patient man

Mike applies colour topcoats to the Stag’s bodywork, rectifies paint runs, installs a reversing camera AND final fits the engine and gearbox.

At the end of my the previous instalment, I’d applied two coats of Carmine Red to the shell, but a dramatic change in the weather conditions during painting had resulted in some blushing on the final coat. The damp, humid weather remained for several days, during which time I wet sanded the entire shell with 800-grit paper, paying special attention to the areas that exhibited blushing. I had also got some splatter from the gun on the nearside rear wing, the sanding of which left some grey specks behind, as if there had been some old primer left in the gun. This was difficult to understand, as I thought I’d been meticulous in cleaning the guns after each use and hadn’t used this gun for primer for many months anyway. After some consideration, the decision was made to sand off the colour coats in the affected area, to ensure that whatever it was that caused the problem did not impact on the final finish.

Prep makes perfect

After each use of a spray gun, I always expel all of the remaining paint and then spray thinners through, before removing the paint cup and wiping it out. The needle and air cap are also removed, soaked in thinners and thoroughly cleaned and dried. After reassembly, clean thinners is sprayed through the gun and allowed to dry. Every so often the fluid tip is removed, so the gun can be given a thorough clean, but on each occasion I’ve found the internals of the gun to be spotless. After the mishap, I decided to subject the two HVLP guns to a really good clean; one has a 2mm tip, used for primer and spray putty; the other a 1.6mm tip, used for finishing coats. First, clean thinners was added to the cups and left to soak for an hour, then each gun was disassembled by removing paint cup, needle, air cap and fluid tip. No trace of dried paint or any contamination was visible, but to be safe, all items were again cleaned. The gun’s internal orifices were then cleaned with a thinners-soaked brush of the appropriate size – from a spray gun cleaning kit – but nothing obvious was found, so the cause remains a mystery.

Prior to applying the next coats of paint, an air hose was

I have limited rotational movement in my spine, so it’s difficult to turn while reversing

used to blow away any dust and all of the outer panels were washed in grease and wax remover, then dried with lint-free microfibre cloths. I purchased a large packet of these from the local parts supplier when they were on special offer; they are only used once for applications such as this and then put through the clothes washing machine at home, ensuring they are clean and dust free for future use. I applied another four coats of paint, leaving several minutes between each coat for the solvent to flash off. The paint was left to harden for a few days, prior to final wet sanding with 800-grit paper to remove all traces of orange peel. During this wet sanding operation, the panels were constantly wiped with a wet cloth and soap was used to provide lubrication during the sanding. It was during this last batch of sanding that I noticed two pinholes in the earlier coats on the panel, in front of the boot lid; these were repaired using a method that had proved successful in the past. An artist’s paintbrush was used to fill each pin hole with a drop of paint, then after leaving to dry overnight, the area was wet sanded, first with 400 grit, then with 800 grit paper, using a solid rubber block to produce a flat surface. The quality of the final paint finish is all in the preparation and time spent now brings rewards in the quality of the final finish.

Waiting game

While waiting for some decent weather to apply the final coats, I decided to fit a reversing camera. I’d initially purchased a flush mounting camera, but found it was going the be difficult to locate this centrally, due to the double skin around the striker for the boot lid lock. So I exchanged this for a surface mounting camera that will be partially hidden by the lip on the boot lid and boot lock. I have a similar system fitted to another vehicle, where the image from the camera is displayed on the rear view mirror during reversing, which is great for me as I have limited rotational movement in my spine and find it difficult to turn while reversing. I wanted to fix the camera to the underside of the lip above the numberplate recess, but drilling was going

When using thinner paint, care must be taken not to spray too heavy a coat that will result in runs

to be problematic. Then I remembered a right angle drill attachment I purchased from the local hardware store when installing a cooker hood at home; although intended for inserting screws, I decided to use it for drilling. I acquired a few small drills a while ago, which have a hexagon drive the same as a screwdriver bit, so decided to use these. After marking the hole position, then dot punching with a spring action punch, I drilled the two holes for self-tapping screws. I also needed another larger hole to pass the cable through, so I started off with a small pilot hole and gradually opened it up with increasingly larger drills, until it would take a rubber grommet for the cable. I used a small drill chuck on an extension so that I could reduce the angle of the drill, then protected the painted lip with a leather glove.

Good to go

When we finally had some good painting weather – 30° plus and low humidity – I was able to apply the final coat. For this the paint was further thinned, using 2 parts thinners to 1 of paint, rather than the 1.5 parts thinners to 1 part paint used for earlier coats. After blowing the dust from the car, the area was vacuumed and the sanded paint given a final wash with a cloth soaked in grease remover, then wiped dry. An initial thin coat was applied, quickly followed by a second, full wet coat, that assists in getting a flat finish with minimum orange peel, as well as making for easier buffing to achieve that quality finish. When using this thinner paint, care has to be taken not to spray too heavy a coat that will result in runs; unfortunately I managed a run on the LH rear wing that would require attention after the paint had been left to harden. After a thorough inspection the following day, I was happy with the overall result; the paint was left to harden for ten days, before I set about fixing the run on the wing. It is critical to have good light when working on the paint finish; my preference is to use fluorescent lights, as they produce a soft light, whereas LED supplies a harsh light and halogen generates heat.

Running man

Firstly, the run was sanded with 800-grit paper used on a hard rubber block with water and soap for lubrication, then when all traces of the run were removed, the complete wing was sanded with 1500 grade paper on a softer block, again with soap and water. The paint removed was wiped away with a wet cloth that was regularly rinsed in clean water. The end result is now ready for machine compounding, but not until later in the restoration.

Build up begins

With the shell painted, it was time to start attaching things. Access to the air conditioning compressor was easier without the front crossmember in place, so the bracket was repositioned, to lower the compressor and allow clearance for the new header tank. Two new holes were marked, dot punched and drilled, then the bracket was attached to confirm new holes were correct. The holes required spacers to be fitted behind them, to match the originals, so were machined from steel bar and welded onto the bracket. At the same time, the old spacers were cut off and the holes filled with weld. Spacers were also required on the front of the bracket, to enable the compressor to be mounted further forward, so that rearmost pulley ‘vee’ could be used for the drive. Once these were welded in place, the compressor was trial fitted and the new rear bracket was also trialled, prior to both brackets being given two coats of black epoxy enamel. After being left to dry for a few days, the compressor was bolted into position, after using two washers as packing to get alignment with the crankshaft pulley. After the idler pulley had been cleaned and painted, it was fitted with a new sealed ball race, checked for alignment and, after packing out by 1mm, was bolted into place.

Easy installation

When the engine and transmission were installed, it was noted that the four holes in the rear engine mounting were much larger than the 3/ 8” mounting bolts; checking the workshop manual confirmed that each bolt should have a plastic bush and washer with steel spacer, which were not fitted to the parts car I stripped. My first thought was to machine some from nylon rod, but checking the Rimmers website confirmed that a set could be purchased, which seemed a smart move as I did not have originals to use as a pattern. When the bushes were received, after the now expected quick service from Rimmers, they were installed. As the steel spacers were a tight fit inside the bushes, they were pressed in place using a vice, after countersinking the edge of the bore to allow easier alignment. With the car raised on the hoist, the rear of the transmission was supported on a hydraulic trolley and the four nuts holding the cross member were removed, the transmission lowered sufficiently to allow the bushes and spacers to be slid onto the bolts. The hydraulic trolley was then pumped up, lifting the transmission into place and allowing the fitment of the plastic and steel washers followed by Nyloc nuts, which I tightened up to finish.