1977 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6 GL

Looking very good, the attention to detail is to be admired.

Many thanks!



Thank you kindly! I'm hoping it'll come together by late June/early July

Collected the car from the paint blokes this morning, and the nosecone + front valance had already been polished up.





Yes - that is indeed my ugly mug reflected in the nosecone - that must be my "intense concentration" face!

The insides of the wings finally got a lick of the grey stuff today -





Once scotched and stone chipped, these will probably be next to receive some blue paint.

I made a start on polishing the engine bay too - its a messy job, but it's getting there!



The new paint looks a lot more vivid a hue next to the old - this shot of the rear screen frame shows how much it has faded compared to where the window seal was.

That's looking bloody lovely! Has to have the black painted in, that's just half a job if you don't Find those who didn't do it and slap them for me!

I know I keep saying it Steve, but this really is stunning. That engine bay and front end looks totally mint. An awful lot of extra time and effort where others would of cut corners or bodged.
I assume you'll have all the outside painted in one go and are you gonna finish the underside in body colour too?
Keep going mate,
Cheers, Richard.

Thank you kindly! The underside is going to be black unfortunately - I want to use it when it's finished!

Cheers! I don't know about the best, but I'd like to think it'll be one of the nicer ones.

Other wing done today - its pretty tedious, I'll probably have a go at the doors, bonnet and boot lid with some paint stripper if I can find some decent stuff.

I'm using poly abrasive discs mainly, plus wire wheels and an assortment of drill attachments on the fiddly/inaccessible bits.

I tried some body shop paint stripper today to see if it could be done quicker. It liquefied the blue top coat immediately, but only slightly softened the primer beneath. The primer could be scraped off after treatment with some aggression, but it was slow going. It came off easier with the disc after treatment, but the application of the paint stripper, as well as using the disc doesn't save any time over just hitting it with the disc without using the stripper first. Disappointing!
The test piece was the outside of the passenger side front door - still took the best part of an hour and a half, as the paint just smears until a bit of heat builds up and it lets go!



The paint stripper is really good on two pack paint, but the acrylic paint on this car is a bit of a pain!

So long as you keep them flat, they last very well.

Not a massive amount to report today - got the insides of the wings stone chipped, and took the tyres off the rims. With a little luck, the rims will get sand blasted next week.

Like this? Mine is ZX type though.



Another day, another door!



Both nearside doors and both wings now with the paint blokes.