Catch up on Jamie‘s Saph build! Last November, he finally got the rubbed-down-and-prepped shell in primer.
After hours of rubbing down, sanding, filling and some more rubbing down, the tired old Saph shell was nearly ready for a few coats of primer. The goal for this month was to finally get some primer on it, but before that could happen I needed to finish off a couple of little bodywork issues.
The first of which was the distinct lack of rear bumper. I couldn’t believe just how scarce Sapphire bumpers have become, and how much money they command these days. Thankfully I managed to find an intact one at the right price on the internet so with Paypal as my friend it was soon bubble-wrapped up and heading towards my house.
When it arrived I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was in good nick, had all the fixings attached, and merely required a quick clean-up and rub down before it too would be ready for some primer. The front bumper and headlight blanking plates that I’d previously made also received the same treatment.
Then it was time to go shopping for the primer. I wanted high-build primer as it means I (or the bodyshop) can give it a quick flat over with some wet-and-dry paper to give a really smooth finish ready for the top coat. It also meant that it would cover up any discrepancies or light marks in body as it is quite thick and very forgiving. I also needed a can of etch primer to go over all the areas that I had rubbed down to bare metal, especially the bonnet.
So with my cheapo gazebo-cum-spray booth safely put up, the spray gun freshly cleaned out and ready for action, and the primer mixed up and raring to go, I fired up the compressor (sorry neighbours) and got to it. Rather than hit it all in one big coat (I’m usually the master at paint runs!), I decided, or attempted, to do it properly this time.
A quick dust coat all over first meant the heavier coat would take better, and it did. I actually surprised myself at how well it all came out – not too shabby even if I do say so myself. With the bodywork dry I even found time to give the engine bay a quick clean up and another quick coat of the satin black it had already been painted with. This will give me a nice clean base when it comes to start putting things back in for the final time.
From here I have a couple of options as to what to do next. I’m already writing a massive shopping list of things I need from the States to begin building the engine, the turbos are all packed and ready to be sent off to CR Turbos for all the work they need, and I’m currently contemplating colour choices and paintwork options so I can start to get it booked in to the bodyshop for a top coat (I need to sort the rear bumper mountings and rear arch extensions before that though), so it could be a busy time coming up and hopefully I’ll start to see some real progress over the next few months.
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