TOPIC:

Recently finished this build for a mate - started out as a simple resto of a Sand Scorcher back to box art colours etc but then quickly snowballed into a pair of Sand Scorchers, one to be a resto to look like it was built 40 years ago, put in a display case and never touched again, the other was to look like how a real buggy that had been left out in the desert for 40 years would look. That's this one.
Starting point was a mess of a SS:



Lots and lots of paint stripping, followed by some more paint stripping, and then just a touch more, we got to here:
 

and then here:


I then painted it in the period correct blue and white, popped some MCI decals on, and cracked out the brown paint:
 

Lots more brown paint later.....
     

 

Wow I thought the body was paper mache in the first picture 😮 Great save! 

I love the result.

That is so realistic!! Nice job! 

Very nice work!

That before shot, looks like it was painted with Liquid Paper/Tipex.

Nice work!

Thanks very much for the kind words, I very much appreciate it.

Yeah, that's got to rank as one of the worst bodies I've ever seen. I counted 5 different layers of paint. I guessed the top layer had been applied with a freshly used garden broom and then excitement overtook the owner and they couldn't wait for it to dry before taking out around their local gravel pit.
When I finally got through all the layers the body was in a horrible mess - cracks all over the place, the lower windscreen frame crumbled away, and it looked as though someone had had a go at taking some paint off with a wire wheel, because the whole thing was covered in deep scratches and it had destroyed some of the trim detail.
These pictures were taken after a lot of sanding and filler had been used, and you can see from the guide coat how much further I still had to go to get it smooth. 



I wish I'd bought shares in filler and wet and dry before I tackled this...