Body Work Tutorial

[67Dart440GT]

I have been asked for a long time to start a body work tutorial page for anyone considering doing the work themselves. I am just doing this to help, I have been doing body work and paint work since I was 18. I have done collision work but for the past 10 years I have worked in the restoration end of the business on and off. I am sure there are many other skilled body men and painters here that can also help, and possibly do things a bit different.. but this is how I do it.

First off I would like to say that I wanted to keep this stuff in order but as I am bouncing back and forth with different operations it's a bit difficult. So I will add things as I go. I am taking photo's for this during different processes at work...

So... here goes!



Here is a car I have brought into the shop today. Sorry about the brand ha ha... As you can tell the car actually looks pretty nice... but alas it's not. The paint is very checked and cracked, lots of bubbles and you can see some rivets and patch work inside the lower quarters. Checking and cracking is usually the result of lacquer based paints and primers being used... if you run into anything that is like this I suggest fully stripping the car as it can come back to bite you later.

It's always a good idea to first look over the car before you dig right in. Sometimes guys will grind wobbly spots, dents or area's that need attention. Grinding them will leave deep grooves so you can see them once the panel is stripped. Here are some pictures of the car on the lift.

 

[67Dart440GT]

Next up you should always wax and grease remove the panels that you are working on. If you just start sanding away you can actually work contaminants into the sand scratches.. Also coming back to haunt you in the end.

Next step I just took a bit of sand paper and sanded a small spot to see what I was dealing with as far as previous paint work. To my surprise, there was one layer of paint, and one layer of red oxide primer.

Ok, time to strip. I use a 8 inch sander (Mudhog) with 36 grit paper to remove paint and primers to bare metal. Here you can see the paint came off VERY quickly. This is a good sign of very poor adhesion from the past paint work... but I'm not complaining! The faster the better for this old dog.

Once I got to bare metal, I found very small specks of rust, covering the entire panel. This... is not good.:banghead:

 

[demon seed]

I made it a sticky so it'll always be at the top of the Body/Trim forum.

 

[dartfastback]

Teach on!!

 

[prrc]

Not sure what to add without writing a for page reply. I own a Restoration/Hot Rod/ Race chassis shop in Indianapolis. I do all of our painting at the shop and would be happy to address any questions anyone may have.
Tim

 

[67Dart440GT]

Now, as far as the rust goes, it's always good to understand where and why this happened to the past paint job so, we don't recreate the issue. There are many reasons why this could have happened.

1. Panel was stripped and left bare for too long. ( I recommend sealing ASAP)
2. Moisture or contaminants from spray equipment.
3. Panel was not properly treated with a good primer.
4. Last painter sucked. LOL

So, these small specks are why I always believe in using a good primer, not some (as cheap as possible) primer... you really do get what you pay for in this industry.

As far as fixing these rust spots, you have a few options.

1. Sand panel until they are gone (or as close as you can tell)
2. Grind panel with some sort of abrasive wheel (this may require you to do filler work if it is taking metal from the panel).
3. Chemically treat the area with an acid wash. (this is hazardous so be careful if this is your approach).
4. Treat with a rust "converter" Not my personal choice.

This car is not terribly bad so I will continue to sand the panel with the mud hog until the rust specks are done. Each car will be different so you just have to do what you have to. Remember, the metal work is the FOUNDATION of a good paint job, and everything relies on the metal work, so take your time.

 

[67Dart440GT]

I made it a sticky so it'll always be at the top of the Body/Trim forum.

Thanks!:cheers:

 

[67Dart440GT]

As I get further down the panel I found the patches. This person was very "creative" with their metal work. They took some tin, and it looks like they used a chainsaw to cut the panel ha ha... they stuck the tin behind the panel, and pop riveted it in, then covered it with 3/4 of an inch of body filler. Yay... so I went about removing the old work. I have some patch panels sitting in the trunk ready to install. Funny thing about rustangs... patch panels are $23.99... seriously? When is Mopar sheet metal gonna be that cheap!

 

[67Dart440GT]

Not sure what to add without writing a for page reply. I own a Restoration/Hot Rod/ Race chassis shop in Indianapolis. I do all of our painting at the shop and would be happy to address any questions anyone may have.
Tim

Thanks Tim, anything you would like to add would be great. :burnout:

 

[67Dart440GT]

I would also like to add, this car is not in for a full restoration. The owner just would like a nice paint job, nothing fancy pantsy. The car is to be finished by the end of March and then it is going on a big boat to Norway. Good place for a Mustang ha

 

[prrc]

Your doing a great job. don't think you will need my help.

