We sent the car off to a spray painter in December who promised the world but was all talk and no action.  Although they had not stripped back any part of the car, their panel beater was petrified by the size of the job and after a few heated words removed the EH from their shop and brought her back home.  Luck would have it that we bumped into an EH Wagon owner at our local shops who had recently had his wagon painted and gave us the details of the painter.

After one phone call and an inspection of the car, Ratnam took on the job.  Even Ratnam wasn't prepared for the amount of rust he found.  With the stripping of every panel came the purchase of more and more replacement panels.  Thankfully he was up for the challenge and I now call him a magician.  He quoted 8 weeks based on looking at the car on my driveway, not knowing what surprises lay under the paint.  Amazingly, with the amount of rust and issues along the way, he was still able to meet his 8 week turnaround time.  I am still so impressed by his work ethic, high standards and the cleanliness of his shop.  Every step of the way we were informed of how things were progressing and of any new 'surprises'.

It was great to watch the massive transition of what was proving to be a rusted dud EH into a rust free, next to new EH. By May 2006 she was all painted and ready to come home to be re-fitted with the engine and all the external chrome and stainless parts.

What did she look like before we started?

Stage 3 - Re-fitting everything under the bonnet and all chrome / stainless

Stage 4 - The finished product