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Lancia Delta

Very pleased to have worked on this classic car – The ultimate hot hatch – the Lancia Delta MK1

A bit of background on one of my favourite cars – The Delta was released in 1979. Unsuprisingly the  Delta was one of the most contemporarily styled cars of its class in Europe at the time & was also voted 1980 European car of the year. The first Delta was born in 1979 and is defined as one of the original “hot hathes” along with the mk1 golf GTI.

Other original hot hatches would be the Renault 5, the Alfa Romeo Alfasud – which all preceeded the Pegaul 205, the Astra GTE and the Escort XR3i.

The work we completed on this particular Delta was not a complete respray – but a repair and respray of a couple of the body panels. It was of course a joy to work on – there are a couple of before and after shots here which show the initial damage and the work that we completed on it in the bodyshop.   Just give us a shout if you have a delta & need some work completing on it, this is the kind of work that we live to do!!

lancia delta respray job

subaru impreza complete respray

Just finished a respray job on a Subaru Impreza. It has taken a good couple of months to get it completely perfect. Now it’s finished, I am more than happy with the results.  Let me know what you think to the complete respray! 

To spray your own motorbike faring at home, you can generally achieve a good result with good old fashioned  aerosol cans.  You will need around five cans of primer.  Some different grits of sandpaper & about 6 cans of paint that is all the colour of your choice. With this route there is plenty of room for error & improvement.

motorbike faring - primer stage

First sand down the old paint as close to the plastic as possible with a dual action sander, or you can use a sanding block.  The later is more time consuming, but you can achieve a great  level of detail and generally feel the shape of the faring as you work it.

Then spray on the primer – very very lightly and evenly to begin with.  Try to avoid spraying it too thick or it will run.   You can learn from your mistakes with the primer as this can be sanded down, but by the time you get to painting it you will want the action perfected.   Another tip – don’t start spraying in the middle of the faring.  You want to be spraying left to right – from one clear edge to the other.

Then let it dry for about 20 minutes.  Follow this with sanding it down with around a 500 grit sandpaper.  You can then use some denatured alochol and and old cloth and wipe away the sanding dust.  Spray on some primer again, and sand it back again.   Let it dry for about half an hour and you can then start with the spraying of your chosen colour.  Use the same technique for spraying primer as for painting: Very light sprays, no heavy coats.

After the first coat of paint, you will want to let it dry for around 48 hours.   Depending on the amount of imperfections that you notice ater this you might want to sand it back using a 600 or 500 grade.   It is generally much better to take it nice and slow and apply lots of smaller light coats of paint, than one quick heavy layer of paint.

Follow this proceedure of lightly painting and sanding until your motorbike faring is completley smooth.  You can then gradually raise the grit in between sprays to make it a fine paintjob.  When the final coat is dry and you are completley happy with the results, then it is time for the clear.  I gerenally recommend the 2000 grit so that the paint has some bite to it. Then once again, you need to wipe all the sanding dust off with the  denatured alcohol, let it dry again and then spray the clear coat on just as you did the paint.

Keep repeating the process of spraying with clear and sanding back down with the 2000 grit until you are compleyely safitfited.   Sand down for the last time and wipe all dust again with the alcohol and then you can use some medium duty rubbing compound to make your paint really shine..!   Follow the directions on the compound and after that, just wait about two weeks before applying the first coat of wax.

Warm and dry conditions are ideal for spray painting, as aerosols don’t always work best in the damp and colder temperatures hinder drying time. If it’s not warm and dry outside, work in a well-ventilated garage. Wear overalls or old clothes and disposable gloves – goggles and a dust mask will also keep stray droplets of spray paint away from your eyes, nose and mouth.

#2 Preparing – In preparation for spraying, you want to use aluminium oxide abrasive paper ( at 80/grit). use this to rub down your surface back down to bare metal. You might then want to apply a rust treatment, always make sure you follow the instructions and allow it to fully dry.

#3 Masking - Your area should now be dry & clean – any specs of wax or grit can be removed. To do this it is advisable to use cellulose thinners. Then mask off any areas that are not being painted using standard masking tape & papers

#4 Spraying - Holding the spray can approximately 25cm away from the surface to be painted, apply a number of coats of primer at 15-minute intervals until the area is evenly covered. Go an inch over the original layer of paint to help it blend in, using several light layers of paint.

#5 Ready to paint - You will need to allow a good 24 hours for your primer to dry completely, then rub it down with 1500 grit wet & dry paper until it is completely smooth. You then need to clean the area with soapy warm water. Finally, rinse it off and let it dry fully.

#6 Application of paint - When you are ready to start painting, you need to shake the can vigorously for at least two minutes to make sure the paint is thoroughly mixed. Apply a few coats at 15-20 minute intervals, remembering to shake the can between each coat

#7 Using Metallic Paints - If you are using metallic colours, your always need to try to give the paintwork 24 hours to dry. Then rub it down with 1200 grit wet & dry paper. It should lose its  glossy appearance and take on more of a dull, matt finish. Then clean with warm, soapy water, rinse and dry.

#8 – Finishing - You now just need to apply 2 coats of lacquer, with 15 minutes in between each coat. You can get a specialist lacquer that is petrol-resistant for fuel tanks of cars and motorbikes from any good hardware store.

If the finish looks patchy – you will need to apply another coat of paint or wait until the surface is totally dry before starting the process again – rub it all down and repeat the lacquering process.

Don’t forget to contact us if you ever need any help or advise from us on respraying cars, commercial vehicles or motorbike / motorbike faring.

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