Some progress...

The good weather we've been getting over the last couple of months has seen us out in the Spitfire at every possible opportunity, which has probably left the saloon feeling a little neglected! Nevertheless I've been chipping away at it when I can.

I've cleaned up all the panels I've got so far and sprayed them in primer, including the sills. The inner sills and the inside of the outer sills are sprayed in a high zinc content primer and the outside of the outer sills in an etch primer - if you follow :) The thinking here is that the high zinc content primer has the best anti-corrosion properties but relatively poor mechanical properties (adhesion), so I'll use it on inner surfaces which will not be subject to mechanical shock (i.e. things hitting it!) and I'll use the etch primer on outer surfaces (plus high build, stone chip, epoxy mastic depending on what's appropriate) because of its better adhesion. I know that I'll need to clean the primer off in the areas where they'll be getting welded but I think it's worth doing it this way if for no other reason than it'll keep the panels in the best possible condition until I get them fitted. I reckon I'll also paint all the inner surfaces of the panels except the flanges and welding areas in epoxy mastic and top coat and hopefully that'll see them last a bit longer than they did fresh from the factory.

I've also finished cleaning up the front of the car. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that underneath the surface rust and old paint the metal is actually in very good condition. This is now sprayed in etch primer and I'll be finishing this off in top coat to seal the primer because the Saloon's going to have to sit outside for three or four months this winter, albeit it'll be under a full cover.

It's gone from looking like this...

...to looking like this:

The rear surfaces of the front valance, front lamp panel and the support panels have been wire brushed, cleaned, painted with Hydrate 80, epoxy mastic and top coat.

The MIG welder is getting bought this month - going to go for a Portamig 185 - and I'm in the process of setting myself up with a "Volkszone" account with BOC so the real work will be starting fairly soon. To that end the next priority is to start unpicking what remains of the nearside front wing and sills.

There's some great articles about sill and floor repairs by Chris Witor and Neil Eyre in the 2000 Register Service Notes so I reckon it's time to dig them out and start studying seriously!