Under Hood Black Paint

[My S1]

Nearly every Europa that I have ever seen has the underside of the hood, deck as well as the engine compartment and some front compartments painted black.  The underbellies seem to be unfinished, raw glass on original cars.  Did the Lotus factory paint the undersides of the panels and compartments black or did they leave the factory as raw and subsequent owners paint them black?

[jbcollier]

All the panels you have mentioned were painted semi-gloss black at the factory.  In the front the luggage compartment was painted body colour but the spare tire area was s-g black.

[My S1]

I suppose it was necessary with the translucent  matt and resin.  Do you know if any outfit sells the exact replica firewall matt?  That funky horse hair asbestos stuff?

[jbcollier]

Jute matting looks a little too good but it will last way longer.

[Clifton]

I suppose it was necessary with the translucent  matt and resin.  Do you know if any outfit sells the exact replica firewall matt?  That funky horse hair asbestos stuff?

Someone posted a link a few day ago. I don't know what the subject was though.

[gideon]

here's the link(s)

https://www.woolies-trim.co.uk/p-1384-sound-deadening-felt
https://anglotechnicaltextiles.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/FR42-AS.pdf

If you buy some please post a picture of the new vs old felt.  I'm probably not the only one curious to see how they compare.

[My S1]

That looks like the stuff.  Thank you. 

[Bryan Boyle]

All the panels you have mentioned were painted semi-gloss black at the factory.  In the front the luggage compartment was painted body colour but the spare tire area was s-g black.

A decent option (as in, it will last longer than the semi-gloss lacquer the factory used) is truck bed liner. Bonus is that it is tougher, adheres better (the semi-gloss was just shot onto bare fiberglass...which after decades just flakes off, the urethane adheres a lot better), and is easy to clean.  Lots of folks are using it these days, especially in wheel wells, underbody, inside the boot and bonnet lids, and engine compartment.  If you don't want the grit they usually put in it, strain it through an auto paint strainer (they're $.15 each at the local auto paint store) and be done with it.  I've used it on all my renovations...and my body guy (retired, sadly, since this TCS would really benefit from his attention...) suggested it on all the restorations he did, and everyone was satisfied (and I have the trophies to prove it..lol)

(I'd like to know when the factory stopped putting in the reinforcing beams on the two lids...my S2 had them, the TC doesn't.  Couldn't have been to save that much weight...probably a cost-cutting maneuver (they also deleted the bumper stops on the bonnet). 

[Dan C 2624R]

Bryan,
You mentioned Truck Bedliner for painting.  I am interested in doing just that.  As I do not have any knowledge for or against, do you have any preference of manufacturer?  Which did you use?

Thanks, Dan

[Bryan Boyle]

Bryan,
You mentioned Truck Bedliner for painting.  I am interested in doing just that.  As I do not have any knowledge for or against, do you have any preference of manufacturer?  Which did you use?

Thanks, Dan

They all do about the same.  I've used Herculiner and Dupli-Color.  The photos above were Dupli-Color.  YMMV.  I used herculiner on 693R for the wheel wells in '09 and they were still in great shape when I sold her off in '19.  I'd stick with the name brands.

[Kendo]

The wheel wells also need that padding at the top (in the front) to avoid rocks starring the bodywork. Does the truck bed liner have enough thickness to work for that? Might be a reason to keep the sand in that application?

[Bryan Boyle]

The wheel wells also need that padding at the top (in the front) to avoid rocks starring the bodywork. Does the truck bed liner have enough thickness to work for that? Might be a reason to keep the sand in that application?

just paint over the padding.  Undercoat would be better in that area (couple layers) if the padding isn't there...but, remove them, clean up, reattach with a heavy coat of contact cement, and then just paint over (what I did on 693R).  Never had a problem (nor did I pick up any cracks...)

[Kendo]

I meant can it serve as the padding? If it had enough body, maybe? On the other hand, what’s a good padding material?

[Bryan Boyle]

I meant can it serve as the padding? If it had enough body, maybe? On the other hand, what’s a good padding material?

No, bed liner is just a paint, albeit thicker than a rattle can.  The original padding is the same material as was used for the wheel arch close panels (tar impregnated cardboard?).  If you want to build up layers, then a couple coats of undercoating would probably be thick enough.  All the cars I've worked on still had the pad, so it was just a matter of pulling it down, cleaning it off, re-attaching, and hollering 'next!'

[rjbaren]

I used Rust-oleum Truck Bed Liner with a textured finish.  Rust-oleum is local and very available here.  It worked fine in all the areas mentioned.  I bought a quart and brushed it on.  It has only been my 3rd season and it still looks good.