I heard back from a paint shop today regarding the respray and after discussing it with him and subsequently with Helen I have committed to going ahead by placing a deposit. I’ll keep the commercial details confidential here, but suffice to say this puts an end to the paint stripping experiments and aerosol attempts. The paint shop will receive the car in December 2018 (subject to their preceding projects going to plan) and will start with having it soda blasted to remove all the paint. This is considered to be the most cost effective means of removing the paint and is recognised as good restoration practice (Classic and Sports Car Magazine Aug 18 Article refers) as it exposes any problem areas. The only proviso in this case is that the underside of my MGB has been undersealed and is recognised as being solid so I will suggest this area is left intact. The soda blasting does require that the dashboard is removed or at least undone so that is a fiddly job to do (not attempted yet) and the wiring loom will need robust protection under the dash. I will probably remove the headlining too which is grotty and which will not survive the blasting process. I am happy with this decision which I have thought about a lot. This is the one solution which provides the most sound basis for the rebuild. It is a lot of money, but based on the overall investment in the finished car, and it being the most visible part of the whole project, I consider it worth doing. Maybe I will spray a car in the future (next project!).

This decision also allows for me to consider moving the MG outside (but under a cover) for the next few months for final stripping and putting the Suzuki Cappuccino back in the garage. This creates some working room for me in the garage (the Cappo is small) and also makes working on the MG on the final stripping a bit easier. I will see if the Cappo cover fits the MG (it might), or purchase another from the same people. I am happy with the Cappuccino cover which did a good job of sheltering the car during last winter’s severe weather. Despite this I would prefer the delicate Cappo to be garaged as it is susceptible to rust and needs care. The MG in its current state can sit well outside under a cover.

In other news I have bought and built an engine stand. It just needs me to mount the engine on it, but this really needs a helper so I will shout Mark into this one in the new few weeks.