Ready to paint...

Seeing that the roof had been made and it fitted the car it seamed fitting that with all the bodywork done that the car should have a splash of paint.

I have not seen the inside of the car but have been told that the roll cage has again been painted but this time correctly and the inside has been given a coat of some description, not too important as it will be all covered and not seen.

When I last saw the car it was in the booth ready for paint the next day, with the windows having a paper fill I couldn't quite believe how small they are and how much the car has been chopped, all I can say about it is how happy I am with it and how well the body shop did with the car. I knew when it came to paint and sanding I needed professionals and they have been nothing but professional about the whole finish.

Some photos of the car in the booth;

Now knowing that I would next see the car painted I decided to spend some time opening boxes of items I had not seen for over a year since having the items painted / powder coated or in some cases all the new equipment.
I decided that I would go to the paint shop and get the car rolling next time I have some free time so I started to build the subframe and I think it looks just stunning, the red and the black work so well together and I hope that when the car goes back together it looks just as good even though a lot of it will be hidden by the engine.

With that done I applied a little paint to my tyres over the lettering, I did do the arrow too but I will be removing that as I am not sure about it but I know the white letters will be all tied together when it is done

Roof made and sitting pretty

With the mould made last time I finally got round to making the roof, my main concern here is to ensure that there is enough cure time between each step and to also insure that there is enough material to make the roof strong.

This time around I made sure that I asked enough questions to make sure that I had enough core mat, glass and the correct resin and the end result is fantastic, we are all very pleased

It started out with 2 layers of gel coat to ensure that any sanding that may be needed for the roof could be done without sanding into the glass layer.

I then followed with 2 layers of 450g chop strand mat, then a full covering of 3mm core mat with extra core mat across the middle sections, then 1 layer of 650g mat and a final layer of 450g mat and then it was left for 1 week to cure.

The mould was so well waxed up with a little bit of effort the roof was released from the mould leaving a good looking roof skin and a smile on my face. We then carried the skin over to the car and placed it on the roof ready for trimming

Then with a mask on and a 3" cut off disc I carefully trimmed the roof skin down and although there is a little bit of work needed to the skin just to be sure that it is perfect

The car was then cleaned inside and we scotched the inside ready for this weeks painting event where the interior and hopefully the exterior will be painted. Then once done the roof will be bonded on (its left off to make painting inside easier) Finally the carbon skin will be added to cap the roof and then we are on to assembly. Maybe done for 2013...

Grp roof mould

Again I am back here making the mould for the roof, this time a lot of time has been put into waxing to aid with the release.

All the hard work paid off with waxing, I was able to lift the mould off with just my thumbs and very little force. When lifting the mould off it was clear that the heat of the mould had damaged the roof.

Luckily for me the mould had firmly set prior to the roof cracking...

Mould was then placed on the floor and trimmed ready for me to make the actual roof. Then that's it, no more roof saga

Roof again

As time has passed not a lot of work has been done due to a back issue, however the body shop have been busy working on the car when they had some spare time. Luckily for me they have had quite a bit of time recently so they have cracked on and got the roof back to a stage where we can again make a mould of the roof and this time we will make a roof skin from the mould before the roof is removed...

Also they have managed to paint the rear bumper I made several months ago from a one bumper and a smoothed style GP trim. My tailgate has also been painted and looks lovely, really pleased