More on the Aston Martin DB2 progress
The DB2 is nearing the end of the body work phase. We removed the finish and the underlying filler to bare aluminum. We fabricated new panels to replace parts that were beyond repair. Spray polyester was applied and block-sanded to achieve a wave-free surface.
The bonnet was particularly time-consuming. This is a large, complex piece that hinges at the front to reveal the entire engine and front suspension. It was necessary to fabricate components of the mounts and hinges for both cosmetic and structural reasons. This led to countless installations and removals to confirm fit. Adding to the critical nature of the bonnet is the fact that the inside surface is completely visible to scrutiny when open.
The original color was a rather weak metallic green. The new finish will be British Racing Green.BRG, as it is called, does not represent a specific paint formula. While many manufacturers offered a color by that name, Aston’s version was not identical to that of Jaguar or Triumph or MG. Anyway, this car is going to look stunning in this deep green color.
About the original finish, or I should say, the finish we removed as part of this project; the paint was shiny enough, but as you can see in the picture where the green is being removed in sheets, not well-applied. This appears to me to be the result of sanding the primer with too fine a grade of sandpaper prior to painting. The result is that the topcoats have nothing to grip to and over time this finish would have failed prematurely.
Next we applied primer, performed a lot of wet-sanding, then sent it off to the paint shop. Here is the DB2 back at our shop after wetsanding the final color:
