Painting the panels

Not too much to say other than I sprayed epoxy primer onto all the stripped panels and here are some pictures! I sprayed them in two sessions over two weekends: first the insides of all the panels, then the outsides.

I think that there will be one more round of blasting and spraying later in the build. I still intend to paint the wheel rims, the lower grill panel and a host of small parts such as door hinges.

 

Last of the blasting (well almost)

I've now completed the first (and biggest) round of blasting and it was nice to pull all the bits out of the workshop and give it all a clean. My plastic tent makes a lot of difference and contains the grit well but the fine paint dust gets everywhere.

Apart from the odd little repair the remaining panels are in good shape.

Two engine covers

Two mudguards

Two outer guards

Two lower engine cover panels

Cab front panel

The panel that forms the whole front of the cab below the windscreen is the worst part of my new cab. It is dented on one corner, repaired in the middle and rusted along the lower edge. For this reason I plan to replace it with the panel from the old cab which seemed to be better.

Removing it was no mean task with nearly 200 spot welds to drill out!

The panel is quite solid but after stripping I found that quite a bit of repair work lurked under filler. I still think that it is better than the alternative.

Both the front lower corners have small rusty areas.

Rust holes with outline for patch panel drawn.

Cut out for patch and new metal welded in. If you have not discovered flap wheels (on a small grinder) for dressing welds they are simply brilliant: far better and quicker than a grind wheel.

The other rust area is in the middle where the Bedford badge bolts on. There is a moisture trap behind the badge where a reinforcing bar is attached.

For this I cut a repair section from the other cab, bolted it on using the badge mounting bolts to align it and then drew around it.

Cut the rusted section out and use the magnets to align the patch.

Spot weld in place

Finish weld and dress with a flap wheel. I welded small sections and cooled the panel with the airline between each but there is still a distinct warp in the panel caused by the welding. I spoke to a local business who restore classic cars and their guy seemed to think this not a great deal. He said it was bound to do that and it would be simple enough to fix by shrinking but best to leave that until it is attached to the cab because the panel is quite floppy on its own.