When I got my car it had a quarter that had been hit and was fixed using a ton of bondo and spray paint. I am wanting to sand down the fender to see how bad it really is and if it isn't that bad then I will fix the panel myself and and have the whole car painted. I have a few spots I want to fix including the front bumper cover. Basically I want to prep the car for painting because if I do this then I can get the car painted for the price of the paint. There is a guy that will paint the car, he went to school for it, but he doesn't like doing bodywork. Anway, I was wondering what I need to do and what all I need to do it with??? Like what to use to get the bondo and paint off the quarter panel...and what to use on the front bumper since it is plastic...you know the details or what not. Thanks in advance.

 

if it was hit hard enough to need that much bondo to fix, I'm sure it has to be replaced and cant be fixed, at least not easily.

Replacing a quarter panel isnt easy for a seasoned bodyman, let alone someone who doesn't even know how to remove bondo.

Save up the money and have someone who knows what they're doing do it.

 

It can be fixed...the guy that put the bondo on didn't know anything about bodywork and just slapped it on as a quick fix. A bodyman told me that I would be alot better off fixing it than replacing it. But he also said that if we don't know what is under there then we don;t know what we need to do....so what all do I need. Thanks

 

first thing you need to do is strip all of the paint off of the area youre gonna be working on.
After you do that you'll see where the bondo is and can remove that with a sander, grinder, whatever
Then youre going to need assorted hammers, dollys, etc, to work the metal properly, and you need to know what youre doing to get this to look right

You'll need at the minimum, power sander, assorted grits of paper, grinder, body hammers and dollys, all together probably close to a grand worth of tools.

Like I said, this isn't for a beginner, its not like replacing a fender, and if you don't get it perfect the first time, its going to look like complete crap and you'll have to pay someone to fix it anyway.

 

I have TONS of experience replacing the rear quarters on these cars...been doing body work for a long time. Its THE hardest most difficult task you could ever imagine. Some poeple think LTs is a task...HA!!!....slap on a new quarter! Its horrible...all those spot welds...so little time

 

I had the same problem with my 3rd gen. I removed all the bondo with a chisel (gently). Then I tapped the skin from the inside to restore some of its shape and bondo-ed it. Took about 12 hours but the panel looks almost as good as new. Not bad for a first time. Then I shaved my antenna with bondo, and painted the car. Its almost done and looks amazing for having a quarter panel repaired, shaved antenna, and whole care painted in bright Dupont red with clear coat for $400.

 

I had a body shop guy tell me that the panel can be fixed without replacement...it is not that bad out of shape, it just has a bad bondo job. All I am trying to do is remove the bondo, get most of the shape back and fix the rest with bondo like it is supposed to be. I know that this job can't be this hard...and I also know that it will not take a 1000.00 worth of tools....I fixed a bedside on an s-10 that was much worse with a backhoe, chain, 2x4, hammer and a can of glossy spraypaint...granted it wasn't the correct way to fix it, but it was straight as new without bondo. I understand that this is a harder part to fix, but my goodness it can't be that hard. Now replacing it would be totally different...there is no way I would attempt that..but that is not what I am trying to do. Thanks for all your help

 

would u happen to have a pic of it?

 

Yeah, what is your email??

 

thewhitelt1@aol.com

 

pic sent

 

got it...man, thats nothing!!! i was expecting like, bondo was half way falling off and its three diffeent shades cause someone didnt mix it right.

sounds like a bad idea but start sanding to find out whats going on. also look inside the car and see how bad that is.

your in good shape!

 

Thanks...I told you it wasn't that bad..it was just a quick job and needs to be redone and then I will have the whole car repainted...