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Lotus Elan S4..Bodywork evaluation..Strip & Paint?

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djb222

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I’m afraid I’ve been ignoring the Elephant in the room with regards to my Elan, namely the body work. So yesterday I had a detailed look at it and decided it needs attention. Especially with the effort being put into the mechanicals
The paint job is not the best, I think it needs stripping back. Some areas of the GRP needs attention. I’ve never restored a GRP car before but am going to give it a go, given that I don’t have the £8K plus for a professional job.
Have a look at what needs attention on the video…. Words of wisdom and advice gratefully received TA!
https://youtu.be/_WDbRo8jPDQ
 
Kudos, David. Diving into GFRP refinishing feet first! The only way to strip it is mechanically, to my knowledge. I made an awful mistake when back in '75 we didn't take mine down to gelcoat. I repaired all the cracks and imperfections we found but left the original colour coat largely intact. It has subsequently become semi-solid under the top coat I sprayed. We used PPG products; sealer, primer and finish. On beginning to sand all now, the first finish coat under the repaint has turned to a gel-like goo. I've put the car into storage and am admittedly daunted at the prospect of having to gear up for the task.

Your vid is a bit of a motivator, you may embarrass me into action now. :wink:
 
Classic Motorworks restored Lotus Elan not too long ago. They do have their pictures and suggested to dos online.
 
Even though I've got a Plus 2 Elan, I've not touched the body work yet as it is presentable and I've lots of chassis and mechanical stuff to deal with. But I have done a bunch of fiberglass boats, from little cosmetic ding repair to major hull sections. I'll just add a few comments to Drentropy's post above. It may not be necessary to remove all the old paint but leave a large margin of bare fiberglass around any repairs. Cut out any cracks that go all the way though the panels and make a proper patch. Don't try to fill them. When patching, use the same laminate schedule as original. Use polyester resin as original too.
I'm sure others might do it differently but this has worked for me.
The Lotus workshop manual has a detailed section on body repairs also.
Tom
 
Having done many many GRP cars, I would recommend the following.
Plastic media blasting is the best way to strip ALL old paint and primers from the body.
Cracked areas need to be bevel cut and filled with resin and glass matt, NOT clothe. I use tooling resin for all glass work. Once finished, apply a new gel coat and primer serfacer and rub down.
 
When doing some minor repairs both to my vintage Corvette and Cobr* replica I found that products from West Marine were top grade and made long lasting fixes
 
Grantura_MKI said:
Having done many many GRP cars, I would recommend the following.
Plastic media blasting is the best way to strip ALL old paint and primers from the body.
Cracked areas need to be bevel cut and filled with resin and glass matt, NOT clothe. I use tooling resin for all glass work. Once finished, apply a new gel coat and primer serfacer and rub down.
Click to expand...

I'm curious about using the tooling resin. It is formulated for making molds and not for making repairs. It also has a very short shelf life. What is the advantage?
I've also sprayed colored gel coat on boat repairs but that made the finished coating, no paint over it. Paint or primer goes right over standard polyester resin.
Perhaps I'm missing something?
Tom
 
Holds to previous glass and fiber. Cars I do are minus gel coat from the factory. Many, if not most of the cars I do live in warm climates and need the extra step to make them last. Micro blissing is not a fun thing to deal with. I have cars out there that are on my original paint and prep for now on 30 years with out issue....must be doing something correctly?
 
After thinking about all of this for a bit, it occurred to me that perhaps your Lotus Elan might not be the best project to practice fiberglass work on. While it is fairly straight forward, there is a bit of a learning curve, and mistakes can make things worse or much worse.
How about looking for an old boat or canoe to practice on?
Just a thought.
Tom
 
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