Copy of Article Text Below
Project Fiesta. Fait Accompli
Finally, we cover prep, prime, paint and detailing before giving a full colour account of our long running feature car
It's been some time since we last reported on the progress of 'Project Fiesta', but fortunately we can now remedy this situation with the concluding feature covering body prep., paintwork and final detailing.
No doubt you spotted the Fiesta on the cover, being given the rub by Ford affectionado Keith Seume (like heck - Ed.). We're pretty much in approval as to how the car turned out in the end and you can read all about the glossy bits simply by turning the page. First though, carrying on where we left off, it's back to bodywork.
PREP & PRIME
Once the body panels had been affixed by Fibresports and blended in, the car was recovered and brought back to our workshop for a final check over, before winging its way down to Metalflake UK in Leatherhead (tel: L'head 75479} for a paint job.
Checking over the fibreglass wheel arch extensions we discovered slight ripples in these where they had been pop rivetted to the existing metal wing. To remedy this situation it was decided to blend in the top edge of the arch so that it curved out to give a more gradual rather than angular flare. This we did with the help of Keith Andrews and proved the answer to this problem.
With the bodywork just about completed the next step involved going over the fibreglass panels with something called Etching Primer, this being a two pack solution which when mixed and applied with a spray gun, seals the fibreglass and prevents it from reacting with the top coat. Following this came a good few coatings of primer/filler and for this job we chose Primo Voss Polyester spray filler, from Bondaglass-Voss Ltd, (tel. 01-778 0071) which again is a two pack paint. Having mixed in the right amount of activator the filler is simply sprayed over the glass panels. It goes on thick and as such, fills any slight imperfections, or pin holes. After giving this time to dry the car was then ready to be moved on down to Metalflake UK, who as previously mentioned had offered to spray the car using the latest in the range of fantastic Metalflake colours.
Keith Baker is the man who handles the custom finishes and between him and ourselves we decided on how best.....
Captions -
Middle - Two pack primer/filler was used from Bondaglass Voss Ltd
Bottom-Left - Stripe area was first masked off, sprayed white acrylic, then 'Iced Blue'
Bottom-Middle - Top stripe was masked over along with the surrounding bodywork
Bottom-Right - Second darker shade consisting of Pearl and Candy mix was then applied
|
