AT LAST! Hairys Resto!!

Coming along nicely andy  

I found sanding filler very therapeutic  

It's keeping me fit!  

Well this weekend hasn't gone as planned, mostly down to wasting most of it arguing with O2 over phone issues, but that's another story!

Managed to get the afternoon on the old gal today - my son mucked in too and scraped the underseal off the NS arch for me, well most of it;





I need to finish right at the top of the arch and wire brush what he's left but it was a big help. Those rubbish welds at the lower edge remind me I need to re-do the awful job I did of the NS chassis leg    (when I had my rubbish MIG set! )

Well I've seen enough of filler and sandpaper! Got to this stage on the A-post early on this afternoon after a fourth application of filler!   ;



…but still not happy with it. The fifth should be the last one. I'm probably being too fussy but it's got to be right when it's done



Just need to sand this tomorrow then hopefully it's ready for some paint.

Similar story with the B-post too. From this;



…to this;



Yep, more sanding required!!  

The scratching in the rear quarter filler is where I was experimenting with the body file, with mixed results.

Maybe by the end of the week I'll be free of filler, for a little while at least!  

I bet you have had your fill-er it, all that sanding etc 😏

Massbad69 said

I bet you have had your fill-er it, all that sanding etc 😏

LOL - just a tad!

I do not envy you, it'll all be worth it in the end i'm sure  

olethalb said

I do not envy you, it'll all be worth it in the end i'm sure  

It will, I'm sure of that!

Just read this entire thread from the start, that's some great work hairyarse!

Makes me look positively lazy as mine was parked up at around the same time as yours, but I've not really progressed very far with getting it back on the road until two weeks ago when I got a new battery and got her started for the first time in a long while.

Good luck with the rest of the project! :-) 

Maniac said

Just read this entire thread from the start, that's some great work hairyarse!

Makes me look positively lazy as mine was parked up at around the same time as yours, but I've not really progressed very far with getting it back on the road until two weeks ago when I got a new battery and got her started for the first time in a long while.

Good luck with the rest of the project! :-) 

Thanks for the comments - must have been a long read!  

I've really got stuck in since Christmas - I find it's like going to the gym - you don't really want to do it but when you get there it's actually ok! Just making sure I stay on it and don't lose the momentum again.

Small update tonight - and sorry for yet another dull photo of some filler but…..



Six skims and I'm done - yay!!    Just need to give a once-over with some fine wet and dry and I'll be blowing some primer over this to see how smooth it really looks. Fingers crossed!

God I hate filler work 

I leave that to my mate haha. 

Good progress though  

Looking forward to a primed photo, will look brand new  

pazwaa said

Looking forward to a primed photo, will look brand new  

Cheers Matt

Well slightly more exciting photos today - I got it primed!!!  







I gave it a quick once-over with 800 wet n dry, wet, then 5 light coats of zinc primer. I've only painted the front corner of the sill and A-post as on to sanding the B-post filler next!    

I'm so chuffed with it now, there is a slight witness mark around some of the filler - I think a very slight depression that will require another light skim but I need to crack on so that can wait until the end for pre-body shop prep - or I'll let them do it!  

A final shot from underneath - the welds will be ground down when I sort out the return that comes under the lower flange of the sill, which will happen when I can jack up the right side of the car fully for good access



So today was a one step forward, none back kind of day and I'm well happy!    

That's a good finish considering the amount of repair work you've done in that area, you've every right to be proud of it! :-)

excellent work mate, must be nice seeing it becoming a solid mk1!!!

i think you will need to buy a da sander!

Good work on the filler bud! Just a little tip, when working with a repair, skim the whole area each time. That way you may be able to cut down on the amount of skims you need  

Looking really good now mate, nothing better than laying down some primer and seeing your hard work has paid off  

Next step, all one colour. Smile time!!!  

I'm new here and i look all over of your topic. You did great job til now.  Hope to see next steps.

Thanks for all the comments guys!  

I am chuffed with it given what a mess it was - it used to look like this!





Hi George, how's things? - yes a DA is on the shopping list in the near future!  

Dan - top tip on skimming the whole area each time, I never thought of that, thinking I was being more economical with my time but now you've said it I suppose it's obvious! If I had done it that way I wouldn't have the witness marks present, and probably would have had less applications. I'll try it next time  

I'd second filling the whole area. When you mix up the filler you won't get the hardener ratio exactly the same so just touching up a little bit that isn't smoothed well enough leads to patchwork of filler that abrade at different rates and when I've done that I struggled to get the whole area smooth. Much easier to scrape it all off or at least low and cover the whole area.  Still enjoying your thread. Good work.