MadaboutKitcars

Gardener's World:

So first thing yesterday morning, the garden looked like this.



Note: An old car tarpaulin is now acting as a paddling pool cover.

I had to do some trimming of one of our trees, so I could lift the fence panels out.
( Our neighbours were kind enough to allow us to use their shared driveway. )





By the end of the day, the garden was looking like this, with the tent, pool & washing lines all gone.



The previous owners of our house planted the Eucalyptus tree you can see on the right hand side and it has grown into a complete monster.
( We've already taken over 20 feet off the top in the past. )

In fact there is no way I can go back far enough to get the whole tree in the photo, so this is the view from above.



The team arrived just after 8am and before long they had made a big dent in the Eucalyptus.



With the wood chipper set up outside, there was no chance of working on the car while there were here.



By the time they had left, the garden now looked like this.



The improvements to all the trees look much better in real life compared to the various other photos I took.

So I will leave you will this view from above, where you can see how much was removed.



With a bit of luck, I will get some time to work on the car tomorrow.

Until then, take care, Paul.

Should have taken the whole tree out.
We had one and it grew like stink, every time you cut it back it grew twice as fast and twice as much.
In the end we chopped it down and took the stump out with a stump grinder.

Jag - Our plan is to finally chop it down in a few years time, after we have planted some replacement trees first.

The problem we have is that one of ours neighbours cut down all the trees in their garden before pouring tonnes of concrete over the grass.



Which combined with another neighbour cutting down their trees to build a shed leaves one side of the garden very exposed.

The annoying thing is that if we sit on the patio and look left you can't even see another house for all the greenery in the surrounding gardens.



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Morning Chores:
I already been back out in the garden this morning putting my, patent pending, removable clothes lines back up.

I set the post holders in concrete, after modifying the internals to stop them 'gripping' the posts when fitted.





So they can be removed when required and I have some wooden caps to fill in the post holes.



Anyway, I just need to finish some more domestic chores and then the car cover can come off.

Cheers, Paul.

Token Gesture:
Finally worked out how to put up the circus tent single handed.





Although I still needed my wife's help to bring the bonnet down from the dining room.



Whilst using the yoga to protect the bonnet nose seemed like a good idea…

It actually left traces of pink foam all over the place.



The driveway was a complete sweatbox for the few hours I had to sand down the body shell.

Still, at least I was able to make a decent start and, with a bit of luck, I will be able to chip away at this after work next week.







Once all the sanding has been completed, my basic plan is to paint everything at the same time.

Take care, Paul.

Unexpected Surprise:
Got home from work to find that Micky1Mo had sent me these for my car.



So a big thank you from me to him.

Obviously, I had to try them out for size, but just remember I haven't finished flatting back this area yet.

Thankfully, they are the same diameter as my previous lights, so they fit the plinths nicely.



But there are much thinner than my previous Land Rover lights.



I just need to add a nice coat of BRG and these should really look the part.



Apparently, many of you are more interested in the clouds overhead, than the build itself.

So I'll leave you with my excuse for going back inside, rather than starting to do any more sanding.
( Plus the fact I feel knackered. )



So until next time, take care, Paul.

Always looking forward to your posts. Keep at it!
Very nice from Mickey 1 Mo.

Hi Paul,

Finally caught up with last few pages of your posts. Sorry to see you've had so many problems with the painting, but you are soooooo nearly there mate. However, even a "survivor" finish looks great in my opinion. I am sure your next layer will be ok. As always, your build is inspiring and I will definitely follow your example and paint my car with a brush and/or rollers....I will keep my fingers crossed that your final painting session goes ok. Good luck.

Cheers, Deni

Molleur & Deni - Thanks gents.

Although I'm not actually convinced that I would recommend painting a car by brush.

As this approach has taken much longer than I wanted it to and I am still not finished yet.

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Slow Going:
Wednesday evening was a complete wash out.

Things have also got a bit hectic at work, which meant I was on my laptop at 5.30am this morning!

So whilst I had little energy this evening, I tried to do a bit more…

First job was to remove the pink foam from the bonnet nose.





Whilst it all came off pretty easily…



It did highlight a small 'dent' along the edge.
( Excuse the poor photo, but the light was starting to fade outside. )



But at this point in time, that dent is staying and I will call it character building.

Next I worked my way around one corner at the rear of the car.



Spend too much effort trying to smooth around the plinths and broke through the paint.



Another poor photo, but traces of a few paint wrinkles has also been uncovered by sanding down.



