LotusElan.info

Bodywork May 2006 -     

Finally started to prepare the car for painting.  Initially I removed the paint from both front wings using a Skarsen scraper.  This was slow going and made the sound of nails down a blackboard; it also had the unnerving habit of slightly changing the profile of the body.  Finally I bit the bullet and purchased a 3HP compressor with a 50 litre tanks and an orbital sander.

The front wing had a crack running about half way along its length.  It transpired that this was due to the front section being grafted on at some time:

The front wheel arch always had a small bubble in it resembling a rust bubble.  Further investigation revealed that a previous repair had been made involving bonding in a steel tube to strengthen the arch.  Subsequently this rusted causing the defect.  Obviously the tube had to be removed prior to painting and appropriate repairs made:

The area around the boot lock was severely cracked and required strengthening

Lotus recommended to increase the rear body stiffness by filling the gap between the body sides and rear suspension towers.  Filled the gap with expanding foam and joined the parts with three layers of fibre glass

The area behind the front bumper had a bad crack.  Reinforced the front and rear areas

Repaired cracks around the light pod apertures - still need to reinforce the rear.

The seam under the front valance was badly cracked and almost hanging off

 Repaired fixing points where necessary

Various gel cracks were repaired by grinding out the crack; glassing in repair tissue and finally finishing with body filler. Also re-inforced the bonnet by adding another layer of fibreglass (two in areas of high stress).  I'd previously investigated soda blasting as an option of removing the paint.  The test patch on the bonnet was soon fixed with Polyester Spray filler.

The sills mounting holes had been previously damaged by having to grind out the old securing bolts.  Repaired and reinforced with extra fibreglass matt and tissue.

Door hinges will require an overhaul before re-fitting

Applied two coats of Polyester Spray Filler by brush to all repaired areas and where the previous coating had gone thin

After stripping it down, I found that the drivers door was split down one edge.  It also had a hole that had been drilled by a previous owner for a lock of some kind - all needed repairing

The boot lid was originally manufactured in two halves.  Unfortunately the two parts of the shell had started to split and needed repairing, along with a crack near to one of the hinges.

Setup an impromptu spray booth in the back garden towards the end of July to coat the removed panels in polyester spray filler.  Also sprayed the entire body shell in polyester spray filler.

Prepared the car with three coats of high build cellulose primer.

Finally after flatting off with 400 grit paper, the car was painted in Lotus Calypso Red