Thanks Tim, anything you would like to add would be great. :burnout:

 

[prrc]

The only thing I could add would be, Isn't it amazing what you find under a seemily good solid car.

 

[lou3500]

Could you suggest brand names of primer/sealer to use that are budget minded. I'm in the process of doing a 73 charger so far i have replaced the rusted metal areas with patches and roughed in with duraglass [some of the replaced metal areas needed a little help] my next plan is to primer/seal after sanding to bare metal [one area at a time]. Then skim coat and smooth, lay on high build then block sand then basecoat. Any sugestions would be helpful i am not a welder,bodyman,painter but we are trying this myself just to see if i can do it, my forte is suspension,brakes,engine ect.

 

[67Dart440GT]

Could you suggest brand names of primer/sealer to use that are budget minded. I'm in the process of doing a 73 charger so far i have replaced the rusted metal areas with patches and roughed in with duraglass [some of the replaced metal areas needed a little help] my next plan is to primer/seal after sanding to bare metal [one area at a time]. Then skim coat and smooth, lay on high build then block sand then basecoat. Any sugestions would be helpful i am not a welder,bodyman,painter but we are trying this myself just to see if i can do it, my forte is suspension,brakes,engine ect.

Lou, I will be doing a bit of priming tomorrow at work so I will be sure to take some photo's and will give you some product info....

 

[hemitheus]

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i have been wanting this thread for a long time. I dont know anything about body work. A how to on how to hammer out dents would be awesome too.

 

[67Dart440GT]

Your doing a great job. don't think you will need my help.

Yes! Amazingly their filler work wasn't too dang bad! All 2 inches deep of it haha. Very true though, ya just never know. I picked up a nice 73 Dart once, new it need body work and a full resto so I wasn't too concerned... the entire lower quarters were seriously tin foil stuffed in the holes and covered with body fill lol

 

[68-GTS]

Yes! Amazingly their filler work wasn't too dang bad! All 2 inches deep of it haha. Very true though, ya just never know. I picked up a nice 73 Dart once, new it need body work and a full resto so I wasn't too concerned... the entire lower quarters were seriously tin foil stuffed in the holes and covered with body fill lol

Nice info..... Thanks

 

[67Dart440GT]

Ok, for now I will show a little about mixing body filler. My main filler was already done on this panel and here I am just mixing a little glaze to fill the big sand scratches and any other small low spots.

For filler I suggest using USC Basecoat/Clearcoat filler. This is a heavy filler that you can use for your larger areas.

Here is what the can looks like. I use an air pressurized system that I just open a valve and the filler comes out.

http://www.martysautopainttoo.com/usc-base-coat-clear-coat-premium-lightweight-body-filler/

I have also tried Rage recently. I don't mind the sanding qualities of the filler but to me it sands too soft clogs paper and doesn't have the fill qualities of the USC filler.

With the heavier filler I always suggest a sharp grit paper (and a new one) to cut the filler fast.

For glaze coating I have always used the Evercoat Metal Glaze. This filler is very watery, and runny. You can squeeze it into sand scratches and not use very much to coat a large area. It goes a long way if you know how to spread it.

This is what it looks like.

http://www.evercoat.com/productDetail.aspx?pID=184

Now when it comes to mixing. I suggest not using cardboard. If you do, you will notice that the hardener actually soaks into the cardboard changing the amount of hardener in your mix, and leaving streaks in your filler as you are mixing.

Here you can see I added some hardener, the recommended amount is a one in strip of hardener to every golf ball size of filler.

When mixing the filler you can do it two ways.

1. You can use a putty knife or similar to mix.
2. You can use your spreader to mix.


When mixing the filler press the filler into the mixing board, do not WHIP the filler, this will create air pockets in the filler that will eventually be sanded off, these sanded off pockets will turn into pin holes after you are done sanding the filler.

If you decided to use your spreader to mix, I always suggest that you clean it with a towel after mixing and before spreading. As you can see by the picture it always leaves a bit of unmixed filler on the edges of the spreader, you DO NOT want this spreading into your panel as it can cause soft spots of hardener or filler that is not catalyzed.

After spreading filler I always toss my spreader into a mixing cup of thinner or reducer, this will make it very simple to clean off for next time. You can keep a spreader good for several months in a shop. Yea, I'm cheap ha ha.