Either way, I will be very glad when I have finished this round of flatting back.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

Another Step:
Got a bit more sanding done on the rear of the car this evening…



But that was it.

So let's see what I can get done over the weekend, although I will have to squeeze car work in around other stuff.

Cheers. Paul.

Time Gentlemen Please!



Yes, I am officially calling time on the flatting back before the final coat of BRG.

Thankfully the tent was able to keep the drizzly rain out.





I've decided it is easier to paint the faces of the aero humps on the boot lid with it upside down.



I had to wait until the afternoon for the rain to stop, so I could tackle the body shell.







To be honest, I've reached the point where I'd be happy to just polish this mess and drive off.

Especially as the weather forecast for tomorrow is more drizzle, so I can't do any painting.

Still, I had a lucky escape when I spotted that the tarpaulin under the cover was full of water.
( Because I've been keeping my wooden tonneau cover off the paintwork. )



Thankfully, I was able to lift it out like a sack and tip it over the driveway.



So much for my expensive car cover being "Four Seasons".

Final job of the day was to paint the underside of the boot lid.



Until next time, take care, Paul.

Waiting Game
Nothing to report as I now have to wait for the elusive combination of free time and dry weather.

In the meantime, I used some parcel tape to make small modifications to my wooden tonneau cover.





Hopefully, this approach will prevent the foam causing any problems with the paint.

Cheers, Paul.

I Don't Believe It!
Came home from work to be told that a freak gust of really strong wind had hit the garden earlier.

Unfortunately, this resulted in the 'Circus Tent' being lifted off the ground and then thrown back down.

Obviously, seeing the boot lid on the outside of the tent was never going to be a good sign.



But it was much worse on the inside.



In one corner of the roof, one cross brace snapped in half and another was bent to the point of splitting.



But there was also knock on damage to other brackets and joints.

This meant that I couldn't get it back into position, so I just had to tape it together as best I could.



Leaving me with a sagging roofline.



The bonnet and its stand were also knocked about.



Resulting in a series of small chips on the rear edge.



And some scrapes on the inside surface too.



I've been forced to leave the tent flaps open just incase there is any more wind coming.



I wonder if I've even mentioned before that building this car without a garage was a really dumb idea?

Until next time, take care, Paul.

Delayed Deja Vu:
I've just checked the dates and, completely by chance, it was the 21st of June when the first coat of BRG went on.

So here I am, exactly one month later, still trying to get the final coat of BRG on.

Thankfully, I was able to get some time off real work, as the weekend forecast looks very wet.

In order to ensure I had a single shade of BGR for the whole car, I blended the 2nd & 3rd tins.



I also added a dash of thinner into the paint bucket (which is recommended for spraying).

Working on the driveway was hampered by high winds blowing bits all over the fresh paint.







However the wind was really playing havoc with my attempts to painting inside the 'Circus Tent'.

At one point, the whole thing lifted and moved while I was half way through painting the bonnet.
( The original tent pegs holding the legs were all lost the other day, but I've since found some more. )

But eventually I managed to get everything painted.

The headlight rims were easier to paint on the ground compared to hanging up.



You can also see the state of the structure trying to support the roof in this photo.



The boot lid.



The bonnet.



So far, < Touch Wood > I haven't noticed any of the major paint reactions that have plagued me up until now.

I am sure the fact it is much cooler has helped and the dash of thinner may also have played a part.

Unfortunately, I think I was being so careful to avoid putting on too much paint, that I didn't apply enough.

So there are lots of places where the paint hasn't settled into a smooth finish.

Still, it looks like I have enough paint left to give everything a second coat.

Although, when I will get a chance to apply that second coat is anyone's guess.

Therefore I will leave you with this photo of my favour bit of the whole car when I get the painting right.



Until next time, take care, Paul.

Looking good!
Give that coat a bit of time to dry thoroughly before another coat.
Color is great.

Keep the faith Paul, so close now.

Yep, looking good

Wow Paul, you really are nearly finished.....fantastic!

Almost there Paul almost there.

Molleur, Barber, Micky, Deni & Deggsy - Thanks gentlemen.

I'm really pleased that the 3rd tin of BRG appears to be a darker shade than the 'rogue' 2nd tin.

Despite the set back described below, I know I will get there in the end.

Although at this rate it is likely to be August before I am back on the road.

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Every Silver Lining Has A Cloud:

Friday - Afternoon/Evening
I wanted to leave the car uncovered for as long as possible to ensure the paint was dry before the covers went on.

