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Great progress Andrew

Surf Blue tinted Raptor applied to underside today

Pics to follow tomorrow

And I was hoping you would leave it in Aqua to wind up the originality thought police. Nice work Andrew. Another layer of paint of what ever colour never hurts and won’t half confuse the next owner if they embark on a restoration!

Keep at it.

D

I think that would be a step too far David, but would have been amusing to hear the comments from afar

Seems to have dried up OK this morning ....

I've not used Raptor before, always used Upol Gravitex before and then overpainted. Obvious benefits with the Raptor are, its much harder wearing and if a stone does chip it a little, its still body colour underneath. I was somewhat apprehensive about doing it but thanks to Tim Whyte and Nick Wardley, they gave me the confidence to just go for it.

I used the supplied standard Upol Shultz gun supplied with the four bottle Raptor kit. I made up a small amount of the Raptor and 2k Surf blue in a jug, decanted the rest of the bottle of Raptor into a paint kettle and cleaned the bottle out with standard thinners to use to apply. I tested on a piece of scrap inner wing off Dads VDP 1300 and was happy with the texture at around 50 psi . I then decanted three bottles of Raptor into a bucket, ready to mix. Before that, I made up some more Surf 2K, around 10-15% of the Raptor volume. After mixng the hardener with the Raptor I poured in the Surf blue and mixed thoroughly. Then just a case of decanting into the previously cleaned Raptor bottle to shoot onto the car. Three bottles was enough to give one good coat and some extra in places where it needed it.

Pics to follow when computer decided to download them

That is looking absolutely stunning Andy!

Who would ever have thought it would be looking this good, when you started this thread.

It is a credit to you!

Very, very nice.

D

Looking really good.

lovely Andrew

very good, raptor is best for underside and goes on well, only issue I had was when fitting car up it did chip around the tags for holding pipes etc, so afterwards I mixed a little and touched up with a brush, but think this would happen with any paint on the tags, another plus point is as it isn't as heavy solvent as gravitex I had no reactions with anything. gravitex can be awkward over seam sealer if applied thick. texture on yours looks spot on.
keep up the good work.

stunning mate a real credit to you

What a fantastic job

Well jeal! Looks A1

Thanks for the comments everyone.

It does seem a huge transformation in the couple of years I've been doing the rebuild in my spare time and in the limited space I have.

Regarding the Raptor, I must not forget to mention the great bearded one, who insisted I use it

Daz, I think you are right, the tabs always end up being touched in again no matter what coating you put on them.

Really does look good!

Can't believe how far this has come.

Do you think its worth lacquering over, aid cleaning etc in the future or?

Yet another fabulous build thread, you chaps really have some fantastic skills.

A daft question probably but humour me please. Looking at the under boot floor there are 2 x rectangular plate/panels by the rear wheel arches. What are they for?

those are bump stop reinforcement plates for hydro cars

It's stunning Andrew. I'd stick my neck out and say almost all bodyshops don't achieve the standard you have,the ones that do have a waiting list running into years. You're obviously in the wrong day-job ?! You owe it to yourself and the mini world.
Cheers Droid

Thanks guys, really appreciate all the good comments ..

To answer a few.

Lacquer .. not sure really - I've never used it. Maybe others could answer that ?

Jay is correct, they are bump stop plates for the Hydro cars.

Droid, I'd probably say that not many would take on the project rather than achieve the standard, although I am aware that there are bodyshops and bodyshops As for being in the wrong job, maybe, but it wouldn't pay the money. Maybe when I retire, although that seems further off now after what has been happening recently.

I have to add that credit must go to some of the great people on this forum, for their willingness to help answer (sometimes stupid) questions, provide tips and 'how to' advice, offer of sections of shell and general encouragement. I'm not sure I'd have done this much without this Forum, so thank you all.

Next up is painting the roof. I have flatted the 2k today and sealed the roof to body seams with Urethane sealer this afternoon - a tricky, messy job.

Put some good base coats on the roof yesterday. Decided to risk flatting it back this morning - cellulose takes longer to go off than 2k and sometimes takes a few days before you can safely flat back. However, it flatted nicely today.

Put some 'piss thin' coats of OEW, probably about 70% top gloss thinners on this afternoon and I'm pleased with the results. A light cut back and polish and I think it will be good to go.

Painting the roof before the rest of the exterior is not necessarily the right order to do it in, but with limited space, especially head room, it was decided to paint it with the car on its side in the rotisserie.

Next area to tackle is the interior - next weekend.