Bulkhead Update

May 2012

Spent quite a bit of time filling, sanding, re-filling and covering the bulkhead with a few layers of gelcoat. The final result was ok but not perfect and i was constantly exposing the filler when I rubbed the gel coat down - i was also having problems with the gelcoat not hardening - much like I had experienced with the doors, bonnet and boot :( Gelcoat is certainly not my forte and is probably my biggest concern with the build to date.

Following a recent trip back to GD, I had a good look at a few of the cars in the workshop and to be honest I wasn't blown away with the bulkhead finish on any of them, including the factory cars. I mean they looked good but they didn't look perfect and I really want my car to be as perfect as possible.

Back at work a few days later and Stuart, the owner of one of the vehicle bodyshops (Carsmetic near Dudley http://www.carsmetic.co.uk/) we use, was in to see me about some jobs we had for him so I asked for his opinion. He suggested that he could fill and spray the bulkhead and inner wings, blending them smoothly into the engine bay if I could get a RAL number for the corresponding paint finish.

Spoke to Andy, got the RAL number and asked Stuart to see what he could do...

The photo below shows the prepared bulkhead, filled and sanded and ready for final painting

Perfectly smooth ready for painting
I must admit I was a little concerned that the paint might not match or you would be able to tell what was painted and what was plain gelcoat but the finish achieved was amazing.

As promised, photo of finished bulkhead and I must say I'm delighted with the result :)

Painted and looking perfect



No comments:

Post a Comment