MadaboutKitcars

How about a folding garage?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Folding-Portable-Garage-/272767146964?hash=item3f82305bd4:g:fwUAAOxyhS9TfINB

JG – I now have a rotten feeling that I am going to be stuffed whatever I do.

As it was the elements that water stained the paint last time.

Although I might be able to leave the car uncovered for one night at a push (weather permitting).

Unfortunately, out here in the suburbs the garages are all used for storage, with no room for a car.

Jag – I did have a look at those folding garages, but have no way of securing them to the drive.

As the driveway is permeable (planning rules) so there is nothing ‘solid’ below the surface to fix things to.

Given the damage my flying ‘circle tent’ did, I don’t want to risk something near the body shell.

Two out of three
No real car work to report, but I’ve just renewed by insurance (which started before I got on the road) and my car tax, as I only got 1 day’s use out of August last year.

So that just leaves my MOT which is due on 31st August, so fingers crossed I will be back on the road in time for that.

Cheers, Paul.

Paul
She's looking better with every effort all you need is a few days fine weather and you'll be finished keep up the good work.

Deggsy - Cheers.

Given all the set backs I've faced during this build, a few issues with paint were to be expected.

With a bit of luck I will get a chance to do some car work next week, as 'life' has taken priority this week.

Take care, Paul.

Wait for good weather, it will get a better cure after some time before you begin again. Don't envy the sanding part at all though.
Looking forward to your posts, as always.

Molleur - Cheers.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A Gentle Rub Down:
I lightly went over the whole car with some 800 grit paper.





This was enough to remove the water damage and the worst of the tarpaulin scratches.

It also highlighted a few spots that I will have to come back to with some 400 grit at some point.

I also discovered another school boy error when I tried to lift the bonnet…

Yes, I'd forgotten to leave a small gap between the bonnet and the body shell...

So the painted surfaces had stuck together.

Thankfully, separating them only left a small mess.



Note: The 400 grit will take care of the 'lumpy' edges.

I also gave the scrapes on the inside surface of the bonnet a quick sanding too.



Before making sure the two surfaces didn't touch again.



Finally, I found a couple of old duvet covers that I could cut up to help protect the paint from the tarpaulin.





I just need to find one more to cover the cockpit sides.



Looking back, it is now almost 3 months since I put the first bit of filler on to start prepping the car for paint.

But at least I am getting a little bit closer to applying the final coat of BRG. < Touch Wood >

So until next time, take care, Paul.

you need to get a t-shirt made up Paul.

Keep Calm and Paint a Cordite

well done

Dave

Looking good Paul, persevere!

Paul if you want to borrow a garage for a week or so then just message me. I'm about an 1hr 20 up the m1 from you.

Dave - I think my T-Shirt should read...

Keep calm and never build a kit car on your driveway.



Molleur - I think this is now more a war of attrition than perseverance.

Jones - Thanks for the offer, I really appreciate it.

Thankfully, I just need a weekend with a couple of dry days in a row.

Although....

Where's Noah?
There has been so much rain today I am half expecting to see an ark sail past my car.

So, obviously, no car progress to report, but fingers crossed for the weekend.

Cheers, Paul.

I just saw him on the M1 heading south ..........should be with you shortly!

Peterux - I would not have fancied driving in that rain.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Final Countdown - Part 1:
Finally lined up some spare time with some dry weather and finished off the sanding.

There was one big run on the boot lid, although the photos are not great.





The rest of the boot lid was given a once over.



Plus the headlight rims and rear view mirror screen bracket.



At which point the sky went black overhead and I really thought my time was up.



Thankfully, whilst the clouds kept coming and going, the rain held off.

On the front drive, I tackled several paint drops on the bonnet / body shell.





Eventually all the real high spots had been removed from the body shell and bonnet.





So, fingers crossed, I will be able to put the final coat of BRG on tomorrow.

Note:
I need to start the painting early to give me the best chance of the paint drying before the covers go back on.

End of Part 1…

The Final Countdown - Part 2:
With the 'sunny side' almost sorted, I turned my attention the the underside of the car.

When the rear wheel tracking was set up, the original control arms were replaced with longer alternatives.

I was happy for second hand parts to be used, but forgot they had not been prepped/painted.

So both arms now look like this.



So there were sanded down.



Before some Kurust was applied.



Whilst it looks like blue paint in the above photo, it dries black.



So these just need to be painted before the wheels go back on.

The other big job underneath was sorting out the mess caused when the car fell off the jacks.

I'd previously hammered out the dents from the boot floor, but this had left some cracks in the Tetroseal.

So I worked my way around the underside of the boot floor removing any cracked Tetroseal.

Then save any exposed metal a coat of Kurust while I had that out.

This was the only section bright enough to get a half decent photo of.



Unfortunately, I also spotted a small crack in the cockpit on the passenger side.

Now this was small enough to get back on the road with and sort out later.

But instead I started hacked at it with a screwdriver until I'd made a huge mess.



Final job of the day was to wipe down/tack off everything on the sunny side.





- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Great Paint Expectations:
If I am being brutally honest I've reached the point where I just don't have any.

As I ended up putting a lot of time and effort into a paint job that can only aspire to be average at best.

But the good news is that it will do and I really want to stop working on the car now and get back to driving it.

In the end I will have proved you can both build a car outside and paint it too.

However, the real question is why would anyone want to?

Until next time, take care, Paul.

Looks good Paul
I know how hard it is to build out in all weathers but it can be done.

Going back to the start of this build you never knew what skills you had and it was a dream to drive a sports car that you had built from scratch.

