Hi Peter
(this a second go at this reply..I think the first one fell over)
Sounds like you don't have a spray setup??
Here are some tips for you /others... in case you don't already know!

I have spent many hours restoring rusty cars for others.
Spray cans are OK for small fiddly bits but are costly...yes I use them occasionally.
Unless you buy expensive automotive stuff the cans are usually alkyd-enamel based which is OK for chassis,brackets etc.
Auto top coats are often "clear-over-base Acrylic" or "oven baked enamel/two-pack" and with different systems and different solvents you can get a blistering reaction in the top coats.
Basic generalisation: keep the household spray cans away from the exterior of the body.
Do some reading first. There are plenty of basic painting/restoration books amongs the motor repair manuals ..and of course the Internet.

I suggest you consider starting with a small low-pressure/low volume spray outfit...you do enough restration work.
If you can get hold of a touch-up gun..great. They hold about half a cup of paint..handy.
(This equipment is now really cheap in OZ because of all the Chinese imports...don't know what it is like in France?)

For good top-coats you need a bigger/more expensive air supply and good gravity feed guns etc. You also need volume (eg 12+ cubic feet per minute) of air to run air tools such as sanders. I use mine to also spray body-tar to inside floor/boot/doors and to apply antichip stone-guard to sills/rocker panels.
Special gun and screw-on canisters means that this job is relatively clean.

Even with a basic system you will soon find you are able to get body panels to the "primer-surfacer stage" ready for a painter to finish.

Keep away from "two-pack" unless you have a proper spray booth and oil-free air-supply mask. They contain "Isocyanates" which are VEEERRRY bad for your body.

Cheers
Bob

Thanks Greenie.
No I don’t have proper spray set up and wont worry either. I no my limitations and when it comes to paint, I don’t know enough. Do have a basic knowledge to understand but will leave the job to people in the know now. No point stuffing it up only to start again, I’ll stick to what I know and concentrate on that. I think 2-pack is banded here not sure. My Viking Van have several coats of 2-pack on it and it is chipping away like mad. Maybe the base work was not done properly but 2-pack is too stiff. OK it is very hard and durable, much better that acrylic. I’m sure the acrylic will catch up and become much better that 2-pack. Modern technology works wonders now days.

Time to decide what to do. All this rust is nothing new. No short cuts, all new panels all around. Some could be repaired but RUST NEVER SLEEP. To avoid trouble down the track, everything will be changed.



















The old chassis is buggered and will be used as work bench, lining up the body panels. Danger is that the body will sink a fraction, when front lower firewall and floors are removed. More photos later.

Nice one Viking!

Weld shut rear window, and channel it 5cm and most of your rust will be gone
nice little project you have there, should keep you off the streets...

good luck
Harley

G'day you bastard. Good to see you here. Yes I've seen your post blocking the rear windows but Harley you know I'm a purist, so no thanks.

Cheers
Viking bastard

First panel to disappear is the lower firewall (pedal floor). It took 2 hours to completely remove the panel and prepare the new panel to go in.
All factory spot weldings are drilled out using a small step drill making new holes to weld in at the same time. Luckily all edges are still solid except the front of the sills which are rotten. Can’t remove the sills as the front door post is support the front of the body. Later when the new lower firewall is in together with a set of new floors, the sills can be worked on.









Saved the top chassis plate to keep as a templete for future jobs.

Hi there Viking,
top marks for undertaking such a detailed restoration, but there's one question that keeps surfacing when I look at the photographs...
Is this a Portuguese or French built car?

Judging from the rust grinning out between the drip channel and the 'A' post, there seems to be a good chance that it's the former, but I'm probably mistaken.

ken

Thanks ken
Not really sure where it is build. Maybe I can learn something new. What do you mean by “Judging from the rust grinning out between the drip channel and the 'A' post, there seems to be a good chance that it's the former”
The ORGA number suggests that it is build October 1986. Maybe someone else would know when the last 2cv was built in France.

Same as mine ! mine is French and the same colour and was just as rusty!!

twins

Sean

An easy tell-tale(though not absolutely bullet proof)is the glass. All the glass will have a stamping of the company who made it, it should point you in the right direction. The other tell-tale is front door hinges, normally black on Paris built cars and body colour on Mangualde,Portugal cars(though we are talking about Citroen here, so not always).