ELSE Europa restoration 2015 -2018

[Gmg31]

No not at all,  on the contrary it's good news.  The body shop has agreed to paint my car over the next few months and has promised it back by January.  During that period I'm moving to my new house.  Ignore the house but check out this garage.  The internal walls are simple stud walls so once removed I will have a work shop at the back, a stores dept in the conservatory and space for 4 cars in the main garage. My dream home.

[BDA]

Glad to hear it! Looks like a great place to keep Loti!

[Gmg31]

Before letting her go to the paint shop I decided to remove the dash and the instruments so I have something to do when she's away.  Wow that was a bit daunting but loads of labels and tape and hopefully I'll be able to get her back together next in January

[BDA]

You'll be fine! I don't remember it being that hard (no PO to mess things up), and if I can do it, I know you can!

[StrawberryCheesecake]

Oh I think you're doing just fine, a few paint runs are all part of the game. Leave it for a few days and then use 400/600 paper with very light pressure to take off the run. If you have a good depth of paint already I would be tempted to polish it (G3 cutting compound, T-Cut then polish) to see if it will polish out.

Everyone has their own trigger points when they stop adding paint. Mine is to put light passes which cover the panel with a solid colour and flash off quickly,  then finish off with a heavier coat. It generally looks a bit orange peel and "not enough" when I stop, but gravity and paint flow usually smooth it out well enough in the 4/5 minutes it takes the thicker coat to become tacky.

Final polish with T-Cut and sometimes G3 cutting compound is normal with me I'm afraid, I'n not good enough to get a mirror shine everywhere straight from the gun because I just don't do enough painting. And there are always the odd kamikaze fly and dust specs to remove as well !

What he said, but if you're moving house, you've got enough on your plate.

You can use a layer of stopper round a paint run to help sand the run back without going through the good paint.

No matter though. The paint shop should be able to finish it for you while you work on the man cave at the new house.

[Gmg31]

Further to link about dashboards.  I filled the holes and trimmed the plywood with black vinyl.  The crash pads are being professional retrimmed with grey vinyl.  I'm servicing the gauges.

[Gmg31]

The car has come back from the paint shop and is looking stunning.  No full shots yet but here are a couple of previews.

[BDA]

She's coming together nicely! Can't wait to see more pictures!

[lotusfanatic]

She looks fantastic!
I'm looking forward to seeing the full shots 

Mark

[Gmg31]

Another little preview

[BDA]

I like the Elan Sprint-esque paint scheme!

 

[lotusfanatic]

now THAT is a teasing photo!

I look forward to seeing the rest of the car 

Mark

[Certified Lotus]

Nice! Do you have the paint code for the yellow you used?

[Gmg31]

LO 7 Lotus yellow.  That was the original colour but at some point the car was re shelled with a white shell so to represent the history of the car I chose the classic Elan Sprint colour scheme so she could be both colours.  Gold bumpers to be fitted this weekend more photos to follow if it doesn't rain   

[Bainford]

Very nice! The Sprint inspired paint scheme fits well. Can't wait to see more.