This (soon to be again) olive green car is a good example of the process of painting a vehicle so we don't end up going over good work and spoiling it. At the time of publishing this entry, the car's bodywork is now painted but it's dressed up in paper so we can paint the chassis and apply the underseal. It makes a lot more sense to get the bodywork painted, bring it back - and then tape it up in protective paper to apply the paint and protective underseal to the chassis. This means we don’t damage the paint on the body when we paint the chassis and underseal. When the car leaves the workshop and goes back to the owner, the entire car - bodywork and underside - looks amazing and the owner will be confident their car has been properly painted and protected.
Of course, it might seem like a lot of work to carry out the masking up and taping so that we can dress the underside and do the wheel arches last but preparation is everything. It can take up to a day and a half to do the masking - but it's worth it to see such perfection driving out of the workshop each time. In our next installment, we look forward to showing you the car in all its glory!
Let's get to the car that had been damaged. It's a Prince of Wales spec V8 Volante. Well, this one is looking pretty splendid now. It's all black and the only word we can use here is "Wow!" Again this is an example where although the car came in to have the issues around the bodywork damage fixed, there were some things we figured needed some real TLC once we'd stripped the car. We saw some power steering leaks, the suspension had issues, we noticed the rubbers weren't so good, so we brought these to the attention of the owner. Without a doubt it's not nice to hear that things are wrong - but he was equally pleased to know that we'd spotted them and could get them fixed for him. So we've given the car a new lease on life and we have a tremendously happy customer. The picture below shows the final work in progress but we think to do this one justice, a picture of it finished and sitting outside the workshop is required, so watch this space.
Last night we had a 1990 blue Aston Martin Virage with magnolia interior come in. It's been in storage and hasn't turned a wheel in 15 years. This one is going to be recommissioned. It has a flat tyre, no battery and basically needs bringing to life again. Initially, we want to get it roadworthy and through its MOT. We want to make sure we can get it started; so for this one, of course, we'll put a battery in first to make sure it has a spark. Then we'll check the water, check the oil and drain the fuel (remember this one had been sitting around for so long it could have bad fuel). Once we make sure it isn't seized and have it turning over we'll look at other things on the list like the brakes and tyres (which in this case were old and perished). Once we've done that, we'll talk the customer through the items on the secondary list we've been building while working on the essentials. This is a chance for the customer to prioritise some of the nice-to-have things like, for example, fixing the suspension or replacing all the perishable items like rubbers that have been on the car since it was new.
Juxtaposed with these bigger stories are the ones that may not be so involved but the work is still to make sure the car looks good, stays roadworthy and a pleasure to drive. Like servicing, tuneups - and sorting out water pipes. It's all in a day's work to us.
