• Welcome to the Land Rover UK Forums

    You are currently viewing the site as a guest and some content may not be available to you.

    Registration is quick and easy and will give you full access to the site and allow you to ask questions or make comments and join in on the conversation. If you would like to register then please Register Now

Range Rover Classic Restoration

Stunning work - many congratulations!

Rocker Covers - This'll be controversial... For me, there's only one colour - Bright red, crackle finish, I realise it'll be a big contrast in your engine bay, but frequently a bit of contrasting colour looks better than a complimentary one.

SS exhaust - Albeit for my MGB GT I had a complete SS exhaust system built locally (Kent), for cheaper than an off the shelf SS system. It was done by a garage that more commonly work on customs or drift cars, but as they said we're all petrolheads and you've got an interesting car and my money was as good as anyone else's. So there are options out there.
 
Lime Tree Heros said:
Stunning work - many congratulations!

Rocker Covers - This'll be controversial... For me, there's only one colour - Bright red, crackle finish, I realise it'll be a big contrast in your engine bay, but frequently a bit of contrasting colour looks better than a complimentary one.

SS exhaust - Albeit for my MGB GT I had a complete SS exhaust system built locally (Kent), for cheaper than an off the shelf SS system. It was done by a garage that more commonly work on customs or drift cars, but as they said we're all petrolheads and you've got an interesting car and my money was as good as anyone else's. So there are options out there.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. Yes I know what you mean about a red crackle finish haven't ruled it out yet. It does look stunning as a contrasting colour but not entirely sure it will go with the light blue colour.

Your MGB GT comment took me back to 1984 when I fitted a Rover V8 and 5 speed box to my MGB GT. Great fun and surprised the living daylights out of RS Turbo's and 2.8I's etc. Incidentally I made the exhaust for that car but it was a very crude straight pipe with one box on the end, sounded wonderful. One of the problems I have living in a remote but beautiful part of Scotland is access to any garage let alone one concentrating on custom cars, tractors would be more like the norm:)
 
Been concentrating on getting all the small blue parts painted -
20240316_101428.jpg

This is a time consuming process as each part has to go through prep>etch>prime>prep>base>clear and some of course also need fill>flat>spot>prime>flat etc. Its no wonder professional restoration companies charge so much.

Also got the slam panel painted -
20240316_101300.jpg

Painting metallics is much harder than a solid colour as any imperfections show 'dazzlingly' as they catch the light. My eyes are not as good as they where so I missed the area around the VIN plate and a couple of other areas -
20240316_101152.jpg

So I will have to flat the whole panel and start again. I have a personal curse where for some reason on my own work imperfections stand out disproportionately!
 
Can I just ask, is the metallic base color paint you are using water based? or solvent and do you like to flatten the metallic coat before you spray on the clear lacquer?
 
Polyester polymer base. As far as I know there are currently only two forms of basecoat urethane or polyester but I could be wrong.

You shouldn't flatten or even touch either product before applying clear as you will run the risk of 'bruising' the paint which will show up once you apply clear. You should also be aiming to apply the clear as soon as the basecoat has dried so it wont be capable of being flattened.

I dont apply basecoat like other paints, I aim to get it on very dry so a wide fan pattern and further away from the panel than normal being careful to cover the surface evenly. I apply three coats from different orientations but some paints that dont cover well may need more. The idea of this approach is to reduce the risk of the metallic oxides in the paint running or pooling together which will show up in the finish. You cant cover defects by applying basecoat thickly like you can with water based Acrylics so preparation is vital.

This is just my way of working and it works for me but professionals will probably do things differently.

This is a good watch
When he is applying the basecoat to the bonnet see how far away from the panel the gun is and how dry the paint looks then compare it to how close and wet the clear is. I honestly dont know how the professionals can apply so much clear in one go I would definitely get sags. I think one aspect is the gun in use, I have an Iwata W400 gun with a 1.3mm tip I use for clear, its a great gun and atomises the paint really well but it is only semi professional level.
 
Really enjoying this build and greatly appreciate your sharing of the technical details of the paint and bodywork. It really is both a science and an art and I have to admit I admire those with the patience to do this kind of work.
This vehicle is going to look soooo good!
 
Thank you so much SeriesG much appreciated.

Bit of a boring update, everything I am doing now takes a lot of time.

Finally happy with the slam panel so this has been put away safe now -
20240322_125403.jpg

I also did the bulkhead cover panel and pedal box mount which I can fit to the car when the weather finally picks up.

