Sean's 197T - RIP Albi :(

[Pav]

Shame I can't make that date or I would have been on it!

@Pav I've spoken to Sean about the top mounts as a group buy for forum members. I'll get something sorted.

sounds like a plan...

 

[Pav]

@Pav get it booked, i'll happily take you out for a lap.

i'll look into it..i have to make sure its in the school hols though...

 

[Colesy]

Great read, if the time does come that I can consider a megane swap I will definitely be coming back to this thread, some great info here! Thanks for sharing it

 

[Sean197]

So, finished my engine cover and interior trim. Looks good, quite happy with how they turned out. Just need a badge for the engine cover, have my eye on a few on ebay.





Also began painting my wheels. Sanded the base lacquer off and primered (2 coats), then put the first coat of paint on earlier. Doing one wheel for now, just to see how it turns out. Happy with the colour though, just need to add another coat or two followed by 2 or 3 coats of clear lacquer. (No I didn't remove the tyres, a) because i'm impatient, and b) they're bald as a coot so will be replaced with my current tyres anyway).







Also been talking with Paul from RS Tuning today, think i'll be visiting him for a little bit of extra oomph in the new year

 

[Pav]

they turned out really well...hard to tell if the lacquer is gone on white wheels
well done Sean..they look great..is the temperature still an issue??
hmm a more power then..lovely stuff..

 

[Sean197]

The paint seems to be holding up ok, I thought the cold might have been an issue but so far it's been fine. Will do another coat of paint tomorrow and start on a second wheel.

Will hopefully be booking a remap this week for January some time. Just need to figure out how far to go with it, bearing in mind the 300lbft torque limit.

 

[MattySa]

Just had read of this thread and must say has been an interesting read. Great work thus far

 

[Jimmy]

Nice work with the painting, Sean, it's all come out looking really good. I admire you doing the wheels yourself too, the first one looks great.

 

[Sean197]

Nice work with the painting, Sean, it's all come out looking really good. I admire you doing the wheels yourself too, the first one looks great.

Cheers Jimmy. What can I say, I'm a tight Scotsman and I got a letter through the door reminding me my golf membership is up for renewal at the end of January (£550). So I thought rather than pay £250ish to have the wheels done I'd give them a go myself for around £35 in paint etc. I also didn't want to pay for the wheels to be redone and then worry about them constantly, what with the state of the roads and putting them on for Spa in April, so I'll see how the paint holds up once they're on. I still want to paint the calipers red before they go on, just for the contrast.
The sanding machine is handy, but doing the little nooks and crannies by hand is a pain in the arse...

 

[Jimmy]

Yeah, I imagine it's a very painstaking job - I know @Pav took his time doing his too, but the results are worthwhile, as they are with yours Sean. It is a big saving too, to do it yourself - definitely a big motivator!

 

[Chris]

Very nice Sean, saved yourself some money there! Even if you re-do several times you will still be up!

 

[Big Ben]

That's a real top effort mate. Would love to have the patience/ability to do something like that. Kudos

 

[Pav]

doing the little nooks and crannies by hand is a pain in the arse...

do tell..haha

Yeah, I imagine it's a very painstaking job - I know @Pav took his time doing his too, but the results are worthwhile, as they are with yours Sean. It is a big saving too, to do it yourself - definitely a big motivator!

Pav did take his time but could have done it even better..next time

 

[Sean197]

That's a real top effort mate. Would love to have the patience/ability to do something like that. Kudos

Cheers for the kind words Ben. It's honestly not really that difficult. The key is plenty of preparation and not rushing. I think I'll do a how-to guide when I start the next one, I've never done painting before but I'm amazed how good everything has turned out.

 

[Pav]

Cheers for the kind words Ben. It's honestly not really that difficult. The key is plenty of preparation and not rushing. I think I'll do a how-to guide when I start the next one, I've never done painting before but I'm amazed how good everything has turned out.

very true..thumbs up..

 

[Colesy]

Just wondering where you got the Clio 200 dials from? Been searching and can't find them for sale

 

[Sean197]

@Colesy pm'd

 

[sevenfourate]

Cheers for the kind words Ben. It's honestly not really that difficult. The key is plenty of preparation and not rushing. I think I'll do a how-to guide when I start the next one, I've never done painting before but I'm amazed how good everything has turned out.

This IMO.....

I've done a fair bit of spraying over the years. At home using rattle cans and at work with a compressor and a gun.

'Anybody' can squeeze the trigger / press the knob and whack some paint on.

The skill in getting a great looking job - especially at home is the prep as mentioned.

From choosing the correct paint to be used or needed in your application, to getting a flawless finish on the presumably primed piece to be painted, to picking a warm day to spray on or even building a small heated spray booth to keep temps up or dust down - and even thinking about where it will be left to dry without getting knocked or moved etc.

From my experience - the time put in beforehand is directly proportional to the quality of the finish at the end !

***And your wheels look great Sean. I BET you've got the painting bug now ! Really satisfying to get a factory finish at home; yourself - isn't it

 

[Sean197]

Finished the interior trim and engine cover. I have a spare center radio surround arriving tomorrow, which will be painted the same anthracite as the wheels. Then shortly after i'll be re-trimming the A-pillars in alcantara as I bought some on eBay.

 

[Pav]

very nice..think you may like "blue"
are you painting your air vents too??sounds interesting doing your a pillars in alcantara