Cavalier mk2 - another blue giffermobile.

[4wheeledstool]

Got an unexpected bit of time on this today, so got stuck in to the offside door apertures/sills.

Hopefully I'll get this side epoxy primed at the weekend. 

[barrett]

This is quite remarkable. Do you think it's the first time a Mk2 Cavalier has ever been fully restored?

[New POD]

No.  If you want to see more of this but in different colours then you need to go to www.mk2cav.com 

[4wheeledstool]

Offside sill + door apertures now epoxy primed. It's a lot easier to see where filler needs to be applied now it's all the same colour.

I realised just how effective my dust/fume mask is when I had to answer the phone half way through spraying - this stuff properly reeks!

If I'm really lucky, I'll get the other side done tomorrow.........

[Cavcraft]

On 9/3/2020 at 4:35 PM, barrett said:

This is quite remarkable. Do you think it's the first time a Mk2 Cavalier has ever been fully restored?

 

A few years ago now, one of the lads in the Mk2 Cavalier club fully rebuilt an SRi.  Can't remember if it was to the same extent as this one, to be fair I doubt anyone has achieved this standard before though. 

[4wheeledstool]

Looks like luck was on my side - nearside was prepared after doing some chores.

Then primed in time for Sunday dinner.

Not lucky enough to win the lottery though.

[Burnside]

Liked for the nearside primer update, but not for the lottery! 

Can't wait to see it painted Blue again with the rear spoiler on. ?

[dollywobbler]

Just caught up. Marvellous.

[4wheeledstool]

Got a bit more primed this afternoon. 

Once I've worked out exactly how I'm gonna tackle the engine bay, I'll be getting it done this weekend hopefully. 

[4wheeledstool]

Only got half way around the engine bay before running out of paint. 

Most of the time has been soaked up by the masking.

Hopefully the bay will get finished this week.

[Marina door handles]

Nice to see a MK2 getting some serious love. These make me pretty nostalgic as my Dad had these back in the Eighties and I had my first go behind the wheel in one (underage on a campsite!).

 

[Talbot]

What will/have you been doing about protecting inside box-sections. sills and other inaccessible areas of metal?  Cavity wax on it's own seems no-where near the levels of protection you're achieving elsewhere.

[4wheeledstool]

On 9/14/2020 at 12:24 AM, Talbot said:

What will/have you been doing about protecting inside box-sections. sills and other inaccessible areas of metal?  Cavity wax on it's own seems no-where near the levels of protection you're achieving elsewhere.

With re-application every couple of years or so, I reckon it'll be reet. Not planning on using it all weathers, but even so, it should last pretty well. 

Many different jobs have been competing for my available time this weekend, but I managed to get the rest of the engine bay primed today.

This will all get a rub up at some point to flatten any brush marks  from the Hydrate 80, then primed again to seal any bits that get rubbed through. This should then be ready for regular primer + colour.

[4wheeledstool]

Stole a little time on Friday, and made a start cleaning up the tailgate for priming.

I'll hopefully get it done this weekend. 

[4wheeledstool]

Most of the weekend passed by with no time for this, but this afternoon I got back on it.

Only managed to get primer on the inside though.

Gonna do the outside tomorrow after work.

[4wheeledstool]

Been doing overtime at work this week, but stopped off at the shed on the way home and got the rest of the tailgate primed earlier.

Two of the doors have no dents, so I'll probably start on those next. 

[4wheeledstool]

Slim pickings this weekend- made a start on the doors, N/S/F first. 

Inside just needs finishing off

Started the outside, but ran out of time.

I'm hoping to get it primed this week, but fate has been regularly farting in my face recently. 

[4wheeledstool]

So far so good -

Should get it primed tomorrow, probably won't get at it for a while after that- many jobs need doing on my daily wheels .   

[4wheeledstool]

Got the door primed yesterday. 

Still not fully cured after 24 hours - getting a bit cold for painting stuff now.

Hopefully I'll pick this back up in a few weeks once other stuff has been fettled.

