[Simon Lewthwaite]

Wow Paul, thats dedication to the cause!
I note you haven’t mentioned cost – of the service, not the carrier.
Look forward to hearing more as time goes on

Si

[Simon Lewthwaite]

Good idea.
I’ll try it!

[Simon Lewthwaite]

Thanks Ian,
Unfortunately, I have only just read your post so its too late for me!
Here is what I have done, for what its worth.
First a better image of my starting point

Then a trip down to my (nearly) local motorfactors for a browse of rubber related products and I find this

Says its paintable onto rubber, must be reasonably durable, only cost £4.50 and tests showed it dried matt without eating at the foam inner. So, why not try. Its also quite thin, so layer building possible.
Here is the end(?) result.

I have tried to show the remaining imperfections as best as possible, but overall, I’m fairly happy and I still have the replace option should I find a better one. I just no longer have the vaseline option!!
I may yet give it another coat, but the more I do, the more texture I lose.

[Simon Lewthwaite]

Thanks for your help guys.
Indeed, it would be very easy to try and repair and quickly exceed the cost of a good replacement.
So, my plan is to experiment with some cheap options and if that doesn’t work, replace. I shall report back.

[Simon Lewthwaite]

I think you are right Paul, attempts to clean break up the surface because of the cracks.
I wonder if rubber dash restorer exists and would help. I almost need a rubberised brush on thin coating to bring it all together. Liquid rubber?
Must less than replacement of course!! Thanks for the pointers.

[Simon Lewthwaite]

Looks fantastic!
Wonderful to have the space to do that.
Is another option a matt/satin clearcoat? IIRC, Eastwood did a UV protection layer in that to prevent the paint ‘changing’ colour. Used it on my quicksilver chassis repaint in the Lotus. Might have been gloss though.

Brilliant job though.
Si

[Simon Lewthwaite]

Well,
My DS23 was cream originally. I am having it repainted as we speak.
Roof is gloss black. Remainder of body work is……yup. Gris Nacre. Definitely metallic but not as much as modern car paints. I love it.

Not there yet(still awaiting doors and front wings) but looking good!!
Si

[Simon Lewthwaite]

Bl**dy hell! Lots that could go wrong there – like when I took apart the light control stalk and spent the next 2 hours asking myself why!!

Great info guys. Think I’ll unwrap the old and practice by re-wrapping it in situ, then take a view on the ease of it. I may report back……

Si

[Simon Lewthwaite]

I like the forum but agree it could be better.
When I first seriously considered owning and restoring a ds – more than a decade ago, I was also considering a Lotus. I compared the forums and went down the Lotus route. I couldnt have rebuilt my Esprit without LotusEspritForum, now TheLotusForums. I remain a member of TLF and its probably the best motoring forum around – think it may have won a prize or two in the past. It has no physical magazine. Models, old and new, are separated and then subdivided into technical areas. Non-Lotus threads are also extremely active – turns out people like to talk and share. Lotus history a common theme too. Plenty of adverts but you need a strong forum to attract them. Like buttons are a great way of rewarding people for posting items without having to say something profound. Have a look and spot the differences TheLotusForums

My Citroenians sit in a pile, often unopened and waiting for recycling. We live in a digital world in the main and the division of resources can’t help either ‘publication’ method.

I still think the people and advice they give on this forum are fabulous and I remain indebted to you all. This is why you deserve a better shop front.

[Simon Lewthwaite]

Brill – a palava but are you pleased with results? If you did it again, what might you change? Material?

Did you have to refoam/pad the armrests? I’m hoping the ‘turmeric’ coming out of mine is just the thin foam you replaced but who knows?

Si

[Simon Lewthwaite]

This is exactly what I have in mind for mine in the same condition. curling corners wont be held by new clips. Need stretching over new boards.
Any advice/photos Peter?

[Simon Lewthwaite]

Anonymous wrote:

Out of interest Simon how tricky was it getting the chrome finishers off and back on? I don’t want to take them off and get stuck!

Not too bad – they clip around the frame securely and can be gently teased off. Remember that the A pillar trim and rear indicator trumpets have screw fastenings too.

The manual seems to suggest some adhesive is used when reapplying. I only really found this to be the case with the trim at the top of the windscreen. The central screw down embellisher was not tight enough and the screw holes for the trim ends had long gone. Didnt fancy wrecking my new roof by drilling new holes and slipping! These ends got some Sika and held down whilst setting. My additional Sika around the trim serves as adhesive I guess.

If I were to do it again, I would have been far more generous with my initial bead. Using one of those square end nozzles for the tube would have been better than a normal cut down nozzle. I had to go around twice.

I’m not able to go next weekend unfortunately. My email is slewthy@hotmail.com

[Simon Lewthwaite]

Hi Justin,
Thanks, everything a voyage of discovery!
No, i’m unsure – there must be a private message system here but I cant find one – lets wait and see who chips in!

[Simon Lewthwaite]

So finally got around to taking some images.
This is the front corner

View post on imgur.com

And this is the side edge

View post on imgur.com

Pretty happy with the result and glad I added the additional seal to close the ingress regions.

[Simon Lewthwaite]

Absolutely – it probably only needed another couple of mm, maybe 5 at the corners.
Previously, my roof was cream and had the bonding finishing we have been describing – looked fine, for the reasons you point out.

[Author]

Posts