Paint your snake?

[simonjrwinter]

Sorry this is very long, its copied from the UK cobra website (not sure if the link would work) and gives an idea just how much work is involved.

Simon


HOW MUCH? a wise man once said me "You pay peanuts. you get monkeys! Painting your car is going to be the biggest worry you will probably face when building your Cobra, apart from explaining to the loved one that you have gone a bit over budget and need a few more quid for the wheels and tyres. If you have spent in the region of £15/20k on it, which most seem to do these days the last thing you need is an ok paint job which most people will walk by and say "Hmm, ok". What you want is a body job that people will walk up to and say "canine gonads, look at that finish, not only is it shiny but the doors fit and it's straight as a die", that's when your £15/20k will have been worth it. Anybody can paint a shiny car, but when you look down the sides does it look like the North Sea on a rough day? Can you see the interior through the door gaps, and, do the door edges rap your fingers when you polish it. Can you shut the door like a production car? Or do you have the Kit Car "Klunk" type? Well some of those things are the difference between painting a car and getting it to fit and look correct. We have finished probably 99% of the makes of Cobra kits around and a few others. Some are good, some are bad, some want using as a fish pond liner, but most suffer from nearly the same faults, which I'll list later! I will not comment on specific makes (as it could get expensive!) but must say that some of the best bodieswe have worked on are wait for it THE PILGRIM SUMO!!!

Just because you paid 15million for your kit doesn't mean it's the best. The SUMO was spot on, its doors shut, it was fairly straight and one of the best things was it DID NOT MOVE once it was finished and on the road. I WILL EXPLAIN. Glass fibre (GRP) cures by chemical reaction, therefore if the shell is left in the mould (or buck) for two weeks, as some claim, it should be set...well almost! With any curing process heat will

speed this up and affect it even after it has cured. Your body is painted and out in the hot sun, the car you cannot touch because it is so hot. All of the inner panels are fixed/bolted/riveted to the chassis, the body rests on some of these and the chassis, the body is set on foam or a chassis mastic, heat causes the mastic to soften and the body under it's own weight settles down onto it's final resting place. What happens to the inner panels? they stay where they are put. Up come the marks for the rear bulkhead, inner wheel arches etc. only answer? Refinish the complete job. Double skinned bonnet and boot lids, fine, air expands when hot, all of these air pockets then expand and contract and will leave marks where any of the two skins touch.

Bits of wood and steel that have been bonded for fixings can all give problems. High power engines giving off a lot of heat will cause the bonnet finish to "peel up" (i.e.; it looks like a very bad paint finish). There is nothing you can do about it apart from give it another flat and polish. I have the same problem with the 460 lump in mine, solution? get rid of the crap GRP and get an ally skin made like what I've got coming (phone for details). The manufacturers are trying to sell you something so they will tell you what you want to hear. Now the bit you all want to know, how to go about it. Most of this you can do yourselves, but, some of the work you are going to have to decide "Can I do it?". "Will it look any good?". "Will I balls it up and have to pay someone to correct it?". "Should I listen to someone who's been doing this for many years and pay them for their skill and expertise?". YES! When you order your body get it in black gell coat. It does not matter to the bodyshop what colour it is, if they say it is a problem then give them a miss. Put your BLACK body on the lawn or in the drive for the summer and let it cook in the sun. This will sort out nearly all of the problems provided its out in the HOT sun for a length of time. If your neighbours complain or it kills the grass as mine did (I dislike cutting the grass so it did me a favour) then get it to a bodyshop with an oven and ask them to bake it for a while. Its up to you to keep a check while its in there. However, the hot sun is best. Next, once you are on the road and ready to go, drive the car in its gell finish. I know some of you will not be seen dead in anything less than the finished article, and that "Richard Cranium" is already at the meetings in his, then fine, be ready for the marks to appear. I finished my own Cobra in Oct 87, ran it through the winter until April 88 and then painted it. To date there are only two marks that have appeared. One where the ally engine bay sheeting has been pushed up into the body, and the second where the bonnet support was drilled too near the scuttle. These marks are only so slight that they have to be pointed out. Shaking the car down is one of the best things you could do before painting. Not only that, but if the engine plays up do you really want to lean over a fresh wing and mark it with your 501 studs. You will have to watch bonnet edges at the tops and some boot edges at the bottom. If you pull these shut tight onto rubbers they will give over the years and these edges will start to lift up. GRP is an OK medium, but, it will not take excessive sidepipe/manifold heat. It will not stay still like steel, but then its light and it does not rust! You pays your money and takes your pick. As stated earlier, if you want the ultimate get an alloy body (I just happen to be talking to a supplier in the states, phone for details if interested). Provided you are now happy with the body and fit, we will now run through the painting process. If you have never painted a car before then forget it. You will need a BIG compressor, a big dust and fume extractor and understanding wife/mate/neighbours. We had a friend who did his own prepping under my guidance at home, that was two years ago and his wife is still wiping dust from the upstairs cupboards. You will need several sanding boards, 6" ‑12" approx. These are rubbing boards that attach sanding sheets by Velcro, use them much like a large wood plane. Fix on an 80 grit paper and start to rub the whole body. Try to rub a small amount of shape into the body and stop worrying about the scratch marks. That bloke that said rub the flash marks off with wet and dry is going to see his paint fly off when he does more than 25 m.p.h. as it has nothing to adhere to. You will start to see hollows appear where the blade has met the high spots, don't worry, just carry on over the whole vehicle using the small blade for tight areas and by hand in the very tight areas and curves. Do this to all the panels as well, (but not the backs of the bonnet, boot and doors, key these up with a 180 grit by hand or with a foam block). These are 4" long, Velcro and made of soft foam for complex curves and rounding off. In the wrong hands they can mess up a job so leave well alone unless you are sure. Fit your doors bonnet and boot lid. If the doors shut on a seal and onto the trim then fit them at this stage as the doors will move, and, if you fit the trim after it could alter the final line of the vehicle. Always leave the doors proud of the body if you cannot get them to fit spot on. The reason being if the doors are in and you fill them to fit you will end up with a door with an edge that is half an inch thick. If the door is proud and

you fill the wing and sill nobody will be able to spot the thicker door return, and who is to know it was not produced like that. If you have to fill a door edge then fill the leading edge, you can not see it with the door shut and you will find it even more difficult to see it with the door open and the edge pointing to the front wing. Technical Note, we use only PP50 filler as it is so easy to use. Bondocrap? Supefill? GET RID OF THEM! Any major filling should be first filled with FIBREFILL. This is GRP chopped up in a resin you mix with hardener and spread like filler. Use this to bulk up any major repairs before filling with PP50. Apply the door princi*ple to the bonnet and boot lid areas. Fill any low spots in the bodywork. Rub all of the filler with your long blade and 80 grit paper. When you are happy with the filled areas apply a light guide coat of matt black paint and again lightly rub the area. This will show up any low areas you may have missed. These first stages are the most important, if you short cut here then it will never be right. Door, bonnet and boot lid gaps can now be tackled. When filling gaps always fill the shuts. If you try and build up the edges the first gentle tap will break it off. To get an even gap fold a piece of 80 grit paper around a piece of plastic filler spreader both sides and rub up and down the gaps all around. This way the gaps will be even all around the parallel. Always carry out these operations with the locks, hinges etc fitted and in the shut, locked position. Next the good bit, you get to paint.