The process begins by stripping the donor vehicle to a bare shell,
not a nut or bolt is left in place. The shell is then mounted onto a
purpose built jig to check chassis member alignment. This jig revolves
through 360 degrees to provide easy access to all parts of the body. The
doors, bonnet and boot lid are taken off the car and the exterior panels
are brought back to bare metal with paint strippers.
The body is then shot-blasted with some one and half tons of shot
and all paint and underseal removed from the underside, luggage
compartment, door apertures, engine bay and interior of the car. This
process takes the whole shell back to clean steel and removes all
corrosion.
The whole shell is then treated with an epoxy resin primer, which
affords excellent protection against rust.
The process of replacing any corroded areas then begins using brand new
hand made panels produced to the highest standards from original gauge
steel.
Repaired areas are then lead loaded and the shell prepared for
painting. The engine bay and underside of the shell are treated with
seam sealer and undercoated with stone chip which is a modern
development of the traditional underseal, but provides better
protection. The rest of the shell is then treated with a two pack
acrylic primer and sprayed to concours standard and polished by hand.
Painting the body shell is an art in its self. Each coat is sprayed
by hand in the chosen colour to ensure a perfectly smooth finish. The
doors, bonnet and boot lid are sprayed separately to ensure complete
coverage and protection.
All chassis sections, including the inside of the doors and sills are
thoroughly injected with cavity wax to make absolutely certain that
corrosion cannot start in these inaccessible
areas.
