The majority of metal components are now finished and ready for use.
The metal plates that hold the carrying handles in place have not had the treatment yet, because I don't know if I will use the tatty originals or make new ones.
Not having the equipment or skills to manufacture the end for my handbrake rod, I have to find another way of achieving that. A short search on internet turned up the following part. The thread on lower end (where silver bolt is sticking out) is too wide for use, so I plan to find a suitable bold to insert firmly, cut flush with the botttom of the linkage, then drill & tap to the correct thread I need. Overall length of the part is almost a perfect match for the original, so once finished it should look OK.
The spare parts box has had an application of wiping putty, which has now been wet sanded, in the shower last night! I'll reprime it this afternoon.
Apart from going on with making new pair of timber lid braces, and some painting, that's about all I can do for now. I'm still waiting on arrival of my new screws (3 different sizes). They will have the heads slightly sanded, before three coats of gun blue, same as the other metal parts had.