Discussion
I'm almost ready to get my Vixen painted and when it comes back from the paint shop I will be reuniting the body with the chassis which has been stripped, repaired and painted. When cleaning off the bodywork underneath the car I found the remnants of what looked like old hessian fibre insulation in the recesses that sit above the outrigger tubes. I have found some rubber matting to insulate the body from the chassis support pads but should I be looking to also insulate any of the chassis tubes from the GRP tub? I can imagine if you wrap anything around the tubes it could be a moisture trap.
Although I've never been inside a moving TVR I can imagine that eliminating creaks and rattles is virtually impossible anyway? A pic of my rolling chassis below. The orange on the chassis is "marigold paint dust" so it's not going rusty just yet!
Although I've never been inside a moving TVR I can imagine that eliminating creaks and rattles is virtually impossible anyway? A pic of my rolling chassis below. The orange on the chassis is "marigold paint dust" so it's not going rusty just yet!
The rubber pads were cut from old conveyor belt material and are not a problem but the question I am wrestling with is should I use anything to wrap around the top of the outrigger tubes, or anywhere else for that matter? this is the area I can imagine could potentially knock or drum against the bodywork? I seem recall that one of the regular posters suggested that there shouldn't be any chassis lagging/insulation on Vixen tubes but I just wanted to find out what the consensus was. I don't want to bolt the body back on and then find out that I should have used some foam or rubber insulation somewhere!
I also found the dreaded water trap material under my Taimar shell , it has been replaced with closed cell foam (industrial water pipe lagging) on the rear section. The only other padding was thick rubber pads where the rear most bolts go through the chassis and on the plates where the body bolts to the outriggers.
hope this helps.
Geoff.
hope this helps.
Geoff.
I've spent the last three months on the shell. Hundreds of hours of rubbing down paintwork and grinding out dozens of gel coat cracks and laying up GRP tissue. I also had a least a dozen serious cracks and holes that needed repair. I've got through nearly four litres of polyster resin and enough pairs of latex gloves to keep Holby City going for a year! I can't claim to have the skill to provide a top quality surface ready for painting but I have managed to provide a solid base and half the costs that I was originally quoted to re paint the car. A few pics below, including one of it on it's roof. I'm quite pleased with the rear offside which was really battered when I first got the car. It still needs some fine stopper and a final rub down but I'm nearly there, although I've said this on at least three occasions before finding yet more cracks!
tomtrout said:
I've spent the last three months on the shell. Hundreds of hours of rubbing down paintwork and grinding out dozens of gel coat cracks and laying up GRP tissue.....
I have also made a start on this and I am interested to know what you used to grind out the cracks. I have used a grinder, but (i) it makes a ***k of a lot of noise and (ii) its rather agressive. I have a flap wheel - type attachment to try next, but I'd love to find something that is a bit quieter. I've also seen the coarse grindy type thing that goes on Bosch multi tools, I might try that too. I was very surprised at how light the shell is once you have stripped everything off the car but it does feel surprising rigid and although I was a little nervous about rolling it onto its roof, it really isn't a problem. The one thing I learned very quickly about using GRP is that it is much easier when gravity is on your side. The floor wasn't a problem because I could tackle cracks from inside the shell but some of the angles on the inner arches means that the job is a whole lot easier when the car is upside down.
As for the colour, I know that there are some colours such as light metalic blue that I would really love and suit this car but I will be sticking to the original Marigold.
I really don't know how many hours the prep work has taken because I forgot that I actually started to repair the bonnet in May so in fact it has taken me four and half months and not three to get where I am and I still have half a door to finish. It really is a long slog and I wouldn't blame anybody for paying the extra to get somebody else to do it. I have really p*ssed my neighbours off when every Sunday they go to sit in their garden and I get out there for 10 hours with my sander. Actually my third sander as I destroyed my original and another replacement - buy cheap buy twice! Paying somebody else to do it for me wasn't an option and the money I have saved will go along way towards financing the rest of the project. A long way to go but the more time I spend working on the car the more I love it.
As for the colour, I know that there are some colours such as light metalic blue that I would really love and suit this car but I will be sticking to the original Marigold.
I really don't know how many hours the prep work has taken because I forgot that I actually started to repair the bonnet in May so in fact it has taken me four and half months and not three to get where I am and I still have half a door to finish. It really is a long slog and I wouldn't blame anybody for paying the extra to get somebody else to do it. I have really p*ssed my neighbours off when every Sunday they go to sit in their garden and I get out there for 10 hours with my sander. Actually my third sander as I destroyed my original and another replacement - buy cheap buy twice! Paying somebody else to do it for me wasn't an option and the money I have saved will go along way towards financing the rest of the project. A long way to go but the more time I spend working on the car the more I love it.
Great topic. You're giving me motivation to get out to the garage and tackle my bodywork. It's a daunting task and not ideally suited to working indoors. I presume you leave the body outside under the tarp when your not working on it? Are you not concerned about the tub soaking up water which will cause blistering when painted?
James
James
Astacus, I'm afraid I used a standard angle grinder. You have to be very gentle with it because it really will whip the material away very quickly and yes I did manage to damage one or two perfectely sound areas by mistake.
Yes SB I did have to leave the tub outside for much longer than I wanted to. I have some cover over the entrance to my garage and the body was wrapped up when I wasn't working on it but it stil got damp on occasions. I was determined to finish the main shell before the autumn and to get the whole lot into my garage to really dry out. I don't really know how safe it is to slightly bake the shell prior to painting so any thoughts on that topic are welcome. I will obviously also take advice from the paint shop regarding any oven treatment.
Yes SB I did have to leave the tub outside for much longer than I wanted to. I have some cover over the entrance to my garage and the body was wrapped up when I wasn't working on it but it stil got damp on occasions. I was determined to finish the main shell before the autumn and to get the whole lot into my garage to really dry out. I don't really know how safe it is to slightly bake the shell prior to painting so any thoughts on that topic are welcome. I will obviously also take advice from the paint shop regarding any oven treatment.
tomtrout said:
Astacus, I'm afraid I used a standard angle grinder. You have to be very gentle with it because it really will whip the material away very quickly and yes I did manage to damage one or two perfectely sound areas by mistake.
Yes SB I did have to leave the tub outside for much longer than I wanted to. I have some cover over the entrance to my garage and the body was wrapped up when I wasn't working on it but it stil got damp on occasions. I was determined to finish the main shell before the autumn and to get the whole lot into my garage to really dry out. I don't really know how safe it is to slightly bake the shell prior to painting so any thoughts on that topic are welcome. I will obviously also take advice from the paint shop regarding any oven treatment.
Yep, I've done a bit of shell destruction of my own! Mind you, not nearly as much as some other bugger did when they dropped it by the looks of things!Yes SB I did have to leave the tub outside for much longer than I wanted to. I have some cover over the entrance to my garage and the body was wrapped up when I wasn't working on it but it stil got damp on occasions. I was determined to finish the main shell before the autumn and to get the whole lot into my garage to really dry out. I don't really know how safe it is to slightly bake the shell prior to painting so any thoughts on that topic are welcome. I will obviously also take advice from the paint shop regarding any oven treatment.
Regarding warming the shell up, I have read that this is possible but not to the sort of temeratures used in low bake painting. This causes the shell to go soft and sag. Terminal. So you have to be very careful indeed.
I have been considering perhaps hiring a dehumidifier for a week or so prior to painting, but I imagine that if you find a paint shop with lots of experience of painting from bare glass fibre, they ought to be able to advise. For me this stage is probably at least a year away, maybe 2, so I ve plenty of time.
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