Exterior after restoration: Page (1)

4th December 2012

The bodyshell has it's top coat on now and work has started flattening the paint back and then polishing it, twice.

So it is a bit of a slow process getting the finish right.

In the centre image below (lighting in the workshop isn't great where the car is sitting) you can see that the old weld line in the roof has disappeard completely

The paint process to get the finish looking it's best has multiple stages which the images above and this one show.

First any repairs necessary are carried out, holes welded and filled etc.

An intial 'primer' coat is applied then flattened off, then a new coat of primer is applied, this is again flattened off. Then the Black top coat is applied

Once the top colour paint is applied, the paint booth turns into an 'oven' and all freshly painted parts are 'baked' at 75 degrees to dry and harden the finish. Once dry, the black top coat is flatted off by hand using a 2000 grit rubbing paper, then, on close inspection, any 'shiny areas' around any imperfections stand out. These are then again flatted down by hand so the surface is super smooth.

Then a 2 stage machine 'polishing' process begins using 3M 'Fast Cut' liquid and a sheepskin covered disc. The image on the right shows an area on the rear 'C' pillar which has been polished once. It still requires a final 'superfine' polish before the process is complete.

These images show the process better on the boot lid.

Left is the boot lid after being painted in primer and rubbed down to find any imperfections. The centre and right side image show the top coat 'Black' in 2 stages. It has been 'flatted off to again remove any imperfections, then areas around the lock and hinges have been polished prior to fitting to the car.

The next stage is to paint the front wings, grille and bonnet, then fit them to the car however progress has been delayed by the unforseen welding required to a couple of the wings.

In order to avoid potential damage to the fresh paint, once painted, the parts are fastened back on the car. Once the car is fully assembled, the whole car will again be machine polished and waxed.

You can follow progress by clicking on the menus at the top of the page

Or Turn the page to: Exterior Progress continued >>