I am working on the tailgate. I fitted a complete new skin and had previously done some basic filling and gave everything a coat of primer. The next stage is to start the process of making sure everything is straight. I use dry powder guide coat as its easy to use and doesnt clog the sand paper. A quick wipe over followed by a sand over with 80 grit and a 400mm block shows clearly how far out I was with my initial filling. The corner hasnt been touched by the block and you can just make out a high spot which is given a sharp tap with a body hammer. This is a new panel which was probably straight to begin with and has been distorted when I folded over the edges onto the frame -
20240321_101445.jpg

Another great thing about dry guide coat is it shows clearly any pin holes in the filler, one day I will learn to mix filler correctly!
20240321_102052.jpg

I follow the modern practice of dry sanding now as modern primers are porous and should not be wet excessively. I use Deerfoss hook and loop 75mm wide sandpaper as it doesnt clog as much as some brands. When it does clog I use a stainless steel wire brush to remove the powder so it minimises scratch marks and makes the paper last longer. To be honest though for the last sand prior to basecoat I use 800 grit wet just to remove any scratches and a heat panel to dry the primer thoroughly.

So working through all the low points with a fine filler at this stage this is how the tailgate looks ready for another coat of primer. Bare metal areas will be spot primed with etch primer first -
20240322_125119.jpg

Once I have primer on I will start the whole process again with guide coat and repeat until I am happy.
 
Thanks for the encouragement Cliff, it is needed sometimes when a panel you thought was relatively straight turns out to be like a flippin babana. Better get more filler ordered -

20240322_163808.jpg
 
mikeau said:
Your body/paint work is superb, but if mine was that good Id be afraid to use it in case it got scratched!
Click to expand...
Now there's the thing......you spend all this time and effort trying to get a superb finish, (which is clearly what @helimadken is getting) you will be scared to death to take it anywhere, because you know some numpty is going to smack their car door into it !.
 
Guitar Mick said:
Now there's the thing......you spend all this time and effort trying to get a superb finish, (which is clearly what @helimadken is getting) you will be scared to death to take it anywhere, because you know some numpty is going to smack their car door into it !.
Click to expand...
True, but at least I will be able to fix it :)

Wife reckons its not worth going to the supermarket in my car, I go so far away from the shop trying to find an empty space to park its quicker for her to walk from home

Being serious though I have over ordered on paint, I am going to keep a litre back and vacuum seal it for any future repairs
 
Last edited:
More boring preparation stuff!

So the tailgate and front wings have had another application of primer, after a quick denib with 180 grit another coat of dry guide coat is applied -
20240326_101740.jpg
Looks more promising this time as its gone on even. The game now is to use a 400mm block with 180 grit sanding in a circular motion rather than back and forth and remove all the guide coat so the primer is clean. Again frequently cleaning the paper and dusting off the tailgate this time with a 2" paint brush to reduce scratching -
20240326_102600.jpg

I know from this result that this area is completely flat, free from any perfections and ready for the next and final coat of primer. After completing the whole tailgate I am happy with the result, I broke through to metal in a couple of places and a couple of very minor low spots but these will but caught with the next coat -
20240326_115118.jpg

Back in a couple of days with the final stage
 
So I am at the final stage of priming. The last coat of primer has been allowed to cure for a couple of days and I can change now to 400 grit paper (used dry) and a small block to do the final flatting. No need for the large block anymore as I know from the last stage the panels are straight and with a small block there is less chance of breaking through to metal.

Working on a section at a time an initial flatting is done then a coat of dry guide coat is put on, these are the little buggers I am after at this stage -
20240329_165753.jpg

The guide coat is then sanded off, still using circular motions and cleaning the sandpaper every few seconds with a brush, also wiping away the sanding dust. This is done until no more defects can be seen.

I then go on to a green superfine sponge finishing pad to sand all the edges and internal curves after which I go over the whole panel in a backwards and forwards motion as I think straight scratches are not as visible as swirl scratches if I miss any. At the end of this process the panel almost looks as if its made out of plastic, this picture is a bit boring and doesn't show this -
20240329_180627.jpg

Before painting I will go over again with some 800 grit paper used wet, finally just before applying the basecoat I will apply a surfacer to eliminate any micro scratches. This isnt always done but this particular metallic colour I notice shows sanding scratches if I am not careful enough.

So I have to repeat this process now for the rear wings and quarter panels, D pillar covers, deck panel, bonnet, four doors, petrol filler cover, door frames and bonnet, not to mention roof, posts and sill. See you in a few weeks :(
 
Back
Top Bottom