Front wing fit and scuttle repair

Fitting the NS front wing has taken a lot longer than expected, but it's worth the time to get it right. I also had to finally repair the rot on the NS scuttle before the wing could be properly fitted. The repair was difficult as the scuttle is a compound curve and the heat from welding introduced distortion. After a lot of minor panel beating, I still had to use some filler to restore the scuttle shape. Anyway it's pretty close now so I'm ready to trial fit the OS wing.

Cleaning and more welding required

Went to the MG Show/spares day at Stoneleigh Park. Purchased the remaining bits needed to get the car rolling ready for its trip to the paint shop.
Spent the weekend cleaning one door, the bonnet and the rear axle. It was great working outside on the patio rather than in the garage. I just had to be very careful not to get any underseal/oil on the flag stones.
The drivers door is in excellent condition except for the 'Crack of Doom'! So a repair job is called for.
I'm almost ready to fit the front wings, however there is one last remaining area of rust on the scuttle that I will have to deal with first. So its back out with the welder.

Boot

Spent a few hours wire brushing the boot floor followed by a coat of Bonda Zinc primer. It will stay like this until the body shell goes for paint.

Engine bay

I know it's a bit sad but I wanted to paint behind the regulator mounting plate. So I drill out the spot weld and removed it. I could then clean and paint the inner wing before refitting the plate. At the same time I fitted the bonnet stay locator which had been removed when I replaced a section of the wing mounting rail.

Time for the inside...

I couldn't resist some more painting, this time it was the cockpit. First a coat of primer, then seam sealer, then two coats of anti-stone stone chip (for a bit of sound deadening) and finally two brush coats of cellulose Tartan Red.

Had to leave the heater on all week. I worked out that I have already spent £70 running the heater. I better make sure that I get hold of our electricity bill before the wife see it!

Smiles all round!

After two litres of Tartan Red, here's the result. I'm very pleased. It was hard work, especially trying to see where the paint was going. I ended up hold a 500W spot light in my left hand while spraying with my right! Glad I covered up the garage shelves, overspray goes everywhere! I'll leave the heater on for 24 hours.

Time for a break...

Winter blues and paint woes...

Like most others working in an unheated garage, the last month has been extremely challenging. To make matters worse I have reached the painting stage and this has led to significant problems.
I finished the primer ready for the Gravitex during the Christmas break, however I didn't want to apply it until the temperature increased. Checking the forecast I planned the spraying for 11th January, not a bad day, the ambient was about 7C and I had the heater on giving 14C in the garage. I had covered the garage walls with polythene and the floor with a tarp. Using a decent compressor and the shultz gun was great and the Gravitex went on really well...until I looked back at the applied paint. The rear arches, rear valance, sills, parts of the floor and parts of the front inner wings had all reacted with the primer and lifter completely away from the metal. I was gutted, there was no other option than to strip all the lifted paint back to metal and re-prime.

Reading the experiences of others and talking to a paint supplier confirmed my suspicion that the last lot of primer that I applied had not cured due to the low temperatures over Christmas. The solvents had remained trapped in the primer until the Gravitex reacted with them to lift the paint. So just because the primer 'feels' dry, don't rely on this, make sure the temperature has been high enough for it to cure. I think I put the primer on with the metal at about 4C and then it never got above 5C for the next several days.

Maybe this should have given me a clue to the unsuitable painting conditions!!

I removed the damaged paint trying to avoid a lot of dust, but this just wasn't possible as I had to use the power tools. So once again the underside needed cleaning before paint.

I applied the primer after the metal had been raised to about 12C and then kept the garage warm (14C) for a couple of days. I don't want to think about the electricity bill!

On the 14th and 15th Jan I re-applied the Gravitex by brush, two coats. As I write this the heater is drying the paint ready for tomorrows application of cellulose in body colour. I really hope that it doesn't react with the Gravitex! Time will tell...