Triumph TR3-Back to Working on Fenders Once More!!

Yesterday I ran a rag over 3 of the fenders (a recommended "tip" from an auto body repair book from the library) and found some additional "waves" in the sheet metal (just a few-not many) that were not satisfactory to me so out came the filler for yet another skim coat!!! A couple of hours of sanding and finishing I am back to a 220 grit finish ready for the sealer primer to be applied. This detour was a "do it now or do it later" type of decision and as such I determined to take the time to get the fenders to the next level of smoothness.

I have also determined not to do anymore work on the fenders until they are bolted on for the final painting and then I will go back and see what additional "touch up" work might be required? I am anticipating they will have a "fit for purpose" straightness that will not require too much more massaging. It is time for me to move on to the back of the car..

An interesting thought crossed my mind yesterday as to why I determined to work on all 4 fenders at once verse doing them one at a time, completing the work and then moving on to the next one. I surmised that the reason was one related to "production line" repair! I believed it would be easier and faster to make the same repairs to all 4 fenders one after the other then go back and repeat the cycle. One downside is more chaos around having to deal with 4 loose fenders in a confined workspace...there is probably no right answer to this question.

My wife asked me yesterday how I am going to paint the car? I told her I plan to do it myself and she appeared skeptical that this was a good idea? She expressed concern that after all this work I might mess up the paint job and have to start all over again! Of course the bodywork would stay intact and not require redoing but if the paint doesn't go on smoothly lots of rework would be required. Something to contemplate for sure...

Yesterday I found a picture of a white TR3 on E-Bay that is going to act as my inspiration to keep this project going. Today I will print it off and hang a copy in my garage and next to my computer screen.