MadaboutKitcars

A little is still better than nothing.
Had a late night last night with friends in Oxford for a rather damp BBQ.

And the leaves starting to appear on my driveway are a sure sign Autumn is upon us.



So I really need to use what little time I have and keep chipping away.

Most of the car has now been flatted back to an initial stage that ends up looking like this.



It then takes quite a bit of effort to get it to the next level of smoothness.

Today I was concentrating on the rear corner of the driver's side.



But I hadn't take all the covers off as the sky looked like this overhead.



So I had to call it a day when the first few drops of rain arrived.

I've now got to spend some time doing 'real' work before a family meal this evening.

With a bit of luck, I'll be able to do a bit more during the week.

Take care, Paul.

PS
Great to see what JeffH was able to do with the the Formosa 120 gr.



I guess I am in the odd position of being able to afford to get a professional finish, but have chosen an amateur one.

But this build has always been about what I am capable of doing myself, even if I do wish I could work faster!

Paul, great job! Time is a relative term, the more relatives, the less time.

Ahhh you've got to the fill/paint/sand/repeat phase!

Based on my expereinces of learning to do this on my Sammio exactly the same way as you are, I wish you and your sanity all the best!

Moulleur - Unfortunately, the last 20% of the smoothness takes 80% of the time/effort.

Dave - Thanks, as my sanity is definitely being tested today.

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Bloody Weather!
I've had a really busy week with work and just couldn't line up spare time with dry weather in the evenings.

Started the latest round of flatting back this morning…





Only for yet another 'shower' to arrive (you can see the drops of rain in the photo above).

So it was back on with the covers.



At times like this I really do despair at home long even the smallest jobs take me.

Anyway, I'm sitting here in my work clothes and will head back out later if I get the chance.

Cheers, Paul.

Frustrating indeed! Just keep at it as you can, all will be good eventually. Patience belong in hospitals though.

Moulleur - Now that Mister Towed's has been sold there is no rush to finish.

Well, apart from the fact my finger tips hurt and I really want the car back on the road.

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Just one of those days…
I did venture out to do a bit more sanding.

The area around the petrol cap is definitely getting there.



In fact, the whole back end is slowly getting there.



But I'd forgotten that there is still quite a bit of work to do at front too.



I also sanded down the high build primer on the repair patches.









But I then felt a sudden drop in temperature and, sure enough, my time was up.



Unfortunately, I had only just started to wipe the car down when the rain arrived.

So the car and the covers all got a few drops on them.



At this point, I take the weather as a sign that my day is done.

So until next time, take care, Paul.

Paul, try a bit of masking tape on your fingertips. Works for me!
I also use a soft sanding sponge or a kitchen sponge to wrap a piece of sandpaper around.

Moulleur - Thanks for the tips.

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Cutting My Loses:
With rain in the forecast, I couldn't take the chance of painting, as it wouldn't be dry in time for the covers to go back on.

And the sky over head also didn't give me much confidence that I would get a decent run at the sanding either.

So I just peeled back the covers from the rear.



Then I mixed up some fibreglass filler and used it along the slight crack on the underside of the boot floor.
( The fresh filler is green and the grey is where the etch primer was previously applied. )



Not easy to work on, or get a decent photo of, but this was part of the damage caused when the car fell off the jacks.

Originally, I had to bridge the gap between the metal floor of the boot and the fibreglass body shell.

I did this by bonding in a series of plywood panels which was then covering in fibreglass matting.

The crack appeared where the outside edges of the fibreglass overlapped the boot floor.

So there is no structural damage, but I just wanted to seal it all up before adding some Tetroseal.

I then made a token start on removing the masking tape from the boot rain channel.

Unfortunately, this is all a bit of a mess as I've left tape on too long.



I had also changed the height of the join between the paint in the rain channel and the body work.

So I now have a black, grey primer & BRG in a row.



Anyway, there is some family stuff going on shortly, so that takes priority over everything else.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

From Dawn 'Til Dusk:
I am really running out of time to finish this paint job, as even now September is drawing to a close.

So I was up and out as the sun was gently rising in the East this morning.



I then left my small tin of yellow paint in a bowl of warm water.



While I peeled off the covers and applied some fresh 'normal' masking tape around the edge of the yellow tape.



I'd also made a dripping mess of the inside of the nose opening when applying the first coat.



I'll come back and remove the yellow another day, but for now, I just added some tape over the top.



I then applied the second coat of yellow.





I had to put my faith in the weather forecast and simply leave the front end uncovered all day.



Unfortunately, I made the mistake of taking a last look at the nose as I headed off for work at 7.50am.

As there were too HUGE running in the paint, where gravity, the slope of the nose & my poor painting technique had combined.

Still, at least I didn't have my camera with me and the street lights were already on by the time I got home at 7.30pm.

So I just pulled the covers back over and will prep this for a third coat as soon as I get the chance.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

Looking great, Paul. I rather like the matt look. Have you thought about just giving a good coat of polish as it is?

Really looking good!

Oxford & Moulleur - Thanks chaps.

Oxford - I am actually trying really hard to resist the temptation to skip the last bit of flatting back.

If anything, I may be trying too hard to get a smooth surface, as I've broken through the BRG in a few places now.

As I was wiping the car down earlier today, you get a hint of how it should polish up to a reasonable finish.