Along the way this became far more involved than you could ever have guessed and at each step we watched as you tackled it.

Im sure that you have learnt as much about yourself as you have the automotive skills and im sure friends, neighbours and loved ones look at you in a new light.

Looking forward to seeing the yellow details being added.

Roadster - Thanks mate.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Saturday Evening:

Pruned the wall of my al fresco paint booth to give me a bit more space.



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sunday Morning:
Was tip-toeing around the house to avoid waking my family up.

But this allowed me to be all set up for painting before 8am.





Then there was a final round of wiping down and tacking off before I could start painting.

Unfortunately, I had a complete nightmare with the final coat, as it just would not go on smoothly.

So all I can say at this point is that there is definitely more BRG paint on the car, but it is pretty rough.
( The photos make it look miles better than it is in reality. )













End of Part 1…

Part 2:
As well as the sunny side, I also painted over the scratches on the inside of bonnet.
( Caused by the collapse of the 'circus tent' in high winds. )

Before:



After:



This time I remembered to put a block on wood in place to stop the bonnet sticking to the body shell.
( Although I will not be lowering the bonnet until the end of the day. )



I even found something to wrap it in to reduce the risk of scratching the paint.



Now I just need the weather forecast of a dry day to be correct.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

PS
I'd leant one of my regular dust sheets to my daughter while she is painting a project for school.

So I had to drag this one out from the back of the Summerhouse and the blue circles caught my eye.



As this was when I originally painted the headlight rims light blue.



I found the photo above on Page #5 of this thread, which equates to September 2012.

So here I am today still painting the headlight rims, a month shy of five years on.

Paul,

first and foremost well done for keeping this going. Whatever it comes up like in BRG it will be so much better than keeping it in primer. You have a good weather covering now and when it is back together will look the business.

i expect it has almost made you lose sight of what you wanted. But remember you did build and paint it - on the drive !

get it dry and back together and do what you deserve right now - drive it !!!!

best wishes

Dave

I will echo Dave's comments!

As stated above, leave it a bit, mop it and in the meantime, ENJOY IT. I'll wager that nobody will ever raise an issue un-prompted about any of the reservations you have.

Dave, Molleur & Barber - Cheers chaps.

The support I've had from this forum over the years really has helped me get this far.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Difficult Decision Time:
I removed all the dust sheets from around the car and it did look good in the sunshine.





Which means I have now decided that I will take the long and winding road to the finish, rather than a short cut.

So tomorrow morning I will order some more BRG so I can add another coat of paint to what I have.

This will give me the reassurance that the cut and polish stage will not break through to the primer.

The good news is that this will give me a better finish in the long run.

The bad news is that I will not be back on the road when the MOT runs out in a few weeks.

However, in the great scheme of things another few weeks in a five year build is neither here nor there.

Although I know I will be frustrated waiting for the weather and my spare time to line up for another coat.

But I am going to stick with it and hope that all the effort will be worth it in the end.

Cheers, Paul.

Remember that night time temperatures can plummet and morning dew can kick in any time now.

Congratulations. I simply know that you will persevere.

Barber – I was woken up at 5.30am this morning by the sound of rain lashing down outside.

So I know that August is disappearing quickly and my painting ‘window’ will only extend a few more weeks.

Therefore I plan to get the car back on the road in September whether I get an extra coat of paint on, or not.

Then I will just drive it over the Winter and have another go at finishing the paint in late Spring.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Molleur – Thanks, although this has proven to be a real test of my endurance.

Part of me really wants to throw the towel in and just accept a poor paint job as anything is better than primer.

Especially as I have spent so long convincing myself that the ‘warts and all’ nature of my build just doesn’t matter.
( The amazingly positive reaction the car gets either on the road or parked on my driveway confirms this. )

But the other part of me really wants to achieve a half decent paint finish, not perfect, but better than it is now.

Cheers, Paul.

you will get there Paul, hang in there is all.

Molleur - I might be hanging on by my fingertips, but I'm definitely hanging on.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Saturday Morning Painting Show:
With apologies to Elvis Presley…

"It's now or never,
Hold my brush tight
Paint me my darling,
But be dry by tonight
Tomorrow will be too late,
It's now or never
My car won't wait."

My wife's brother is coming over from Ireland tomorrow and staying for a week.

So I have a pile of chores to do today, including relocating all the parts sitting in the dining room.



Despite the thunder and lightening of yesterday, today's forecast was dry.

My morning also started well, as I was looking at the latest photos of Mr T's car.



So I took my chances and started with a gentle flatting back of the previous coat.





Then there was the usual round of wiping down and tacking off.

Before I had a minor shock when I opened the box with the paint in it to and saw "Bronze" instead of "Brunswick".



Thankfully that appears to have been just a typo, although it is hard to get a decent photo of the colour.
( The paint is reflecting the grey of my sweatshirt. )



Although, to be honest, even if it had been bronze green (whatever that is) I would have probably used it anyway.

I bought an extra 2.5 litres this time, so I could make sure the inside of the bonnet was one shade of BRG too.



Unfortunately, in my case, I really think that "Practise makes no difference whatsoever".

As I appeared to be able to create "lime peel" almost as will.

Still, the whole point of this coat was to ensure I would have enough paint to sand back.







One down side of yesterday's rain was I couldn't set the boot lid up on the grass.



So, given how windy it is today, I expect to be picking leaves out of the paint later.



Which means that unless I do something stupid during the sanding down stage, the BRG painting is finished.

Right, I better go and do my chores, so until next time, take care, Paul.