ps10-mk3_2010-11-15

There is nothing new on this project for a long time, but here's a couple of pictures that I took yesterday that shows the result of applying the drywall mud on top of the foam. It got ok, its quite hard and easy to sand. Unfortunately I haven't had much time to work on it, but I guess it will be easy to sand down the drywall mud and get a near perfect finish.

ps10-mk3_2010-09-19

This weekend it was time to make a fresh start on making a smooth finish. The last time I applied polyester putty over the foam to later make a finish smooth surface. That solution revealed to be very hard to become a smooth finish, as its not that easy to smooth that putty. So, I decided to get rid of the putty and apply drywall mud instead of the putty, since it allows to have a perfect smooth finish, but its much easier to sand down. This weekend I used an angle-grinder with a sand-paper disk to remove some of the polyester putty. This revealed to be harder than I thought, as the putty was quite hard, and as soon I got to the foam, it would make a hole. It really isn’t a big deal, since it will all be covered with drywall mud, but its sad to see all the work I have done filled with holes In order to apply the drywall mud as evenly as possible, I cut some thin strips of 3mm cardboard, attached them to the foam using small nails, and then filled in between the strips with drywall mud. Unfortunately I only have pictures of the cardboard in place, since the camera run out of battery before I apply the drywall mud.

ps10-mk3_2010-07-11

This weekend I managed to start a new stage on the build, although the first stage is not 100% completed. I bought a 2KG can of body filler and decided it was time to start spreading the "thing" over the car. First I tried the filler over a small piece of foam to see if there was any problem, and there was, the filler was "eating" the foam. So, I decided to apply a thin layer of white glue over the foam, and then apply the filler over the glue. I started by the rear left wheel, as the foam was quite rough in that area. First I applied the white glue over the foam, let it dry overnight and only then I applied the boy filler over the foam. It got with a rough texture, as I applied a rather thick layer of filler so I have some degree of freedom when sanding it down to a smooth finish. The 2kg can of body filler is quite small, but it had a coverage area much bigger than I was expecting, as I was able to almost cover one of the rear wheels.

ps10-mk3_2010-06-13

A bit more work on some details, mainly on the transition area from the rear wheel arches to the part that gets behind the doors. This transition was a bit weird, now it got better, still, it needs to be filled, but that will get to the next step, when I start to apply body filler over it. I have also done some work around the front glass and hood, there was some bits that needed to be more detailed, and still need some more work, but didn't had much time to work on it. Sorry about the very bad quality of the picture, once again forgot the camera and all I had was the phone...

ps10-mk3_2010-05-16

This weekend I worked a bit more on the car, this time on the rear section of the hood, shaving the previously glued bits of foam. Its not completely finished, but its nearly there. While working on the hood, I noticed some parts of the car were deforming too much when some force was applied to it, as in the centre section of the hood, to solve that I glued some more bits of foam underneath the car to strengthen such parts. Still, I guess the next step will be reinforce the all structure of the car with steel tube, so that when I apply body filler over the foam, it wont crack due to the foam deformation when applying force to sand down the filler. Sorry about the bad quality of the pictures, but only had the phone at hand.

ps10-mk3_2010-04-18

This weekend I could spend a bit of time working on the car, it was not too much, but I did what I had planed for it. The last time I worked on the car, I levelled the metal frame that holds the car, by sticking some wood blocks under the metal frame. One of the things that I did this weekend was to number each of the blocks and mark each position in the floor, so if I ever need to move the car to other place, I can easily level it when it get back to the shed. Besides that, I worked in the area between the hood and the front glass, since there was missing some bits of foam. So, I just glued some foam in there, which will then be shaved to shape, following the contours of the hood. Since I only had time to do this on Sunday, the didn't dried on time to start shaving the foam, so it will have to wait to next time.

ps10-mk3_2010-01-31

This weekend I worked a just little bit more in the car. I bought a SurForm tool from Stanley, and I found out how much easy is to model the foam. It doesn't produces a smooth surface as a paper-sand, but its good enough, and it cuts quite fast :D I did some work on the front wheel arches, as they were missing some bits on its ends. I had already glued some foam on those ends, so it was just a mater of giving it some form, which was quite easy with the SurForm tool :). I also did some work on the front wind-shield with the Surform tool to smooth some parts. I was about to level the all car so that I could see if there is some bad problems to solve, like something being "bent" or higher on some side. When I took the car outside, it appeared to me that the roof was higher on one side, but after looking at it with more attention,I guess that the rear end is lower from one side due to the wood structure from that side had fallen off of its support, but I am still not sure. I will have to reinforce the metal frame so that it wont bend so easily, and only then I can start taking measures and take some conclusions. I hope the car is not too much twisted... Oh, sorry about the quality of the picture, they were taken with my cell phone...

ps10-mk3_2010-01-10

This weekend was time to bring the car to the light of day :) The main problem is that I had laying at the front of the door of the garage lots of old doors and windows, which I had to remove them to another site to be able to open the door of the garage and bring the car outside. The purpose of bringing the car outside was to be able to see the all car with out having that post in the middle of it so I can have an idea of the dimension of the all car. In some photos that I took and photoshop'ed to remove the post out of the car, I got with the impression that the car had a very large wheel base and a bit disproportional to the length of the all car, so this trip to the outside helped me to clear thins out. It turns out that the car has a long wheel base, but not as long as I was thinking, It has a wheel base of about 1770mm, which is a bit bigger than most of the supercars around, but by the looks of it, I guess it doesn't get bad at all. This are excellent news, as I was already prepared to cut the car in half to reduce the wheel base :),I am glad that I will not have to do that... Bringing the car to the outside, also allowed me to look at the car from angles that I had never looked at it. I had never been able to look at it from behind, and it revealed that roof is higher on the right side of the car, so, I guess that will be the next thing on my TODO list :) Besides this, I worked a bit more on the rear wheel arches, and I guess they are done, at least for now. I have also glued some bits of foam on some places of the car that was missing, mainly on the front wheel arches. The next time I work on it, I will carve that foam bits to shape. Take a look on the photos to have an idea of how the all thing is. Don't mind the wheels, as they have the wrong size, mainly the rear ones. Sorry about the bad pictures, but the sun was right on top of the car and with the withe wall on the back it was quite difficult to get a decent contrast between the car and the wall.