I think the engine became my distraction as it started to kangeroo... (i think ive just solved that issue woohoo, thank to the zone) anyway its not quite finished but here goes.
The problem: 1. hit and run caused a deep indent along the passenger side wing. 2. Bumped into the back of some dude (my fault he started to pull away and i didnt double check that he had continued) Cause damaged to bumper mounts, wing (same one as above luckily)... have a look!
Oh yea forget to mention the boot, some kids bumped their handle bars against it!!!!!
I thought about just replacing the wing, but i couldn't get a good one. I bought 2 from the zone but they were in a mess, worse than described!
Regardless i went about cleaning up the better of the two. But there was still too much rust etc for my liking.
It worked out well in the end because it gave me a chance to practice!
I was worried about the quality of finish i'd get out of a can. I bought the lach paint from the dealer - I was impressed as it came with laquer and not that expensive at all. Only downer was that the can came in one small size. I used a hammerite primer (i did what i thought best i'm no pro!)
ok... practice over. It looked pretty good to me... well, good enough to live with.. the problem was the quality of the wings... from what i could see the condition of the original one was far superior! But it meant a big filler job and respray! Im no pro, far from it but i was up for the challenge. The closest thing i had done to this was my old bmx back in the day! I gathered as much info as i could and went for it! I bought hanynes' guide to bodywork. Bought the various grades of sand paper. Rubbing compound. Block etc...set to work
The local boys were quoting me 250 a panel... so that was not an option for me couldn't afford it!
I started with the bonnet as i thought it would be relatively easy... took a lot of patience to build it up. Working on each layer to maintain an even curve. I just used my hand to judge it.
I kept checking the smoothness and when i was happy it was time for the primer!
I think i gave it a couple of coats before i went for the paint!
So far so good!! I was happy with the results. Then i came across a problem. Simon had sold me a lach silver bumper. I went to put it on and this is what i was faced with;
I did post about it at the time, a few things were suggested. I tried inflating a football to push it out and a jack but no joy. The mount itself was bent at an angle and i couldn't hammer it out as there was no space nor didi i have an alternative tool! ... I found a simple solution that works for me:
You can see the gap difference from left to right.
solution, I made a little block and pushed it behind this mount... job done!
Back to the body work next job, wing and arch!
Once again when i was happy.... along came the paint!
While coats were drying i moved onto the boot:
This needs finishing... and the wing needs another coat or two plus laquer but so far im happy and proud of the work. I was worrid about the quality you can get out of a can but not any more. It will never be as good as a gun but if you dont have that kind of money...
I had to watch out for blobs of spatter by starting to spray away from the panel first. Also i never used the very last of the cans to avoid this.
So, What do you think people? This was all done on the road side... not fun! however i really enjoyed doing the work
Jason
Motronic to Megasquirt Plug and Play Guide
NOT! 
