The panel unfortunately was severely creased in from a side impact in it's past, that rippled it from just above the sill to just below the window. When it had a restoration and re-spray back probably 5-6 years ago now, the bodyshop said that was the best they could make it, having to fill what was left. I expect any further panel beating would probably distort the panel now, so will have to make do.
Having limited funds and time to do anything with the car, i've taken a slightly different approach to sorting out the bodywork with the cost of a respray etc; and have decided to be a bit bold and different
The plan is to now rub down the offending micro-blistering, treating the minimal rust areas, giving everything generous coats of primer and then vinyl wrapping the car front to back in 4d carbon fibre myself with a few helping hands; looking at a max cost of around £150 hopefully.
Once the first batch of vinyl turned up I dug the fibreglass wings out, which had generally held out well, had to fill a few imperfections from manufacture but were ready to go after an hours work...
Starting with the nearside front wing, I gave it ago at wrapping it all in one piece, which was an interesting challenge! Looking at the shape of the panels, this is probably the worst to start with having to negotiate wrapping it around the wheel arch and the front of the panel bearing in mind it all started off as just a rectangle of vinyl.
I'm generally happy with the first attempt, i'm not going to pretend its an immaculate job, but you would need to look for the slight imperfections which aren't noticeable from a distance nor a photograph. This is the first panel wrapped...
Bearing in mind the original wings are still on, this will give you an idea of the colour change and how it should eventually look...
For the offside wing i've done it slightly differently to make it ultimately easier to do and to prevent little imperfections, so that the finish is smooth but at the cost of overlapping pieces. Overall it doesn't look too bad but might go back to it at a later date once i've got a bit more practice in...
I think the plan for the doors and side panels will be to over lap pieces underneath the lines of the car matching the weave of the pattern as best as possible if it's not possible to get a good finish as one whole piece on the panel as I did with the first wing. Big areas such as the roof and bonnet will be covered as one piece.
Once the car is covered I might highlight certain parts of the car such as the window frames, around the bonnet pins, possibly even the mirrors, handles and grille in a slightly lighter silver 3d carbon fibre look. The idea is for it to stand out without looking tacky and if it should be parked in the local fast food outlet most weekends, but were see how it goes!
Next step, choosing the best of the earlier type front valances I have and getting it prepared for the next load of vinyl