The weather forecast said I had more than enough time to meet a friend and return before the rain arrived.

So I packed up all the dust sheets and left the car looking like this.



Unfortunately, a combination of delays at my end and the rain arriving earlier than expected left me stuffed.

So I am very grateful to my wife for throwing the car cover on for me.

It was chucking it down when I got back and pools of water were had already developed in the cockpit area.

So I had to remove the cover, fit the wooden tonneau covers, the tarpaulin and then the car cover.

Obviously, there was no way of doing this with allowing even more rain to hit my fresh paint.

Given the fact I was just wearing a T-Shirt, by the time I was finished, I looked like a drowned rat .

Saturday - Morning
Thankfully, it had stopped raining, but it didn't look like I had much 'dry' time to play with.



There was rain all over the car.



Which has left water marks everywhere after I wiped the surface dry.



All I could do today was dry the covers and put them back on again.



I then went to check on the tent and that had leaked over the bonnet.



So more water stains on that too.



The only good news is that I have enough BRG paint for another coat.

So until next time, take care, Paul.

Rearranging The Deck Chairs...
It finally dawned on me that it was the work the tree surgeon did that lead to the destruction of the 'Circus Tent'.
( Well, that and the huge gust of wind. )

As previously, the fact everything was overgrown lead to a natural wind break in the garden that protected the tent.

Unfortunately, the fact the tent is damaged means the roof material is no longer pulled 'tight', so waters pools and leaks in.

Which explains why there is water on the bonnet for a second day running.



So I have decided that the tent has to go before it actually does any more damage to this project.

But first, I had to tidy up the Summerhouse (again) in order to make some room for the boot lid.







I also touched up the black paint on the bonnet hinges.



Then my wife helped me carry the bonnet through the house to the front drive.

The extra pair of hands also came in handy when it came to bolting the bonnet to the hinges.



Even though it was a lot if extra work (and paint), I'm glad I did the inside of the bonnet at this stage.



With the bonnet out of the way, I could dismantle the tent and the framework is really stuffed.



But I will end will a couple of photos that give a hint at how the car will finally look.



And even though I know the angle/light of this photo flatters the paint finish, I love the way it looks.



I know the next few weeks will not give me that much time to work on the car.

So I will try to be realistic and aim to be back on the road before my next MOT due date at the end of August.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

Paul, your perseverance is commendable! Keep at 'er..

Molleur - A belated thanks.

Unfortunately, a combination of very little free time and rubbish weather is preventing any car work at the moment.

Hopefully, I will get a chance to at least start flatting back the water damage at some point.

Cheers, Paul.

Cordite

Hi Paul, my Cordite was hand painted outside with the local Highland bugs imp-ailed in grotesque angles and the odd notorious Scottish midge for extra texture! Also the body is all over the place distances from the rear wheels are way out but whenever I take the mule out it attracts people like the bugs on the fresh paint work. I have upgraded all the running gear suspension and brakes and now improving the engine for more driving stimulation. I have had a dozen kit cars over the years but I can honestly say that the Cordite although lacks the road holding of the Robin Hood and the power of my v8 or pinto power it still bring a smile to my face! And the Cordite is an ongoing project!

Neil - Thanks for the encouragement.

Deep down, I know the car will look great painted and it will be worth the effort in the end.

And the grin factor from driving this car around, even in London traffic, is hard to beat.

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I just can't win…
It is hard to get a decent photo of the water spots on the paint.



But I thought I would give one area a light rub down with some 800 grit.



Which will be good enough preparation for the (hopefully) final coat of BRG.

At this point I should explain the reason for today's title.

Obviously, I knew my fresh paint had picked up some light damage caused by the rain landing on it.

But the whole car has picked up further damage from the rain hitting the covers.

So whilst the tarpaulin does a great job of keep the water out of the cockpit.

It has left literally thousands of small scratches everywhere.

Again, not easy to get a decent photo.



So I did a bit more sanding on the rear wing.



At which point it started to rain and I was having a major sense of humour failure.

Especially, as I had already taken this photo of my quite badly damaged bonnet bulge.



This was particularly hard to take, as the reflections from this were my favour part of the whole car.

So when I finally get around to putting a final coat of paint on, I will need a 'soft' cover under the tarpaulin.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

Paul, I think you need to keep the cover off the car for a few weeks after painting the final coat to give the paint time to harden properly (or do you have a friendly neighbour with a garage that will let you store it for a few weeks), else strip the interior out of the car so it doesn't matter if it gets wet and leave the car open to the elements.