Love your build. Always inspirational

Thanks for the link Mick, I downloaded it, but have'nt had time to watch it yet!

Carnoob thank you for your kind words I seem to have inspired several people along the way, and in turn, others on this site have inspired me.

That is a good thing, and shows how this site was intended to function I guess.

Hello Paul and Ed, I just found your posts.

Paul, in answer to your question about the panels:
I did not have to actually cut any panels for serious mods like you did, apart from chopping out the offside head light mounting and re-doing it at the right angle, and of course, I re-designed the boot to my liking.
The rear end of the car was fairly good, a couple of flash lines each side which were an absolute bitch to get rid of, each time I had "finished" it and put a guide coat on, I realised they were still there, I lost count of how many times that happened.

As for the front, that was not so easy, there were lots of "bubbles" that needed grinding out and filling, there were two flash lines on the sides and one across the rear of the front by the windscreen, which was as troublesome as the rear to get rid of.
The drivers "wing" is at least and inch wider than the near side one, but It is not noticeable, without a measuring tape, so I just left it.

There were lots of bumps and hollows, which were sanded down or filled in.

I am happy with how it is now, but really, it is not perfect, but good enough to live with the imperfections, as they are not noticeable or obvious.

Ed, yes It is a shame about the Jaguar engine not being suitable for my car, as I happen to have a 4.2 E Type triple carb engine totally re-built with 6 new pistons etc. etc!

Unfortunately, such an engine and gearbox, weighs in at just over 600 lbs or around 280 kilos.

280 kilos will be roughly half the weight of my finished car I would guess!

So as you say, it really is not feasable, although I believe some americans do put huge engines in their Spitfires.

I wouldn't get too hung up on the quality of the paint finish you get when you spray a classic replica, just do the best job you can and it'll be fine.

My Spyder was the first car I'd ever even thought about spraying and I did what I'd describe as a half decent job. I figured I'd redo it over its first winter and pay someone to do it professionally if I still wasn't happy.

About two weeks after I sprayed it I took it to its first classic car show, parked it amongst the Mercs, Cobras and Healeys and loitered nearby to eavesdrop on what people thought of it.

http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/...psf39d50e5.jpg

I was pleasantly surprised when it drew quite a crowd, and utterly gobsmacked when two quite well to do gentlemen got into a heated discussion as to my car's originality.

They weren't arguing over whether it was real or a kit car, but whether it had ever been restored. One of them eventually convinced the other that it was an unrestored original by pointing to my paint job and saying 'look at the paint, you can't fake patina like that, it's been on there for at least sixty years'. Actually it was still a bit wet...

Mr Towed, I bet their words were music to your ears!
What exactly did you do to get the "patina" they noticed?
Did you mop it by machine, or do it by hand, and what grades of cutting paste did you use?

As I said before about painting, its not so much the paint finish. but what is underneath the paint that counts.

After three days of hardening, there are some places on my cars front end that have sunk a little and under critical light, (strip lighting) some of the patch edges are visible.
From 5 feet away its not noticeable, but up close it looks a mess to me.
I know why it has happened too, due to my bloody impatience to get the car to Stoneleigh, I have not allowed the primer over the repaired areas to dry properly, and the top coat has reacted to the uncured primer edges.

So I will have to do it again. The rear end of the car has no such problems, and the front must be the same I'm afraid, so with a heavy heart, its back to the wet and dry yet again...........

This, I suppose is the difference between a professional and me!

I will get it right though, otherwise it will never leave my driveway :-)

At least you know the panels are right Scottie, another blow over won't do any harm. We used to just keep piling the coats on with cellulose, then cut it back to a perfect finish, well almost!!! <vbg>

Patience is a virtue, especially when painting cars...

Yes you're right Ed, at least I know what I've done wrong and how to sort it.
And I've sprayed the front twice with good results so another coat can only improve things as you say.,

Scottie, I used Farecla G3 cutting compound applied with a cheap random orbital polisher on the bigger, flat panels, but by hand in the concave curves using 'waffle' sponges -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FARECLA-G3...item487c1365c8

I followed that up with Farecla finishing liquid, then a final hand polish with Auto Glym Super Resin Polish.

The patina effect is mostly down to my amateur spraying - there are areas on some of the concave curves where I ended up with a slightly rough finish, not so much orange peel but more a sort of weather worn appearance.

Those areas have cut back to look more like age-old sun faded paint than a bad spray job, and because the finish is metallic, the surface still shines in the sun. The only people who I've heard comment on those areas, and there have been three or four, have all reached the same conclusion - that it's a sixty year old paint job that's holding up rather well.

When I've looked closely at old race cars at some of the events I've been to since finishing the car, only the recently restored ones have a 'better' paint finish than I achieved with zero skill and a cheap gun. The original, unrestored cars tend to be painted rather less well than I managed on my first attempt.

