Last week we started to show you a preview of our fairy tale expedition into the woods with our ambitious Rover to woody project. Let’s talk more about that and explore just how much craftsmanship, quality, and downright insanity it took before we were ready to get this to either Red Riding Hood or Goldilocks status.
As many of you may already know, a picture can say a thousand words. If you remember that first peek of the Rover, you, like many of the rest of the Preval team might have thought we were insane. And you’d be half right.
When the Rover first arrived in that little town of Fairbury, Nebraska, even master sculptor Thom Hunt of Big Bamboo Studios couldn’t help but smile a little as he was presented with the car. After all, it had already had its own set of stories even getting there. The steering had a firm wheel but that could most definitely not be said of the transmission. A crack down the center of the windshield greeted Thom as the Rover entered the shop. He shook his head and let out a chuckle. This is why Sammy brought him on. The project needed a master… as well as a hope and a prayer.
“You looked better on the internet” was the general consensus of the team about dear old Rover. And she really did. All of the previous ideation had started with massive email threads of commentary and laughs (which we will refrain from posting but please feel free to ask the team at SEMA and APEX about them when you see the finished car) in which the team conceptualized the whole project. No one really knew what they were in for as hidden “treasures” would be revealed more and more as Thom went to work.
The obvious first was that our chariot needed to be another color. The gold original paint job just wasn’t going to cut it and Sammy had no plans on making Thom’s job easy either with his end color choices being a less forgiving series of panels.
There would be quite a bit of Bodywork 101 in those first few days of the project. With a full color change, a massive cleaning was underway. No little detail could be missed. This had to be perfect. After all, little missed details could massively potentially affect the vehicle’s end look. That was a detail that just wasn’t acceptable.
The team pinpointed the major areas- the cowl had some serious bumps and bruises which would require some major hammer and dolly work. Thom filled and smoothed out all the problem areas before the team moved on to the tailgate to fill scratches, low spots, and the occasional rust spot, and then… the rest of the body which would need to be entirely sanded.
Even an experienced painter dreads but also respects the paint prepping process. A proper sand job can make or break a project. Hours later will come the sealing and priming of the body. But any painter knows that this hard labor and craftsmanship will pay off soon-if done with the attention and care it deserves… with those first sprays of fresh, gorgeous gloss. The process is a true testament to the labor and love that both artists and automobile lovers can appreciate. After all, that’s what you are when you get one of our Preval tools in your hands… even if you’re not a master (just) yet.
The team held their breaths as the gloss went on. This would be the big moment. Would our team have to redo all their efforts or would they be clinking cans in celebration? Stay tuned for the next part of our adventures into the woods as we breathe new life into the Rover and get ready to showcase the finished project at SEMA (we’ll be in booth 11139) and APEX (booth 41029)!
