Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I just painted my elan in a simple garage. It took time and i am no pro at painting. Here are some photos of the process that i ndid. as you can see there was lots of fiberglass work. it took me 6 weeks to complete

As I have this in my future, not for a while though, I’d be very interested to hear your choice of materials, lessons learned, what not to do etc.

That looks like a fabulous job. Well done!

Thanks,

Ian

Well done, that looks amazing. 6 weeks is probably about right, I've usually spent a month or so doing repairs and leaving them to fully cure before final preparation.

For an "as sprayed" finish, that's got a superb finish. Leave it a few weeks and then polish, it's going to look like a red mirror !

Brian

thank you all for your words. To answer your question on what in learned 1st and foremost dont use gelcoat with wax. You have to get the wax layer off which is the worst job to due. mix your own wax into the gelcoat only need about 8 to 10 drops per gallon. Next is keeping the dust off the body when you paint. Due alot of wet sanding between coats and never second guess your work. I used the paint from tcp global its there house paint which they mix themselfs its all ppg so if you mix it right then you will get great results. Take your time when you paint put the body up about 2 feet so you get good covarage on the rockers as well.
I went to jamestown dist in RI they are the best with there tech support and there total boat product line is great.

My cost:
fiberglass resin Gelcoat fairing compound 400.00 dollars
paint 350.00 dollars
new harbor freight black widow spray gun 238.00 dollars 1.7 tip
gelcoat/primer gun from summit racing 60.00. that has a 2.3 mm tip works great with high build primer and gelcoat

Very well done!.Great job!
What did you do for ventilation of the polythene booth you appear to have made?....What about temperature and heat?

Alan.

Well i left the door opened about 4 inchesn and used a very good respirator. it got so cloudy i had to take my eyeglasses of kinda painting blind so to say.

I went to Home Depot and got a 80000 btu heater and monitored the temp. right around 80 degrees. worked fine left it on for 8 hours. paint kicked and this morning the paint was rock hard to the touch. maybe a fan would of helped. Well everything is red toolbox and all. easy clean up i guess.

Hi

Well done, looks great!

I just finished painting my plus 2 today. No previous experience.

It was partially prepped already and it took 3 of us 6 straight days. I borrowed a spray booth. I used a 2k epoxy sealer, 2k high build primer, 2k base coat and 2k clear. It has some orange peel, mainly on the boot, a few fish eyes and specs of dust, but the lacquer is pretty thick so at least some of it will correct at a later date.

I gave up on the bonnet, needed more prep.

Colour is RAL 9001 Cream.

All the best

Berni

I don't want to rain on the 2 painters parades, but when both cars have covered 5k road miles and still look as good as in the pictures, with no cracks coming through and no sinkage, I will take my hat off to both of you.

Leslie

Nice job.
I painted my Elan in 1989 and it still looks good.
However, those were the cellulose days and I do worry about ventilation with 2k.

In answer to Leslie. I prepped and painted my +2 4 years ago in my garage. To this day I have no cracks or bubbling etc.
I think it's a bit of a elitist myth that you have to spend upwards of £10k on a paint job. Materials + tools are less than £1k, the rest is just labour and knowledge. The latter is widely available on the internet. Also, wet sanding and polishing will give a mirror finish.
There is also the argument that a home job will be more thorough as there is no pressure of doing things in a specified time or to a specific cost.
Add to that the reward and pride in seeing your own work and the fact that some people actually like the process in restoring cars, rather than paying someone else to do it.
Both of the above cars look great. I salute you.

pptom wrote:In answer to Leslie. I prepped and painted my +2 4 years ago in my garage. To this day I have no cracks or bubbling etc.
I think it's a bit of a elitist myth that you have to spend upwards of £10k on a paint job. Materials + tools are less than £1k, the rest is just labour and knowledge. The latter is widely available on the internet. Also, wet sanding and polishing will give a mirror finish.
There is also the argument that a home job will be more thorough as there is no pressure of doing things in a specified time or to a specific cost.
Add to that the reward and pride in seeing your own work and the fact that some people actually like the process in restoring cars, rather than paying someone else to do it.
Both of the above cars look great. I salute you.

To be fair to Leslie, he is right to raise the point. The two jobs do look stunning, but as a word of warning to others who may see the posts and wish to do the same..I would say that before taking a job on you need to learn how to do a proper fibreglass repair...it's not rocket science but anyone thinking it can be done with steel car techniques of body repair will come a cropper.
Yes do it....but learn how to do it properly first.

Hi Guys

I totally agree that preparation is everything. My car was repaired and retissued extensively by some very experienced guys at a higher end restoration company here in the UK. The car was originally going to be an electric conversion, but the customer changed his mind and so they sold the body/chassis off. So personally I am not so worried in respect of the basic repairs. I need to find out whey they filled in the wiper holes though. I am guessing they had planned for a more modern solution.

If you want a really good result then you will be putting the hours in. Many hours. And using the right equipment and repair techniques.

If it just has to be "good enough" and useable then you still have to use the right repair techniques, but I do think (as demonstrated above by the OP that it can be done in a well thought out home environment. It's not exactly rocket science for sure, but there are a lot of variables that need to be understood adjusted and controlled.

In my opinion, especially here in the UK the hard part at home is temperature and dust control. Also having the room to move around the car.

I have seen inflatable spray booths for hire. That could possibly be a way forwards for that part of the equation.

Berni

I drove over to Evan's place to check out his coupe today. His car is stunning in Viper red. Reminds me my car needs a good polish.

That looks great Evan.

What are the recesses in the area above the tips of the rear bumpers? I haven't seen them before.

What are the recesses in the area above the tips of the rear bumpers? I haven't seen them before.

Indicators for the US (Federal) market would be my guess?