PROJECT ESCORT PT6 PAINT AND POLISH

It’s really only when you get into the rust that you truly discover the full extent of the damage that can lurk beneath half decent paintwork. Inevitably, after an initial sanding back of the paint, we found more than was at first obvious on our Mk3 Escort. The process is one that will be familiar to anyone who’s dealt with rust before: grind down until you run out of rust and find only solid metal. Naturally the aim is to do this gently and with a degree of patience as you don’t want to needlessly grind away good metal in a frenzy of sparks. It’s also important to consider the finish, even at this early stage, and that will be all the better for an even and considered approach to the grinding away of material.

There was some mild bubbling in two places on our driver’s side front wing near to where it meets the door, just below the area where Paul at Tiger Racing had removed the aerial in last month’s episode. Focussing on these patches first, he began to edge away the paint with the sanding disc. Before too long, two quite clear areas where metal was missing took shape. With solid metalwork left polished by