Hi to you all

[Paul L]

Don't worry about the typing / spelling Mike.

I think everyone would agree you are providing a great insight into how you build / prepare the cars you work on.

Which in turn is helping us to do a better job on our own ones.

So thanks again, Paul.

[seanick]

Originally Posted by mikmiglia

Hi seanick , i use a primer called reface, its like a high build primer, but it s
great on grp and rubs down like tac..

Thanks Mike, a little info goes a long way.

[Mister Towed]

Hi Mike, I hope all is going well with your new business venture and I can't wait to see how your 'special' turns out.

I thought I'd take you up on your offer of sharing your expertise and I'm looking for some advice on dealing with star shaped cracks in my bodyshell. When I posted some pictures of the back end a while back the camera picked out a couple of them on the o/s rear wing that I hadn't noticed with the naked eye. If you look near the top of this pic directly up from the inner edge of the o/s tyre you should see what I mean, a small white mark with cracks radiating from it -



Thinking back, I probably caused these myself by being rather heavy handed with the shell whilst trial fitting it to the chassis. I was hauling it around on my own and I do remember snagging it on the boot outriggers a couple of times

My thoughts are to grind out the cracks without penetrating through the other side of the fibreglass and then build the shell back up with filler, but any advice you can give would be much appreciated.

Bye for now, Towed.

[mikmiglia]

Hi mate, i can see them . You need to v out the cracks , just through the gel and to be honest you should add gel to the cracks proud and sand back. Problem is that the gel if put in the cracks will stay sticky even when dried and never feather into the existing gel , when you mix ,the gel normaly should add a wax additive and what this does is take the stickyness out. But another cheap way is to once gone hard leave over night or at lease a few hour, get some of your wifes or maybe your own nail vernish remover ,and wipe the gel . it will avoporate and take the stickyness out ready to sand back .

Sand the top with 80 gritt, and proceed to 180 and then 240 gritt paper.

I hope all this makes sence, and if you get stuck just ask

[Mister Towed]

Thanks Mike, I'll have a crack at it (pun intended). Will flo-coat do instead of gel? Only that's what I have already.

[mikmiglia]

Originally Posted by Mister Towed

Thanks Mike, I'll have a crack at it (pun intended). Will flo-coat do instead of gel? Only that's what I have already.

Yes mate , should be fine mate.

[seanick]

Heres another tip for you Toed, we use brown parcel tape over our gell repairs. This helps in two ways, firstly by excluding the air you get next to no surface by-product stickiness, so less need for wax additive.
Secondly, the tape keeps the gell from falling out of the repair whilst is sets.
For a large area you can use stiff plastic sheet like DPC.

[Mister Towed]

So far so good on the advice front, but why does the repair need gel in it? What would happen if I just used body filler? Sorry if that's a dumb question but I'm new to this 'glassing lark.

[seanick]

Well you have a point. Gel coat is a little harder and more durable than polyester filler, and one usually repairs gel with gel if the finish is polished gel coat. You could just fill them, but still vee out the cracks to 30 degrees before filling. Also find the cause of the stress cracks, and maybe add more GRP behind to prevent it happening again.
Back to the housework.....can't wait for this eve......work on mine!

[Mister Towed]

Ahh, that makes sense. The cause of the cracks was undoubtedly my heavy handedness when trial fitting the shell on my own

[seanick]

Heres a bit of thread cross-pollination ......

http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/fo rum/showthread.php?p=39368#post39368

[AndyP57]

Not really cross pollination. Mick is trying to clone our car and sell it off as his own.

[Viatron]

linky no worky, this one?
Linky

[AndyP57]

That's the one. Stand by for fireworks. Legal if necessary

[Psycho pops]

Clone, I don't think so , the different length in the front is very obvious, no more a clone than looking back at past 50s/ 60s specials which hold more than a passing resemblance..
Surely theres room for both out there.


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...psbebd513c.jpg

[seanick]

Looks like a modified 1958 NICKRI to me
Front like a Cobra, rear like a Nickri, large bonnet, longer nose, doors, hump in line with driver, and fair bodywork.
How many Lotus 7 clones are there? Westfield, Caterham etc etc et
cProbably that design is out of patent from Nickri?
Astons look a bit like Jags....

[Viatron]

There is no way anyone can say the origins of that weren't taken from a Sammio / Ribble mould! If Mick can produce the buck he built from scratch to make the moulds that that body was pulled from then I will gladly stand corrected......oh and amazed!

[seanick]

How many Ferrari/Lambo kits were moulded from original parts?

[Viatron]

Slightly different in this case I would say bearing in mind Micks relationship with Sammio and his full knowledge that the project has just been sold on to new owners hoping to improve and market it. At the very worst a blatant ripoff and at the very best a very misjudged and mistimed venture.

[Psycho pops]

Seanick is right if you follow Gary's early posts when he was getting Sammio off the ground he started with a Nickri and made the Spyder.
I dont think Mick has hid his cars origins either it's clear in his posts, has he done enough to say it's not a direct copy, I don't know show the two side by side then judge.

http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/foru...ead.php?t=2175