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Prepping for final round of painting.
My reward for being dragged around the shops for hours with my wife and daughters earlier, was a few more hours sanding.

Hard to get a decent photo of the huge run in the yellow paint.



Unfortunately, it is a lot easier to see where it was.



I'm still working my way around the car, trying to reach an even standard all around.





As mentioned above, I now have a few more areas to touch up with BRG.



Thankfully, there is a decent weather forecast for tomorrow, so I plan to apply the final coats of BRG & Yellow.

As the harsh reality is the chances of me getting a long dry day will keep on reducing the longer I take to finish.

So I have to draw a line in the sand somewhere and I think tomorrow is gong to be it.

After that, if I have any more problems with the paint, I will just have to wait until the Spring to fix them.

As I really need to get this car back on the road now before I start running out of daylight as well as dry weather.

Until next time, take care, Paul.

Back to watching paint dry…
I left the paint tins to warm in the morning sunshine while I was preparing the surfaces.



Then I started with the yellow on the nose.



Before switching to the BRG on a number of places:

The areas damaged where the bonnet and body shell stuck together.





The outside corners of the wind deflector lip.





There are now lots of areas that have been rubbed through, here are a couple of examples.





Finally, whilst I quite liked the paint rubbing off around the rivets, I gave these areas an extra coat anyway.





Unfortunately, a combination of domestic chores and "real work" will take up the rest of my day.

So until next time, take care, Paul.

Saturday Scraps
In between family stuff and showers, I had less than an hour to work on the car today.

At least that was enough time to at least make a start on flatting back the areas where I had touched up the BRG.

So lots of areas went from shiny…







Back to dull...







Leaving the car looking like this overall.





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Diminishing Returns
It will be the 1st of October tomorrow and I first starting prepping the car for paint on the 7th May.

Although it wasn't unit the wheels were removed on the 12th June that I could no longer drive the car (on my driveway).

But whichever way you count it, I have still spent months getting the car painted and this ties back to what I wrote a few days ago:



So even though I spotted a few small, OK, tiny, blemishes in the paint earlier today, they are staying are they are now.

Instead I will continue to flat back using higher grade paper before the final cut and polish and that will be it.

Even if the car isn't 100% perfect, it will still look miles better in green and yellow compared to the grey primer.

So my mind is made up and I now just need the weather to cut me some slack so I can get on with it.

Cheers, Paul.

Slow progress is still progress Paul, just frustrating.

Did you manage to get a proper polisher?
It is well worth investing in one, it will make it much easier and give a much better finish.

Paul, please take this advice. Purchase or even rent/borrow a good polisher.
Less tedious work and better result every time!

Molleur & Jag - Thanks chaps.

My mate is going to let me use his 'proper' polisher when I finally reach that stage.

Unfortunately, it is now dark when I get home from work.

So I really need to make the most of the next dry day I get.

Cheers, Paul.

Excellent! Wishing you dry and sunny days!

Moulleur - Cheers.

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Sunday - Part 1

Early Morning
I had already done some domestic chores by the time I headed outside at 8.30am.

First job of the day was to peel off all the tape from the bonnet nose.



Whilst most of it came off cleanly, other bits left a sticky mess behind.



There were a number of areas where the paint sneaked in under the edges of the tape.



A sharp blade was enough to tidy the edge up.



There was also some rough edges of paints where tape had been applied to the inside edge.



A bit more work with the blade and a bit of sanding down took care of that.



By the time I'd removed the sticky tape residue, the edge was looking very crisp.







I need to take a quick break at this point to warm up as it was pretty chilly in the shade.

End of Part 1…

Sunday - Part 2

Late Morning
Then it was time for some more flatting back, starting with 800 grit.





Followed by a wipe down.



Then a final round of flatting back with 1200 grit.



And another wipe down.



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Afternoon

At this point it is probably worth giving this day some context:
- I have been very busy with 'real' work recently.
- The long hours are likely to continue until mid Dec.
- The constant showers around here lately are soul destroying.
- So I really had to make the most of today's dry forecast.

Which is a long excuse for the fact that I haven't picked up the proper polisher from my mate yet.

So, despite knowing it wasn't really up to the job, I ended up doing the cutting stage with the machine I had.



Which left the car looking like this after yet another wipe down.



Unfortunately, by now, the sky was starting to make me feel a little nervous.



End of Part 2…

Sunday - Part 3
With so little car time to play with, I just had to push on and hope for the best.

So on went the polish…





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[color="red"]WARNING[/color]

Those of you expecting to see a mirror shine, should look away now.

[color="red"]WARNING[/color]

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As, I've actually ended up with the look of old paint that has lost it gloss over the years.







Which leads me nicely to this old quote.



And, given the Frankenstein Hillbilly nature of my build, I think the paint is just right.

I will give it another coat of polish when I can, just to give it some protection from the tarpaulin.

I also need to finish off the boot lid and headlight rims at some point.

But that is all for now, so until next time, take care, Paul.

Get the proper polisher and use the Farcela cutting compound. Then do sections about 2' square and don't be tempted to move onto another section until you have got a good standard of finish on the section you are working on.

This will be your final success Paul!

patience of a saint

Hi Paul ,it's looking good after all the time and effort ! you could leave as it is and have that lived in look and patina , just like some of the 50's race cars at the Goodwood Revival ! or you can continue too try and get a mirror finish so she looks like a concours queen ! ,the car will look good either way ! Pete.