James and James have been working on shrinking and re-shaping the panels for our 1954 Jaguar MKVII however they’ve taken to doing it the traditional way. Using heat, a hammer and cool air, they can effectively reshape anything they need to in a precise and neat manner. By heating up the metal, it balloons and softens the surface, allowing James to hammer it into shape and then use cool air to set it.
James is focusing on making the outside layer of the rear quarter panel, which is made by hand and hammered into place.
After finishing the re-shaping, James could then start with applying the lead primer and then the Tallow Medium and Nealetin, all of which are applied using heat. The tallow medium, traditionally made from goose fat, is heated up and melted so it resembles a spreadable ‘goo’ that can then be worked into shape to provide a flat finish.
We did some filming with James in the workshop where he explained to us what’s going on with the Jaguar in the fabrication bay. Here’s some behind the scenes.
