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Paint advice
skydivepaul - 2/5/19 at 07:21 PM

To paint or not to paint that is the question.
I have built a classic grand prix cockpit simulator (started off as a bit of fun, but I got carried away)
Just about finished now and ready for painting, however a few friends and family say I should leave the bodywork as is (ali sheet)
I had plans to paint it british racing green with a yellow stripe in tribute to the lotus 49 (The external dimensions are to the lotus 49 plans)

Any suggestions?
I will be panting the plywood front and back section but again not sure what colour, either BRG, blck or silver.
I have some team lotus and other period stickers to apply once done

A few pics here

pic 1

pic 2

pic 3

pic 4



[Edited on 2/5/19 by skydivepaul]

Mash - 2/5/19 at 07:31 PM

Awesme job dude!

Looks good as it is, but BRG/yellow stripe would look cool too

jossey - 2/5/19 at 07:46 PM

No paint looks great as it is

SPYDER - 2/5/19 at 08:23 PM

Wow!

I would go with the Lotus 49 scheme and finish it off with a mock up DFV at the back
and wishbones/wheels at the front.

Or leave it as it is. Well done chap.

skydivepaul - 2/5/19 at 08:42 PM

Cheers guys, I am thinking I'll leave it unpainted except for the front and rear sections.
Am tempted to paint the front and rear British racing green and try a yellow stripe on there as well.

I saw a replica sim at the autosport show that was made from a tube chassis, had suspension, wishbones and original lotus wheels and tyres all to lotus 49 dimensions.
It was for sale, so I enquired £50K.....😲😲

skydivepaul - 2/5/19 at 11:12 PM

quote:
Originally posted by SPYDER
Wow!

I would go with the Lotus 49 scheme and finish it off with a mock up DFV at the back
and wishbones/wheels at the front.

Or leave it as it is. Well done chap.


Cheers spyder, the guy I saw at the autosport show was going to fit a 3D printed DFV onto the back of his sim rig , it looked the dogz bollx

shindha - 3/5/19 at 05:51 AM

Looks Awesome, great job, if the aluminium can be kept looking like that (shiny) I'd keep as is.

Mr Whippy - 3/5/19 at 06:00 AM

No I'd not paint that. Maybe spray it in clear coat to keep the shine.

If you can build that you should build the rest if it and put it on the road.

skydivepaul - 3/5/19 at 07:58 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
No I'd not paint that. Maybe spray it in clear coat to keep the shine.

If you can build that you should build the rest if it and put it on the road.


Cheers, I am itching to build another car but don't have the space at the moment. something I am working on is building another workshop in the garden.

nick205 - 3/5/19 at 07:58 AM

That looks fantastic, very well done!

I'd paint the plywood, but definitely paint not the Ally sheet section - it looks far too good!

I know Ally doesn't corrode like steel, but I guess it might be worth applying some sort of transparent finish to protect the Ally from oxidation (if that's the right term). I don't know what that finish would be though and whether it would be brush-on, polish-on etc.

[Edited on 3/5/19 by nick205]

Slater - 3/5/19 at 10:41 AM

Looks great as it is, but the ali will dull over time...... so I'd say paint it. BRG with yellow stripe is defo the correct choice.

But I am biased.

Mr Whippy - 3/5/19 at 11:05 AM

one downside of painting it would be that most folk will assume it is heavy GRP and so lean on climbing in not realising that it is deniable aluminium

nick205 - 3/5/19 at 11:57 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
one downside of painting it would be that most folk will assume it is heavy GRP and so lean on climbing in not realising that it is deniable aluminium



Hopefully the rivets will alert people to it not being GRP and make them a bit more careful, but it doesn't always work! Some panel beating for those that lean too heavily perhaps

Angel Acevedo - 3/5/19 at 06:25 PM

Great!!

Leave as is!

My opinion of course...

perksy - 3/5/19 at 07:01 PM

That's too nice to paint

Lovely job, I think you could sell a few of those

skydivepaul - 3/5/19 at 10:14 PM

quote:
Originally posted by perksy
That's too nice to paint

Lovely job, I think you could sell a few of those



Cheers guys you have confirmed what everyone else has said, keep the ali bodywork as is.

I'll give it a good clean up and maybe try a coat of lacquer on it.

More than likely I'll paint the front and back ply in BRG and I'll try a yellow stripe over it.
Seen as the bank holiday weather looks pants it's a good opportunity to get it done.
I'll post up some pics.

skydivepaul - 18/5/19 at 02:17 PM

Got the sim up and running, kept the ali as is and got the decals on. Quite pleased with the result and it works great, especially with the subwoofer behind the seat it shakes the who rig when you go over the kerbs!

Few pics here (sorry they are links to pics as I cant seem to upload any to my phot archive)




pic 1

pic 2

pic 3

pic 4

pic 5

[Edited on 18/5/19 by skydivepaul]

swanny - 3/9/20 at 05:48 AM

looks amazing. did you apply any sort of clear coat to the ally? was thinking about polishing mine up and getting it coated to keep it looking good

swanny - 3/9/20 at 05:48 AM

looks amazing. did you apply any sort of clear coat to the ally? was thinking about polishing mine up and getting it coated to keep it looking good

scootz - 3/9/20 at 06:52 AM

Looks pretty awesome as it is!

Maybe put a few race-derived decals on if you feel it looks a little 'bare'? Race numbers, classic brands?

Myke 2463 - 3/9/20 at 07:57 AM

quote:
Originally posted by SPYDER
Wow!

I would go with the Lotus 49 scheme and finish it off with a mock up DFV at the back
and wishbones/wheels at the front.

Or leave it as it is. Well done chap.



Same here, Fantastic work.

skydivepaul - 3/9/20 at 02:22 PM

Well after about a year, i decided to paint the car british racing green with some period decals

Photos here

pic 1

pic 2

[Edited on 3/9/20 by skydivepaul]

steve m - 3/9/20 at 04:19 PM

That looks really nice