My Caterham race car
Discussion
As promised 
But to keep it on track here's the side panels taking shape. The car had been subject to a few accidents and had been to Arch Motors to be repaired - having 2 long fronts early in the season. If they don't replace the side panel they bend it out so they can weld in the new tubing section which leaves ripples in the panel under the scuttle area.
Once again Mickey wasn't happy with a gentle skim and these bits took an age to get right - fair play to him though as they looked great when finished:
But to keep it on track here's the side panels taking shape. The car had been subject to a few accidents and had been to Arch Motors to be repaired - having 2 long fronts early in the season. If they don't replace the side panel they bend it out so they can weld in the new tubing section which leaves ripples in the panel under the scuttle area.
Once again Mickey wasn't happy with a gentle skim and these bits took an age to get right - fair play to him though as they looked great when finished:
An action shot 
With most of the bodywork done it was time to panel wipe the car. We blew the majority of the dust off with the fans in the garage running. Mickey was fastidious about the panel wiping and said "anything that can go wrong, will go wrong when painting".
With the car clean and wiped down we watered the floor of the garage to keep dust particles to a minimum and cracked on. The first stage was masking; with all the front suspension, wishbones, radiator etc left in place this took two of us around 3 hours. I did think about taking everything off but Peter Young at Spy Motorsport had already set the car up for me so I didn't want to change any of the settings.
Once masked, we got on with the first spraying stage - etch primer. Etch primer eats into the metal bonding it to the car. This stage is very important as stickers and gaffer tape will be going on and off the car this season and I don't want the paint falling off
In this picture you can see little bits of tape rolled up in the thread holes to aid the refitting stage - my first good idea of the project
With most of the bodywork done it was time to panel wipe the car. We blew the majority of the dust off with the fans in the garage running. Mickey was fastidious about the panel wiping and said "anything that can go wrong, will go wrong when painting".
With the car clean and wiped down we watered the floor of the garage to keep dust particles to a minimum and cracked on. The first stage was masking; with all the front suspension, wishbones, radiator etc left in place this took two of us around 3 hours. I did think about taking everything off but Peter Young at Spy Motorsport had already set the car up for me so I didn't want to change any of the settings.
Once masked, we got on with the first spraying stage - etch primer. Etch primer eats into the metal bonding it to the car. This stage is very important as stickers and gaffer tape will be going on and off the car this season and I don't want the paint falling off
In this picture you can see little bits of tape rolled up in the thread holes to aid the refitting stage - my first good idea of the project
Here are a few more pictures of the etch stage
Now the etch primer was on the exciting bits started; primer and top coat. Being a bit of a novice I didn't realise we were still miles away from finishing it
It was now mid January and we had been working 3 evenings a week and every weekend to get ready. I wanted the car ready for it's first track day at the end of January but this was looking unlikely.
Once primered we smoothed the panels with 400 paper and it felt smooth as a baby's bum This is where the first WTF moment happened as Mickey took a spray can with black paint and started dusting the whole car in black 
!!!!
He thought it was hilarious as I was standing there seeing all our hard work smoothing going down the pan! Mickey then explained that the dusting of black is to find the high/low spots in the primer so the smoothing can go to the next level
Now the etch primer was on the exciting bits started; primer and top coat. Being a bit of a novice I didn't realise we were still miles away from finishing it
It was now mid January and we had been working 3 evenings a week and every weekend to get ready. I wanted the car ready for it's first track day at the end of January but this was looking unlikely.
Once primered we smoothed the panels with 400 paper and it felt smooth as a baby's bum
This is where the first WTF moment happened as Mickey took a spray can with black paint and started dusting the whole car in black !!!!He thought it was hilarious as I was standing there seeing all our hard work smoothing going down the pan! Mickey then explained that the dusting of black is to find the high/low spots in the primer so the smoothing can go to the next level
This was lingering on page 4 so I thought it was time for an update
After the dusting of black and more hours smoothing with soapy water the car looked like this.
After another fastidious few hours spent panel wiping the car it was the moment we had both been waiting for - topcoat
Here's Mickey mixing the paint. It was now towards the end of January and still rather cold - the only heat in the garage was the space heater you can see in this picture. Not ideal conditions for spraying but needs must.
After the dusting of black and more hours smoothing with soapy water the car looked like this.
After another fastidious few hours spent panel wiping the car it was the moment we had both been waiting for - topcoat
Here's Mickey mixing the paint. It was now towards the end of January and still rather cold - the only heat in the garage was the space heater you can see in this picture. Not ideal conditions for spraying but needs must.
The garage had been swept and watered to rid it of dust particles in the air and then allowed to settle overnight. The following evening I left the office early as the car would be in red by the end of the night and we wanted to start before the temperature dropped below zero.
We watered the floor again and cracked on
More to come later.
We watered the floor again and cracked on
More to come later.
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