Mk1 Escort restoration — bare metal to colour
A proper restoration job: the shell taken right back to bare metal, sealed and primed, the underside done on the rotisserie, then brought back in a deep, even red inside and out.
- Vehicle
- Ford Escort Mk1
- Type of job
- Classic restoration
- Work carried out
- Full strip, primer, underside on the rotisserie, respray inside and out
- Where
- Our booth on Europa Park, Grimsby
The starting point
A Mk1 Escort shell with decades of old paint, filler and surface corrosion to get through before any colour could go near it. The only honest way to do a car like this is to strip it, see exactly what you've got, and build the finish back up from bare steel.
The process
- Every panel and the inside of the shell taken back to bare metal so nothing was hiding under old paint.
- Shell etched and epoxy-sealed, then high-build primer, guide-coated and blocked flat panel by panel.
- Underside and inner sills done on the rotisserie so the seam sealer, stone-chip and colour went on properly rather than upside-down with a lamp.
- Colour applied inside and out — door shuts, boot, engine bay — so it's the same finish wherever you look.
Same car, same angle
The result
A shell that's straight, sealed and painted the way it would have been the day it left the factory — ready for the owner to build back up. The photos run from bare metal, through primer and the rotisserie, to colour.
Got a classic that needs taking back properly?
We'd rather see it than guess from photos — but photos are the right way to start.
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