Lil Red - SJ restoration - Fettling and Paint
When checking the panel alignment, Winchfield Engineering noticed a slight dent in the sill that we had not seen, On our model of SJ this part is normally covered by a black rubber strip so it seems likely that the sill had gently contacted something and got bent but it was hidden behind the rubber,
Therefore they had to pull the dent out and remove it.
It was gently pulled out with mulitple pull points to straighten it.
Then it was cleaned up and a layer of leveling filler spread onto it.
All the exposed metal and porous filler was then coated in epoxy for protection
This filling and coating was carried out in a number of areas around the car.
The front wings were removed from the car and put into the painting booth to get their coat of epoxy protectant.
In the picture on the left you can see the bare metal around the bottom of the wing brace where it was removed and refitted to align the panel.
Underneath a coat of Cobra coat was applied to the inside of the wings. This will be sprayed body colour later.
The roll hoop has been rubbed down ready for its final coat.
The body shell was then flattened off and prepared for final paint
Inside the car, seam sealant has been applied to the newly welded seams and on the floor sections where repairs have been carried out replacement sound deadening has been applied (the black stuff)
As not all of the sound deadening had been removed only replacement cutouts were needed to replace the missing parts.
With the final seam sealant and sound deadening in place the SJ has then been masked up for the inside to be painted,
So here is the first proper view of the smart new paint.
On the left is the front foot and seat area where the sound deadening is. This means the paint is not 100% smooth which is, of course, normal for an SJ.
The rear gives a nice view of the colour and shine of the paint.
And the tantilsing pictures received last of all show that the masking has been adjusted ready for the shell to be painted,
