TACKLING THE TUB AND BULKHEAD

The whole vehicle has been masked 1 up and the primer/filler coats are applied, here finishing off around the fuel filler on the rear wing. 2 The top of the rear tub has been coloured before riveting the pre-painted cappings on. This ensures the whole job is fully colour coated. Before painting, the whole of the 3 rear body tub and bulkhead are cleaned with panel wipe, then wiped over with the tack cloth. The new rivets holding the cappings 4 to the rear tub also need to be primed by spotting with an aerosol can of primer/filler paint. Nick begins applying the first grip 5 coat of colour onto the front bulkhead – as before, he’s tackling the details prior to the main panels. With the bulkhead completed, the details around the rear body tub are blown in, beginning with the wheel arch flanges. The movement of the spray gun is 7 continuous as Nick works systematically around the body panels, finishing off with the right rear wing. After three colour coats and 8 overnight setting, we have a shining Shire Blue Land Rover under there. Just need to remove the masking now. 9 The masking tape and sheets are removed carefully to ensure that no paint edges are accidently lifted when peeling the tape away. The finish is excellent, in my 10 opinion, but Nick points out the odd particle in the paint surface. And is it a tad too shiny for an old Ninety?

The process continues with the 11 usual flatting, this time using 2500 grade wet and dry paper, the ‘nibbing’ process that we mentioned earlier. 12 The small buffer is then used with cutting compound to remove marks left by the wet and dry paper, before polishing with a soft cloth. 13 A great result – the right level of shine, with original rivet depressions still visible. Just the roof to paint, and we can start rebuilding the vehicle.