Aug/090
Seat Kit Arrived & Painting Finished & Decal Designs
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- Seat Kit
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- Desktop Files – Decal Images
My seat arrived today. The kit looks great, can’t wait to try and mould it. Will possibly be doing that tonight, fingers crossed! The process seams quite lengthy, but it’s best to be thorough and get it perfect than to rush it. After all, if it goes wrong, I may as well have just thrown £145 down the drain!
I think I will have to add some more wood to the bottom of the cockpit, the seat needs to be raised slightly, the front being level with the entrance to the front half. It might be possible to shift the beads enough to fit it perfectly, but I’m unsure. The last thing I want to happen is for me to end up getting pins and needles/dead leg whilst driving. That would be a nightmare.
I’m also thinking of covering the seat in either black suede or Nomex cloth.
Anyway, the painting is completely finished!
Paint process:
- Sanding
- 1st Coat of Zinsser Grey Primer
- Sanding
- 2nd Coat of Zinsser Grey Primer
- Sanding
- Grey Undercoat
- Sanding
- 1st Top coat
- Sanding
- 2nd Top Coat
- Sanding
- 3rd Top Coat
- 4th Top Coat
Glad thats over! Each of the Top coats required 16 hours drying time in between. Although it will take around 10 days to fully cure.
Last night I drilled a hole in the bottom of the front half of the cockpit for a couple of wires to enter the cockpit. I will finish this off with a silver metal disc, so the hole is completely tidy.
I also spent a couple of hours last night preparing the decal images. This was a fairly length process. Each image requiring the correct size (in CM/MM), a blank backgroud, correct naming etc. Having to pull each one off the internet in a decent size was more difficult than I thought it would be. My desktop is now littered with the files!
In total there will be 37 decals on the cockpit. This seems a lot! However, every decal on one side also needs to be on the other. And then 7 decals for the top. Just like my initial design.
If the printing company can do the job, I’m ready to go!
Aug/090
Sanding Undercoat & First Red Top-Coat
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- Undercoat sanded down
Sorry for the delay with painting, I’ve been very busy!
Yesterday I sanded down the undercoat. It came up extremely smooth, really impressed. I put the red (RAL 3020) on with a Mohair roller and a Purdy 1.8″ brush. I used this brush for all the other layers also. Purdy’s are made of synthetic hairs rather than natural. This allows for a much smoother application and no hair loss. After rolling the paint on I did a final drag over with the paint brush, I prefer light brush strokes than that awful orange peel effect you get with a roller.
This was the first top coat of red, so it’s patchy. Reds never cover very well the first time, unlike grey or white. The second (possibly final) coat of red will make a massive difference, and because its gloss any remaining marks should be removed.
Hopefully I should be painting the next coat tonight – the drying time is 16 hours. Gloss’ cure time is 10 days, so no more sanding. If your wondering why some of the cockpit is still grey, thats because those areas will be covered with either carbon fibre vinyl or carpet.
Aug/090
Filling • Sanding • Priming
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- 2 Part Wood Filler
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- Part 1
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- Part 2 – The Hardener
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- Holes Filled
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- Corner Shot
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- The back edge
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- Corner top
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- Filled screw up close
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- Cockpit Primed
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- After priming – from the back
Last night I filled all the screw holes, any joins and gaps. I used 2 part wood filler. It’s basically a putty, and a hardener – hence the ‘2 part’. I let this dry for about an hour or so, and then sanded it all flat. I again used the finer sand paper and then ran over it with an even finer pad.
This morning, I primed the wood with Zinsser BullsEye Primer-Sealer. Doing this will allow the main coats of paint to cover more evenly and the final result will be a lot better.
After this, I have sanded down the ‘grain-edges’. This will allow the second coat of Zinsser to fill better. I sanded down the flat surfaces also just with the fine pad.
I used some caulk behind the obtruding edge on the front section. Allowing me a smooth area rather than a right angled gap and line. I also rubbed some caulk into all of the grain edges – this is basically the equivalent of 5 or 6 coats of paint. The grain will be filled far better with the next coat.
I am leaving that all to harden and dry. Tomorrow I will apply a second coat of the Zinsser primer, followed by another light sand.
Then its down to the red coat, sanding, 2nd red coat, sanding, followed by a final couple of spray layers and a coat of lacquer. The end result should look spot on.
Aug/090
Before & After Sanding
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- Before and After – Front
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- Before and After – 3/4
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- Before And After – 3/4 rear
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- Before And After – Rear
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- Front Corner
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- 2nd 3/4 View
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- Inside the footwell
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- 3/4
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- Front Shot
Just finished off the sanding. It’s really made a massive difference to the look. I’m extremely happy with it. I’ve uploaded a load of pictures for you. Some before and after shots too.
Enjoy.
Jul/090
Sanding the Cockpit
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- Back end of the cockpit
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- Me sanding
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- Closeup
I’ve spent a couple of hours today sanding down the cockpit. It was fairly smooth anyway, but I’ve rounded all of the edges and corners. I can’t believe what a massive difference it makes. It seems to have turned from a shaped box into what it is supposed to be, and there’s so much more to do.
I was going to use a Router, for ease and accuracy, but it turned out that the screws were too close to the edge and routing would have meant countersinking the screws further and causing problems.
I ended up using a plane firstly. Taking a strip off at 45 degrees, roughly. After doing this I used course sandpaper to get the edge and then a finer sandpaper to get the nice finish.
I used an electric sander to do the flat surfaces, followed by the finer sandpaper to make it even smoother.
There are a few more edges to do on the front section but the rear is complete. 15 minutes work tomorrow and it will be done.
I also received the aluminium plate today, it’s perfect.
Don’t ask about the hat in the pic! My hair was a nightmare. I also used a mask, MDF is full or formaldehyde. And gloves, although I’ve still come out with a blister on my thumb!
Check out the pics.