1 series painting

 

When I had the wheels off to fit the mudflaps earlier in the year I noticed that the body work around the rear dampers was only in primer as was much of the underside .  This made me think what was behind all those shields.

 

So today all the shields have been off and sure enough only primer was there. There are now several tins of waxoyl in the body cavities and all over the underside, under the body shields.

The areas around the rear dampers were masked off and painted body colour and laquered.

 

I know many of you may not bother with this but having invested in the car new and not sure how long I will be keeping it, then this is insurance for the future.

 

All the fixing screws for theses shields have been refitted with grease on their threads, to aid any future removal and to prevent rust on the body where they tap in. This includes the studs for the plastic fixing nuts.

 

I did all this when I bought the 323 some 23+ years ago and still can undo any underbody nut without fear.

 

Just thought I'd let fellow 1 series owners know that obselesence has been built in unless you take action.

I dropped off all the underside trays as well as the rear wheel arch liners.

Once these were all off I painted most of the underbody straight over the primer as mine was brand new. You may need to clean it down though. I masked off all the parts in the rear arches including the shock absorbers, suspension, brakes and fuel pipes etc.

I used my local stockist for high build paint in spray cans. Once this was dry I used 2 pack laqueur again from the same stockist and in spray cans.

 

Then all the hidden parts I coated liberally in clear waxoyl. Once this was dry I replaced the underbody shields and used copperslip grease on every stud and nut, even when the nut was plastic as the stud can still rust.

I now know that where the rear arch liners touch the body, for example, there is more than primer for it to rub against - in my case now primer, paint, laqueuer and waxoyl.

 

Hope that helps

Mike