago on the MR 8MVS, and the consensus was that it's best done with the three hinges removed so that you're dealing with four manageable sections (five, if you include the gutter) rather than the heavy and unmanageable complete bonnet.

I've never had to do this myself, but the problem as I see it is that of reassembling without chipping the nice new paint where the hinge loops mesh.

Either way, always spray the inside first so that overspray from the second side ends up there rather than on the outer surfaces.

Is this the bonnet of your Tourer? If so it should be all the same colour. Only Saloons had black top and colour sides.

Richard

[alec.elliot]

Hi Richard

Many thanks for the response.

I have tried a few times to remove the hinge pins and although all sections move freely the hinges will not come out despite a variety of punches/ heating/ bending of metal, etc. I don't want to be too brutal though.

Its a four door saloon so the black top and blue sides are fine and yes, I will follow your advice about painting the inside first.

All the best

Alec

[Old Wrench]

The main problem you face, I suggest, is masking.

You must ensure the first part-panel is properly hardened before applying the tape otherwise it will mark the new paint.

I would, I think, paint the top firstly and the two side panels thereafter since it will only mean masking out the top section.

Always paint the inside of any panel firstly.

Same routine we used to employ for complete body shell changes. Inside of shell, then boot interior and engine compartment; inside of new panels (boot, bonnet and doors - or trunk, deck and doors if you like!).

Door shuts last of all, as they demand a superior glossy finish.

[goneps]

Alec,

A suggestion that came up on the MVS was to drive out the hinge rod just far enough to grip in the chuck of a cordless drill. With a good spray of lubricant, revolving the rod while pulling on it should release it.

Richard

[Rosco663]

Gidday all,

I guess that by now the bonnet is resplendent in its new paint and opening as smooth as silk, but none the less, will share my experience.

I also had some difficulty disassembling my bonnet sections. The first step was to lubricate the hinges then try to get as much openeing and closing movement as possible. This didn't take too much effort and not too much elbow grease was consumed. Next was to grab the best fitting pin punch and drive it steadily until the punch bottomed out. At this point the vice grips were brought into play. The vice grips were firmly closed onto the exposed end of the hinge pin then a soft hammer was used to remove each hinge pin, by tapping the vice grips, until the 5 sections were liberated.

I found, as many would attest, the hinge pins had well and truly conformed to the panels. Numerous radial scores/ridges were present on the brass hinge pins, caused by the constant movement of the hinged parts. The ridges were lightly sanded back to remove the sharp marks without removing too much brass, then run in and out of the hinges until a smooth but firm fit was achieved.

After painting, the bonnet was reassembled with relative ease and no paint was chipped or damaged. Also no rattling was evident

Cheers
_________________
Rosco

[alec.elliot]

Hi Rosco

Thanks for you comments. Your right that the bonnet is now sprayed and looking good but in the end I still could not get it apart.

I tried a mixture of punches, plus gas, heat, hammer, bigger hammer, etc and still it did not want to move. So in the end I have left it.

I spent some time making a wooden frame to mount the bonnet on in the garage so that it was in an inverted "W" form so that I could get at the maximum amount of bonnet.

I keep lubricating the hinge pin and hope that with a bit of vibration when running it will sort itself out one day.

No one else has commented but I notice it every time I see the bonnet that the two top portions do not line up exactly side by side.

Best regards

Alec