 

[67Dart440GT]

Next I will go into spreading filler. There are a lot of little tricks that can make life much easier for you. A lot of people just grab a wad of filler and slap it on as fast as possible. I do it a bit different and maybe it will help.

First off lets discuss two types of filler spreading techniques.

1. Tight coat.
2. Fill coat.

Your tight coat is the very first thing you should do. Take your filler and scoop some up with your spreader. Then very tightly press the filler into the panel, you can actually use a lot of force with this. The idea is to press the filler into the sand scratches. This does two things, eliminates any small air pockets under the filler, and second it helps adhesion by pressing the filler into the sand scratches to HOLD the filler to the panel.

Fill coat. The fill coat is the second process, (remember both of these all happen very fast and you do them both the same time you are spreading filler. The fill coat is where you lightly spread the filler over the top of the tight coat to get your fill. Just lightly glide the filler over the top.

Edges, I always like to taper the end of my filler spread instead of leaving a large glob or ledge at the edge. This will help you sand the area in the end. Remember the key to spreading filler is to make it as easy to sand as possible.

In the pictures you can see my tight coat, and then my fill coat. Sorry I didn't get time to take many pictures it all goes fast, you can even see that by taking pictures my filler started to harden at the end. After the fill is complete I spray some guide coat on the filler to help find low spots.

I also included one photo of how NOT to spread filler... If you are spreading filler over a large area, sand it, and find say a low spot in one area. Do NOT spread filler over only that area. Two reasons why, first it is very hard to get something straight by only sanding one area, and trying to get them to blend together... secondly.... take a look at the color difference of the two... yes that's right... nobody can ever mix two fillers alike with the same amount of hardener.... why is this a problem? The two different color fillers will have different sanding properties and actually sand differently than the other, this will cause one to sand easier, and the other harder... this will cause the panel to become harder to get straight.

 

[67Dart440GT]

Here we can see the panel is ready to be sanded. A few tips for sanding body filler.

1. A sharp piece of sand paper is key to getting a panel straight. If you use too fine of a grit of sand paper you can have a few issues.

If you use too fine of a grit the paper doesn't "cut" the filler, causing you to sand and sand and sand, all of this extra sanding makes the board or block "ride" the humps and bumps. Riding the ups and downs will not get a panel straight. Also a finer grit paper will tend to clog easily.

I always were a good 3m dust mask whenever sanding filler or anything for that matter and I suggest you do too.

Here I am using 80 on a long board. 80 grit is about as fine as I will go on body filler... far too often do I hear people going much finer than this and it's just not a good idea in my opinion.

For the heavy filler USC that I mentioned above I will go no finer that 36 grit. I then use the evercoat to fill those sand scratches and sand the evercoat with 80 grit.

As you can see by the angle of my long board I do not sand in a straight line. It is always helpful to sand at a diagonal to the panel. This will help minimize any low spots better than sanding a panel straight back and forth.

In the final photo the panel is about half sanded and you can see a bit of a low spot. I was able to keep sanding and remove the low spot without any issues.

Next you should go around the panel and make sure everything is feather edged and sanded.

The panel is now ready for primer.

 

[67Dart440GT]

Here are some photo's of the right way and the wrong way to sand a panel edge. You have to be sure when you are sanding up to the edge of a panel that you do not let the block or board "rock" or "tip" off the edge of the panel. This will cause the panel edge to look "rounded" when primed and painted. The last picture shows how you can sand up to the edge but making sure the board stays flat to the panel.

 

[67Dart440GT]

Now lets get that panel straight right? How do you know when it is? Hand feel is the best way to check a panel. Hand feel is basically running your entire hand flat across the worked area to feel ups and downs. Don't worry, it's not an easy trick to learn and it really takes time. Guide coat is not fool proof so I suggest you learn how to feel a panel by hand. A few tricks for the beginner can be to fold up a paper towel into a square and use this under your hand to feel the panel. The extra thickness of the paper will amplify the high and low spots. You can also coat your hand with some filler dust to help it glide across the panel. Give it some time, this is a technique that can take an expert years to perfect.

 

[lou3500]

Thank you sir this is very helpful.

 

[66 Dartman]

Good work Colin i did 2 1/4's and 2 door skins on a 66 stang rag just before xmas

 

[95teetee]

funny thing- when I redid my '66 Mustang, this area was made out of...dirt. Which had been packed into the trunk sides over the years, and sanded smooth by a previous 'bodyman'. I've heard of 'mudding' a panel but that took it to a new high.

Keep up the good work:thumblef: