bmxnz11's Ford Escort MK2 Van

[bmxnz11 3,758]

Ended up going with signal orange 79. It's an original color for an escort, but not this van. Sampled a blue and a different signal 77 orange but settled on this. Have been spraying it in sections. Engine bay, interior and inside of the doors. Still a while to go before I can spray the outside but its certainly progress!

[bmxnz11 3,758]

Have sprayed a few more items. Battery tray, all door jams, bonnet and had redone the engine bay 'bubble' because it was easier to do the whole thing then to fix a couple of runs. Couple of areas had to be touched up as I didnt wait long enough between coats and had solvent boil.

Aligned the rear doors for final assembly before paint. Will put some seam sealer around the hinges to lock out any water. Put in the new door pins on the drivers door and sealed in the drivers guard. The sealer is a soft material that will provide protection from the wheel well but wont 'glue' the guard on permanently. Originally the guards are welded on but I've decided to reattach it with sealant and bolts. Will align the passenger door with new pins then I can start prepping the body for paint. Also made up a new base plate for the subframe and welded that on.

[bmxnz11 3,758]

Finally getting back into this after a few months away. Have decided to paint the outside in two sections which hopefully makes it a bit more manageable. The obvious way was to section off the roof. The other reason for doing it this way is to ensure there is plenty of paint in the gutters which are prone to rust. By sectioning it off, it gets painted when the roof is done, and again when the sides get done. This ensures maximum paint without making a mess.

Have been sanding for the last couple weeks. My weak little office arms really struggled with painting the roof today but I'm pretty happy with the outcome.

[bmxnz11 3,758]

I'm still working on this. Havent had as much time as others, as I've been working from home during lockdown. I sanded back all the guide coat and spot printed areas where I hit metal. Will give this a final sand and then its onto color. Pretty keen to get this done. Well and truly over block sanding.

[bmxnz11 3,758]

More sanding and prep work. Picked up some rebuilt princess 4pot calipers and fiesta side mirrors. I was originally going to run chrome bullet mirrors but these provide a greater surface area and will match all the black trim. Painted behind the grill black and painted the calipers and brake parts. Is there any performance advantage to ditching the brake booster?

[bmxnz11 3,758]

It's been a super long week but I finally painted the body. Its come up pretty damn straight but unfortunately I also have a few runs which will need sanding out. Absolutely stoked to get it to this stage but plenty more work to come.

[bmxnz11 3,758]