Am I crazy for doing this on a 65 Barracuda ?

[Kemper]

You may want to use a different primer . I just used rust reformer on the new metal too because I didn't use the rust reformer before I started to install sheet metal. It'll be okay but ....... and I also used a fibered bondo as some one here suggested . Only out in the middle area because I wanted to use up my original to bond the screen at the edges. I may use the original to finish coat if I don't like the way the way the fibered sands and spreads , Haven't checked it out much yet.

I bonded the screen to the inside of the body panel accesible through the trunk at the top of the screen . Very important to get the screen bonded around the edges before putting much pressure on the screen I'll finish bondo in there after I finish the exterior. I wiped down a piece of thick cardboard with WD40 to stick behind the screen till I got the outside roughed in. It came right out after fiberglass dried and I'll wipe down the bondo in there with some mineral spirits before finish coating that.

I have metal at all edges and this seems pretty stout .

 

[Woody500]

Was going to suggest Gorilla hair Filler & galvanized gutter screen, which looks exactly like what you've used. The WD40 as a release agent is great idea.
A thin nylon type cloth can be used for that, called a release cloth, removing it while Filler still green. It leaves a great almost finished, smooth , but rough surface you can bond to.
Great for repairs needing a finished look. & no WD40 needed.
Real release cloth is used inside boat hulls to give that finished look right out of the mold(Layed up not Chopgun). And keeps repairs from looking lumpy. A few yards at Fabric Store is cheap.
Gorilla hair easier to work green, of course, and you need a skim coat for totally smooth finish.

 

[Kemper]

Was going to suggest Gorilla hair Filler & galvanized gutter screen, which looks exactly like what you've used. The WD40 as a release agent is great idea.
A thin nylon type cloth can be used for that, called a release cloth, removing it while Filler still green. It leaves a great almost finished, smooth , but rough surface you can bond to.
Great for repairs needing a finished look. & no WD40 needed.
Real release cloth is used inside boat hulls to give that finished look right out of the mold(Layed up not Chopgun). And keeps repairs from looking lumpy. A few yards at Fabric Store is cheap.
Gorilla hair easier to work green, of course, and you need a skim coat for totally smooth finish.

Yeah, the hair filler seemed to work good at coating the screen as it didn't run off too bad when pushed over the screen. Once I had the screen filled. I put another coat over it to make sure it was stable enough to remove the cardboard. Not familiar with the nylon cloth but it sounds like it would work good to put over cardboard . Has to be something stiff like heavy cardboard behind screen .

 

[Woody500]

Yeah, the hair filler seemed to work good at coating the screen as it didn't run off too bad when pushed over the screen. Once I had the screen filled. I put another coat over it to make sure it was stable enough to remove the cardboard. Not familiar with the nylon cloth but it sounds like it would work good to put over cardboard . Has to be something stiff like heavy cardboard behind screen .

Not a release cloth, but thought I should mention, Xynole cloth which is made out of polyester & is very good for layups, as it drapes easily & makes a strong matrix. It's sometimes called Poor Mans' Kevlar due to good impact resistance and on boat decks is slightly flexible, so when wood shrinks & swells it gives a little. FG hulls no doubt grow in the heat so decks can move. And swells when wet out with resins & leaves a slightly coarse non skid surface when used correctly.
& it is apparently not as good for full layups as FG cloth.
See Fiberglass Supply Depot Inc @
fiberglassupplydepot.com for full details.
And do more research before using. Gougeon Brothers West Systems is good for that type of info & staff always been very helpful. And great easy to use products(after learning curve)
When using epoxies they cure and a wax type component rises to the surface & must be removed before bonding anything to it. That's where release cloth shines, as wax is removed with cloth & leaves a rough surface you can bond to, without any prep or sanding. Check that info on newer products to ensure still correct, as its been nearly 15 yrs since I've done that work & methods & materials change rapidly these days.
Research, Research, Research.

 

[Kemper]

I stayed with the fibered bondo till I was pretty well coated in and then switched to regular bondo. I clamped a metal yardstick on the bottom edge where the body and trunk panel meet. ( oil it lightly or if you forget like I did, pull it off after you fill that area, and clamp it back on )
The factory edge showed spot welds and was wavy under there so I'll sand a little and transition into that after body panel is ready to paint. This metal edge from the yardstick makes things so much easier to work from and leaves you a perfect edge at t the bottom of the panel . Not really much build up here if placed at the correct spot.
Pic is also showing the metal edge in the wheelwell . With this in the correct contour of the body panel it makes it so much easier to form the fiberglass panel working off the metal edge.
Lots of stuff coming together at the front of the bullet at the wheel opening so have to be careful not to get too much fill causing a lot of sanding. I probably went over this area 3 times to get the contours correct without bringing much bondo out on the original paint.

 

[Kemper]

I'm still working on the passs quarter but got the driver's side pretty well preserved . Bought a used set of taillights because they had the plastic body seals . The seals were full of orange and silver paint but I was able to clean them up. I also used the taillights because they looked better than mine and I needed the one good lens that they had.
I got the top moulding on the qurter with some new clips and seals I made . The correct parts and various gaskets makes a lot of difference. I need to check my wiper arm supply and get those on.

 

[Kemper]

I got the patch panel area coated in with a coat of primer/paint to see how it looks and I'm working on the rest of the quarter.
I'm leaving as much of the original metal in as I can. On these smaller areas I can easily reach from the backside.
I got out all the loose rust, sanded and sprayed rust reformer from inside and out. Sprayed a bunch on my fingers and made sure backside was coated in good.
I put a small piece of galvanized screen in behind these areas and just used the fiberglass stranded bondo. I'll just bondo these areas from the inside and seal and undercoat. I'll pull the wheels and check out these wheelwells later and seal and undercoat anything that needs attention.

 

[mpgmike]

Galvanized screen, HMMmmmm?!? Ships and sewer pipes use zinc bars to neutralize rust formation. Galvanization is a zinc coating. Maybe the zinc in the galvanic coating could... -- nah. Probably wishful thinking.

 

[Kemper]

Galvanized screen, HMMmmmm?!? Ships and sewer pipes use zinc bars to neutralize rust formation. Galvanization is a zinc coating. Maybe the zinc in the galvanic coating could... -- nah. Probably wishful thinking.

Everything you need is at Menards. Except parts.

 

[Woody500]

Galvanized screen, HMMmmmm?!? Ships and sewer pipes use zinc bars to neutralize rust formation. Galvanization is a zinc coating. Maybe the zinc in the galvanic coating could... -- nah. Probably wishful thinking.

The galvanizing will sacrifice itself first, of course, and what it's attached with & body steel will all form a low powered battery so it depends on what screws/rivets material is as to how long it all lasts.
Stray electrical, bad grounds etc, will contribute, so make sure grounds are good.

 

[Kemper]

The galvanizing will sacrifice itself first, of course, and what it's attached with & body steel will all form a low powered battery so it depends on what screws/rivets material is as to how long it all lasts.
Stray electrical, bad grounds etc, will contribute, so make sure grounds are good.

I only used it to strengthen a fiberglass panel. The gavanized screen doesn't touch any metal and is completely enclosed in fiberglass.

 

[Kemper]

I removed the armrest, window crank and backseat panel . Lots of debris in there . I cleaned it out, sanded and treated the area. Galvanized rocker looks good and body panel still solid. Glad I didn't let this sit around much longer. When rust reformer dries I'll put panel and stuff back on . Wanted to do this before I finish up on the quarter panel.

 

[Kemper]

I'll see if my pics post from above

I got the this quarter ready to paint today and started to mask. It is very smooth even if it doesn't look it.

 

[Kemper]

I got the passenger quarter painted and taillight and trim installed. Down to the deck lid and I found someone tried fixing it before. They beat the area in and welded a crack that I outlined with a pencil to show approx where it was welded and cracked.. They sprayed a little black on it and stradled it with a piece of light iron. Which made the trunck stick up .
I didn't get a before pic and I ain't taking my patch back off. The other area around it was in good condition and the adjuster plate works fine so I'm not gonna overkill or cut out and weld new metal in . I made a sheet metal patch to fit in the reseed area they made rather than try to pull it out and cause more damage.
I installed the hinge on it and i is very solid and I think will hold very well. This area isn't really seen and the rest of the deck lid is not too bad, so I don't want to replace it.
I still have to cut some metal squares the same size as the hinge base and bring the hinge out a little more by placing the plates under the hinge contact area. This will still let the deck lid adjust . The hinge has to bolt onto the deck at the right height, as there is no adjustment for the height of the deck lid where it meets the body . When the deck lid is closed the hinges are closed and that is the height you get. It can be adjusted otherwise.
It can always be cut out and new metal welded in, but this is solid when tightened down

 

[Kemper]

I feel like this stage of the preservation is complete. All major body work done and coated in. I will now go around and " fine tune " any areas that need it and touch up. I will then remove some items, mask and spray the entire car .
The trunk was a bit of work as it had some issues . Lots of surface rust in the hinge area of car and around and inside the rubber air flaps. I sanded and treated with rust reformer before paintng that area. I painted the inside of the trunk with Rust Oleum satin enamel to see how I liked it . It flows very well and smooth but takes some time to dry.

I can now put a cover on the car and remove to work on it . I want to keep a certain amount of water off till I install the new trunk seal and letters.

 

[Kemper]

Well, I'm excited to get to this point as you can tell. I started on this project about a month ago and posted here to give me a little more reason to stick with it. I've done some body work in my younger years that I wouldn't be proud of.

I retired from being a finish painter doing the more detailed work in new and existing dwellings. I know cars are a whole different story but I think it helped to be detail oriented even if I drew the line to keep this an alternative way of preserving your car without spending a lot of money you don't want to or can't afford to put into it. A lot of people view this forum and a google search on just about anything Mopar will lead you here, so I hope I encouraged someone to do something with their car that they would otherwise have let further deteriate.

All the supplies came from Menards and I purchased a couple of parts from sponsors here as well as on ebay. I haven't figured the total cost but the supplies were only a few hundred dollars. The value of the car certainly increased more than the money put into it.

By keeping as much of the original metal in the car and using no more filler than needed the car will be preserved if someone would want to go a different route in the future or leave as is.

 

[Woody500]

Well, I'm excited to get to this point as you can tell. I started on this project about a month ago and posted here to give me a little more reason to stick with it. I've done some body work in my younger years that I wouldn't be proud of.

I retired from being a finish painter doing the more detailed work in new and existing dwellings. I know cars are a whole different story but I think it helped to be detail oriented even if I drew the line to keep this an alternative way of preserving your car without spending a lot of money you don't want to or can't afford to put into it. A lot of people view this forum and a google search on just about anything Mopar will lead you here, so I hope I encouraged someone to do something with their car that they would otherwise have let further deteriate.

All the supplies came from Menards and I purchased a couple of parts from sponsors here as well as on ebay. I haven't figured the total cost but the supplies were only a few hundred dollars. The value of the car certainly increased more than the money put into it.

By keeping as much of the original metal in the car and using no more filler than needed the car will be preserved if someone would want to go a different route in the future or leave as is.

Did you use a white paint from Menards'?
That Acrylic Latex can be some tough stuff, but I doubt if gloss lasts.
Years ago I read about boat use with outdoor exposed winter storage, over an epoxy resin sealed wood hull, that had lasted an impressive amount of years, by that point.

 

[Kemper]

Did you use a white paint from Menards'?
That Acrylic Latex can be some tough stuff, but I doubt if gloss lasts.
Years ago I read about boat use with outdoor exposed winter storage, over an epoxy resin sealed wood hull, that had lasted an impressive amount of years, by that point.

No, I didn't use any latex. I used 2X Ultracover primer/paint for the initial coat . It adheres well and in satin it can easily be gone over with spot putty to fix and touch up .I'm looking at different satin finishes for the final coat and may use a hardener if It doesn't effect the satin finish sheen.

 

[Woody500]

No, I didn't use any latex. I used 2X Ultracover primer/paint for the initial coat . It adheres well and in satin it can easily be gone over with spot putty to fix and touch up .I'm looking at different satin finishes for the final coat and may use a hardener if It doesn't effect the satin finish sheen.

You can now use any paint color you want & buy Flat Clearcoat to make it flat. You might have to spray a sealcoat over the paint you have if you use automotive paint.
I looked up 2x ultracover & see its a Rustoleum product, so you might find a flat Rustoleum product you can use.
Other wise you'll need to research compatability. Don't know if RoL has a clearcoat.
Ten yr ago a car magazine had a staffer(Randy Bolig ?) paint a car with white RoL & the finish looked good in Mag.

 

[Kemper]

You can now use any paint color you want & buy Flat Clearcoat to make it flat. You might have to spray a sealcoat over the paint you have if you use automotive paint.
I looked up 2x ultracover & see its a Rustoleum product, so you might find a flat Rustoleum product you can use.
Other wise you'll need to research compatability. Don't know if RoL has a clearcoat.
Ten yr ago a car magazine had a staffer(Randy Bolig ?) paint a car with white RoL & the finish looked good in Mag.

It is going white as original. I am going with a satin finish, not flat. I want to just paint one final coat but want it to be fairly hard.
Rust oleum does have a hardener.

 

[Woody500]

It is going white as original. I am going with a satin finish, not flat. I want to just paint one final coat but want it to be fairly hard.
Rust oleum does have a hardener.

But does get hard without it? Majic tractor paint has hardner too. Don't know if you Have to use the hardener like some paints..
PPG had an industrial Alkyd enamel you Had to use hardener or it would Never dry or be chemical proof. They were trying to remove VOCs', but you add a hardener with Isocyanates that is more dangerous!

 

[72bluNblu]

Pop rivets, galvanized screen, fiberglass lower quarter sculptures and thick *** bondo to hide it all? This thread should be required reading for first time classic car buyers. I’m going to reference this thread when people post the “what’s this car worth” threads, so they can see the kind of nonsense that people pass off as “bodywork” and why cars have to be inspected in person to find butchery like this. This kind of work reduces the value of the car dramatically compared to its outward appearance.

At least it’s all on the internet, someday a future buyer/owner of this poor car can look this up and see why their car is gonna need quarters, inner fenders and half a dozen other major body repairs.

Your car, do what you like. But I’ve seen firsthand what happens to cars with these kinds of “repairs” and ultimately the work needed to fix the car will be more expensive and more difficult to carry out because of this hatchet work.

 

[Kemper]

Pop rivets, galvanized screen, fiberglass lower quarter sculptures and thick *** bondo to hide it all? This thread should be required reading for first time classic car buyers. I’m going to reference this thread when people post the “what’s this car worth” threads, so they can see the kind of nonsense that people pass off as “bodywork” and why cars have to be inspected in person to find butchery like this. This kind of work reduces the value of the car dramatically compared to its outward appearance.

At least it’s all on the internet, someday a future buyer/owner of this poor car can look this up and see why their car is gonna need quarters, inner fenders and half a dozen other major body repairs.

Your car, do what you like. But I’ve seen firsthand what happens to cars with these kinds of “repairs” and ultimately the work needed to fix the car will be more expensive and more difficult to carry out because of this hatchet work.

You're lying ? You haven't seen a car with repairs like this . All you've seen is poorly done fiberglass jobs and have probably been taken a time or two and looking for somewhere to vent.
The type of repairs you are talking about were done without proper treating of the cause and without proper sealing to keep the damage from coming back.
Other than the reinforced panel, there is only as much total bondo in this car as the size and thickness of your phone.
You have nothing to offer people other than spending 10's of thousands on a car to do it your way when they could preserve their car and have it looking nice for a lot less.
One -way assholes like you are the reason these forums don't have more participation from people with common sense approaches, people that know how to protect their car without falling into the one-way game people like you use to try to steal their cars by trying to convince them they can't afford to keep it or fix it.

 

[Kemper]

But does get hard without it? Majic tractor paint has hardner too. Don't know if you Have to use the hardener like some paints..
PPG had an industrial Alkyd enamel you Had to use hardener or it would Never dry or be chemical proof. They were trying to remove VOCs', but you add a hardener with Isocyanates that is more dangerous!

Yes, the paint gets hard but will get harder with a hardener. That's where I'm at now - which paint and which hardener. I'm wanting a satin finish and have to be careful that the hardener doesn't make the paint " glossier " as some claim to do.

 

[jeff alder]

There are clearly two schools of thought here. Nothing wrong with either one of them depending on the end goal. One is to restore a car as close as possible to original with sheet metal and as little filler as possible for oneself or to sell. The other one is for a guy to restore his own car the way he wants within his means to keep for his own enjoyment without misrepresenting it in a sale. Is one way better than the other? Of course, we all know welding in metal is better than fiberglass on anything except something that is already made out of fiberglass. The mere fact that this is being disclosed step by step with pictures certainly represents no misrepresentation of what Kemper is doing here. The car is being saved!