Aurora Rebuild

[moke123]

Nice work!  How did you make the round opening on the new grill piece?

[dwethera]

I made a ply template with a hole in it to support the under side. I then rolled the edge of the hole in a bit with some pointy pliers so it sat neatly on the ply template. I then had a hammer with a head the size of the finished hole. I sat it on top and gave the back of the hammer a whack with a bigger hammer. The pre rolled edge meant the hammer would not slip out but go through where I needed it. I had a go with an off cut of metal to make sure it would work. The ply template had to be adjusted and I found a single hard whack was better than multiple lighted whacks. Less distortion of the surrounding metal.

[Halfpint]

Some really good fabrication going on here.
HP

[dwethera]

I am at the stage of sorting out a paint job on the body. The underside repairs are complete. I have scrapped off all the old grime and dodgy black paint that was sprayed over the grime. The whole underside has been coated in Xtrol RC so it stays in good shape while I finish of the top side.

I started to research paint on line and to be honest it just made me more confused. Lacquer, Urethane, acrylic one pack two pack it did my head in. This car is never going to be a concourse show car. I cannot justify the cost of a really expensive paint job. In fact I am considering doing it myself. Can you please advise or point me to a thread that discusses paint choice. Something cost effective, easy to apply, lasts a long time all those compromises. If someone can shortcut that selection process I would be most appreciative.

[moemoke]

basically 3 types of automotive paint, Enamel, Acrylic and Urethane (2 pack)

Enamel, slow drying (runs easily) a nice gloss straight from the gun, softish paint but you can buy a hardener for it.
Acrylic, fast drying but dullish when applied so will need to be cut and polished after, hard to cut and polish a moke with all the sharp edges
Urethane, shiny, hard wearing, best if baked in oven after painting, need good breathing apparatus, not recommended for home job.

many years ago Dulux made a great product called Rapid, it was a 2 pack quick drying enamel,
I painted my RX7 and my RX2 with it< I'm not sure if they make an equivalent now but it was a
nice paint to use and nice and nice gloss.

It has been a long time since I have painted a car but I have done about 10 at home.

[dwethera]

I have not posted for a while but I have been busy. I thought I had repaired all the rust problems but after a sand blast and epoxy prime some further bits that need a little attention have surfaced. I will get to these in February next year. Then it will be painting and let the build begin.



There are so many holes where people over the years have attached stuff. Lots of delicate fill welds coming up. The metal on the rear guards was more bog than metal so some holes there need fixing. I know this will end but it just seems to be relentlessly teasing me with troubles!!

[FNQ]

Looking good,  keep at it.