The time has come....

...no not THAT ...



Washing the Bee today, a lovely afternoon of at least 10C, has highlighted all the wee bits of corrosion that are beginning to show their ugly heads

Front eiffels
Lowest part of wing
Some bonnet side edge
Below one pinin badge
Boot lid corners
Bottom edge of driver's door
Wheel arches
Not to mention the multi-coloured shades of yellow that festoon the
whole body after many sessions of partial respray

After recent communications regarding pensions (big birthday due) I was thinking what I might treat myself to with a bit of the "lump" they say they've got lurking - I'm thinking attending to the above for long-term benefit is an excellent idea

Next decision would be where......

Welcome to my world Simon. Do it, do it....

could be pricey! I have done the bodywork/paint as and when needed, it is the turn of the wheel arches together with the underbody as the underseal needs redoing. Booked in for the beginning of March. Sprint blu seems to match in well from my experience, yellow and red appear a lot more difficult?

Indeed they are David, broom yellow comes in 3 different colors, each with its own paint code variant. And that's before they fade from UV.

One to watch out for Simon when you do bumblebee.

Just repaint the lot as will be easier to manage in the long term, other than partial ( attempting colour matching ) respray's to the local areas you have identified above.

Complete respray is my line of thinking, yes. No way will all those shades match up, and I like the original deeper tone of Giallo 258 before it fades to the slightly watery version.

There'll be a bit of black in there somewhere too......

Im gutted its come to a respray

Colour scheme will be preserved Sam.

I do what I can to look after it, it's kept clean, clay-barred, machine-polished and waxed, but after getting the arches "done" to address the kinking metal issue, I'm not convinced they're looking too healthy, the usual wear and tear on front bumper is beginning to look tatty along with the various bits of poorly-matched colour.
I'm a bit surprised at the small bubble below the pinin badge on one side, hopefully that can be nipped in the bud.

If it's going to be a keeper, which is the intention, then a respray and tidy up of the many bits and bobs seems the most thorough. Don't forget it's a daily driver too and it's kept on the main road (lockups/garages in short supply and astronomical price up here) where it's in contact with road salt and plenty of passing vehicles.

It needs front eiffels as well and the bumper isn't quite aligned, so get it all done in one go I'm thinking.

The pinin badges are going to be a sod to get to the inside of as it was all sealed up with sound insulating stuff, im surprised its bubbled there unless the sealants come away which I suppose is possible






That was a fun task..

I remember this stamina-sapping and injurious project description all too well

I've been in that area once or twice, sprayed waxoyl inside under the pinin badges and they themselves have been off on more than one occasion. Even if they still had the two pins they haven't had them in a long time and are stuck on with double-sided black tape, the holes well sealed up.

I agree that position just above the sill joint for rust blisters to appear is a bit of a mystery considering all the best efforts to prevent it.

I don'nt profess to know about rust proofing but having had the rear seats out and sealed up the rear badges I found no rust, that was a few years ago now. I'm looking at the way the body panels have been wrapped above and wonder if that would seal the moisture in given the changing temps in the Uk the inside of the panels would have condensation and therefore trap water in the panel?...unless that stuff is able to breathe?