One thing that has cropped up recently though: I used the G3 compound as it was, straight out of the tube. While watching a 'car sos' (or similar programme) recently, they used G3 to cut back a paint finish and kept adding loads of water sprayed on the surface as they went. I might try that next time I spray a car to see if it ends up any shinier.

Anyway, what are you doing sitting here reading this? Off to the MOT shop with you, post-haste!

Scottie, i know this will be virtually impossible for you....but....
the best thing you can do now is leave your car out in the sun for a couple of days, to allow everything to cure....then come back to it, sand again, and another couple of coats..... You are totally right, and i can't stress enough, that everything primer-wise needs to fully cure before painting.....
The biggest thing i learned from learning to paint, to doing it as a job, is patience.....
That being said, i'm hugely impressed with the finish, and your car will look very trick indeed....
Oh, yeah, as already mentioned, once painted, leave it be for a fair while (a few days at least...) for everything to cure, and 'sink', then if you want, sand with maybe 1500 grit, then 2000 grit wet n dry, with warm soapy water, polish with G3, and again, use plenty of water, with a polishing machine, then a finer polish, with a softer polishing head, then wax, then stand back and admire....
And a final tip... If you do use a polishing machine with some speed to it, don't stay in one spot too long....the heat build up when polishing fibreglass doesn't dissipate so much as steel, so could overheat and 'melt' the paint.... Keep the polisher moving and keep applying fresh compound...and keep it wet...!
Hope this little rant helps...and really look foreward to seeing the finished result... All the best, Ollie.

Mr Towed and Ollie, thank you for your in- detail helpful advice, its always welcome, I do try to learn from my mistakes, but the one thing which always lets me down is my lack of patience, and that is usually made up for by endless determination to get it right in the end.
If I had more patience, I would have been driving my car weeks ago.............

Patience is a virtue,
But i want mine,
NOW.
:dance:

No way Ollie! I always want mine YESTERDAY!

If I wanted it tomorrow i would demand it tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Get it here, now and RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Almost direct quote from a customer of mine once

Monday
 

I have spent the morning flatting the front end for the third time, and put the top coat back on it. It looks okay, and has improved, but there are still imperfections, but to be honest, I've really had enough of paintwork and prep, so it will stay like it is.

Providing it is not viewed from about 2 feet away, the unsatisfactory bits do not show, and it looks okay from 5 feet or more.

With my extra experience lately gained, I got a bit cocky, and reduced the gun pressure by 10 psi and thinned the paint a bit more, and it worked, the paint went on smoother with less spatter, and flowed out quicker.

We live and learn.....

If I ever get to any shows with it, the punters can amuse themselves by playing "spot the f**k up".

Just a couple of pics:

[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...psqpnzb6xf.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...psscsgqdyg.jpg[/IMG]

Looking good scottie, cant wait to see it all put back together. When you take it to shows just put a rope around it 2 feet away and no 1 will spot the 'fuck ups' (as you say). it does look well on the pics. Well done

Scottie - Based on Mister Towed's experience I think most people will just see a stunning car. :cool:

Anyone who wants to point out the small faults is clearly a :tape: :tape: !!

Good luck putting all the shiny bits back on.

Cheers, Paul. :)

PS
Just say no to steroids, your biceps may be HUGE, but they are clearly deformed.

:icon_wink:

Tuesday
 

Paul, the steroid bit was very funny, well done!

My aim today was to get some of the bits back on the car and sort the exhaust out finally.

I managed to make some vibration deadening pads out of car tyres, which I shaped to about 3 or 4 mm thick and put it between the chassis and the exhaust, where I had bolted it up tight to.
They are a mix of rubber and fabric layers which ought to be quite robust
under compression.

There was some slight vibration before, and this should help a bit. Very fiddly job, which took ages to do, but when I came to put the mirror mountings back on the car, I REALLY found out what the word "fiddly" meant!!

It took me over two hours just to get the nuts on the back of the bolts as the space to work in is so restricted.
In the end I did it using a combination of tweezers, a tiny magnet on a stick, and sticky tape.

It took me a while to figure out I had to put them in place before any of the interior trim panels go back in, as there would be no access otherwise.

Some latest pics:
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...pstvovdjwm.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...psxbtrplkf.jpg[/IMG

[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...psrzdez7xl.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...psdafjuc2k.jpg[/IMG]

WCA I have an update on the head light cowls you asked for.

I filled and sanded mine a wee bit, then got peed off with the whole thing and painted the cowls mat black. They look quite nice, so I think on a dark coloured car, like yours or mine, mat black is the answer. ( Because it does not reflect the crappy finish!)

Scottie hats off to you, it really does look great!

Scottie - Oh yes indeed. :cool:

I know this has been an epic struggle at times and the mirror mounts are a good example of that.

But you must be starting to grin like a Cheshire Cat by now.

Well done that man.

Good luck with the remaining jobs, Paul. :)