[4wheeledstool]

Unexpectedly got an afternoon in the shed today. The offside front wing had all its exterior paint removed.

It had two thick layers of red on top of the factory paint, and was certainly a bit of a faff to remove, but the trusty poly abrasive discs got the job done. A wire wheel attachment on a drill sorted the tricky bits that couldn't be done with the disc.

After a good cleaning, the epoxy primer went on.

It got a good thick coating, and can now be put to one side until I start the filling, blocking and priming necessary to enable some colour to be splashed around. Just need to order some more paint so I can crack on with the other wing, doors and bonnet first.

[4wheeledstool]

Another piece primed today - after stripping the paint off a patch at a time on my way home from work last week, it feels like ages since it was started. 

Slowly but surely it was done.

Surprisingly, this wing is completely dent free! It looked a bit wavy before stripping, but it must have just been the dodgy multiple resprays the wings were sporting.

Priming happened yesterday, and today the marks made by me catching it with the air line whilst spraying were blocked out with 240 grit wet and dry paper.

Both wings were then plonked on to the shell to take up less space.

Back to the tedium of paint removal.

[4wheeledstool]

N/S/R door now stripped back to the metal.

I thought this door was good and straight, but it has been pushed in a little where the rearward portion of the side trim sits. I've straightened it out reasonably well, but a skim of filler will be required at some point.

The back was primed yesterday, 

and the front was done this morning, 

just two more doors and the bonnet left to be stripped and epoxy primed.

Getting a bit repetitive........

[twosmoke300]

How have I only just seen this thread ?

Absolutely stunning . Love those cars !

This and Triplerich’s Granada are my two fav threads now .

[phil_lihp]

Amazingly thorough restoration, it must take forever to strip everything back to bare metal.  It's looking brilliant, always liked the styling on these cars and there aren't many left now.

Much as it is going to look amazing when it's fully painted, the stripped panels look so good I had visions of a Delorean-inspired Cavalier for a moment.  And yes I know, it's not stainless steel and would rust instantly! 

[4wheeledstool]

Just about managed to get the O/S/R door done this week. Bare metalled in dribs and drabs on my way home as per.

This one had a little bit of rust pitting on its bottom corners  - you can see the Hydrate 80 has been applied here.

The back was primed on Friday afternoon. 

And the front was done today. The colder temperatures mean that it's taking a lot longer to fully cure now.

It looks like its gonna get colder still later this week, so may well have to find non paint related jobs to do for a while.

[4wheeledstool]

Its been all go at the shed today, sadly not all Cavalier based, but still got a bit done. Mrs Stool's car was in first for its annual oil,fuel and air filter service - followed by my van, which recieved new shocks and bottom ball joints. The remainder of the day was spent stripping the paint off the last door. No time was found for this during the week, but the whole door was done today to catch up.

Just need to finish the window frame, and I can get it epoxy primed tomorrow. 

[4wheeledstool]

Inside of the door was primed on Sunday.

It took a while to fully cure, so I didn't get to do the other side until yesterday. 

With all four doors stripped and primed now, theres just the bonnet and spoiler left to prepare for bodywork now. As the weather is set to be colder for the foreseeable,  I reckon now would be a good time to make a start stripping the paint off the tailgate spoiler. It has been painted over the factory finish, and there is crazing in certain places, so the only way to make it right again is to take it all off. 

I've tried a patch sanding the majority off then finishing up rubbing it with thinners on a cloth - it worked well, but was incredibly time consuming.  I'm gonna see if I can get hold of some decent paint stripper to try and speed it up a bit. 

[LoftyvRS]

Respect for the hard work and hours going into this resto. It's lovely to see every single panel being stripped right back to the bare bones before being treated and primed. 

Every credit to you and your poor finger tips!!

[4wheeledstool]

As seems to be the norm, commercially available paint strippers don't have much effect on actual paint. Back to sanding and thinners it is then.

[adw1977]

Shit modern paint stripper probably works on shit modern paint!

Loving this thread and all the work you're doing.