Bonnet Insulation Templates

Starting work on bonnet insulation - cutting and checking templates for ceramic paper insulation which will be glued to the inside of the bonnet (Stanley's used asbestos, stuck on with wallpaper paste).  I am also going to add extra insulation to the boiler and smoke hood, so we have the same thickness as the temporary soft ceramic fibre insulation taped on to get the car on the road last autumn. 

It will all be encapsulated with a fibreglass, water activated adhesive cloth & painted with emulsion to finish off. However completing the insulation will have to wait until the weather is warmer & there is no chance of frost.

Its been a bit too cold lately to do much in the garage  - however bits and pieces for getting the car ready for the summer have been arriving.  Cans of cylinder & crankcase oil,  material for finishing the bonnet & boiler lagging, hide cream for the upholstery, and piston & pump rod packing. New hood bows are on order, to tracings of the profile templates I took from a sister car & measurements from the dummy bows made up over the winter. More tools and lagging are on the way from Vintage Steam Products in  the USA and the other day it was briefly warm enough to begin adjusting the nearside front wheel bearing, which had developed a tiny bit of shake.