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Body work 101. A writeup on Diy body work
This writeup is a work in progress and i will add to this post. Mods please do not lock this as i will be adding more sections over the next few weeks. as well as pictures. This is just the first of 13 sections and i have not taken the pics yet but plan on adding them within the week. Let me know what you think guys. Opinions welcome. I have also Reserved several post below for future sections so the write up doesnt get brokeen up. Maby a mod could make this a sticky.
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Re: Body work 101. A writeup on Diy body work
Body work 101 By Oneslowz28 Doing your own bodywork can be a scary thing for some people. Be it fixing a dent with bondo or molding in a body kit. It's not as hard as most people think. With some patience and practice you can produce results just like the professionals do. In this tutorial I will cover the Basics of all types of body work. Remember I am not a professional and the way I do things may not be the way you do them. All of the procedures listed have a difficulty level. It will be highlighted in blue. The level of difficulty will be baised on a scale of 1-10. A description of the diffrent levels is listed below.
Warning This tutorial involves sanding of synthetic and natural materials. Sanding of these materials produce fine dust particles and my be bad to your health. At all times while sanding make sure you wear a dust mask or a respirator. The use of dangerous chemicals is also outlined in this tutorial. When using chemicals always take the necessary safety precautions to ensure the safety of you as well as the safety of others who may be around you. I recommend downloading the MSDS data sheets off of oshas web site. Follow all safety directions printed on the MSDS sheet and/or the packaging the chemical came in. Incase of chemical burns or indigestion of chemicals call your local poison control center and get to the hospital. I nor the web site and its owners hosting this tutorial are not held liable in any way for damage or harm caused to you or your property by using this guide. This guide is simply a way to give you an idea how to repair damaged parts of your cars body. All of my safety precautions are just general safety precautions. Always follow the manufactures safety precautions when using there product. Polyester filler. Often called bondo, this filler is a very easy way to fix dents and damaged areas on your vehicle. This section will cover how to prep for the filler and how to finish out the filler and get it ready for paint. Tools
Polyester filler Will permanently adhere to any porous or rough surface. If it comes in contact with clothing it is irremovable. If filler comes in prolonged contact with skin it can burn you. Even if there is no hardening cream in it. So Use caution and proper safety procedures when using body filler. Sanding of filler produces a lot of fine dust. Wear a dust mask or respirator at all times while sanding and when wiping or blowing dust off of your work. When filler is hardening it produces a good amount of heat depending on how much hardener is used. Take caution when feeling or touching filler that is in the hardening process. Prep. Difficulty level 1-2 Sand the area that needs repair to the metal using 80 grit paper to remove the clear coat and paint. This also roughs up the metal enough for the filler to stick. Once you start to see metal keep sanding untill you have took the paint to the metal about 2" wider than the damaged area. Make sure to feather the edges of the paint so when its time to paint there will be no ridges. Once the area is down to the metal and the paint feathered take your tack cloth and wipe the area to get rid of any dust / trash that ma be left. Then Take a terry cloth towel and wipe the prepped area with wax and grease remover to remove any oils your hands may have left on the metal. Application of filler to damaged area Difficulty level 2 Now take your 12"x 12" Plexiglas mixing board and using a paint stir stick dip out about a golf ball sized amount of bondo onto the mixing board. Take your hardening cream and squeeze out a thin outline maybe 1/16" wide around the perimeter of the blob of bondo on have on the board. Now take one of your spreader boards and mix the 2 together working as fast as possible trying not to incorporate as less air as possible. Work fast because this stuff sets up fast. Once its mixed it will be uniform in color and ready to apply. Now using the spreader board you used to mix the bondo apply it to the area you prepped earlier. Spread it over the edge of the paint you feathered earlier and be sure to apply enough to cover up the damaged area. If it looks a little too thick don't worry that means you wont have to add anymore later on. If the damaged area is larger than the amount of bondo you mixed up don't worry just mix some more and keep applying it until you have the area covered. Now let it sit for about 30 min to fully cure. Leave some bondo on your board and when your finished scrape it up with the spreader and then press it back onto the mixing board and leave the spreader on to dry this makes cleaning the spreader much easier. When its hard just pull the spreader off the bondo and it should come off clean. Then take your sander and sand the dry bondo off of the mixing board and its ready for next time. Sanding Difficulty level 1-2 Once its hard its time to begin the sanding process. If you have a large bit of excess build up on the panel your trying to fix start out with 40 grit and when your close switch to 80 grit. I don't have a lot of build up so were starting with 80 grit. Wrap your block with the sandpaper and Sand in a cross hatch pattern. Keep sanding and when you get the filler just about flush with the rest of the paint switch over to 180 grit and fork it the rest of the way down. Now it should feel flush with the paint and you should see the edges of the paint you feathered earlier. Now switch to 220 grit and sand just enough to smoothen it all out. Then switch to 400 grit and sand just a bit more to make it even smother. Now wipe the area with a tack cloth and then wipe it down with wax and grease remover . Wait to dry and then move to the next step. Now you will notice that there are tiny pits in the surface of the bondo. This is from air getting trapped during the mixing process. Take your glazing putty and one of the spreader boards. Put a dab of the glazing putty onto the spreader board and apply a thin coat over the bondo pressing it firmly into the little pits. Wait about 30 min for this to dry and sand it smooth with the 400 grit paper. Now your ready to prime and If all is straight then paint. Once you have primed the area you might notice that the area doesn't look straight anymore. If this is the case put the 400 grit paper back on the board and sand over the area. This will show any high spots or low spots. If you find a high spot sand until you see the primer being removed over a wider area than the high spot. Then repeat the glazing putty steps again. If you find a low spot then Rough the area up with 80 grit paper and apply more bondo. Repeat the steps for sanding the bondo again. To find out what to do after you have primed the repaired area Read chapter. |
Re: Body work 101. A writeup on Diy body work
Rebuilding a line or curve on a damaged panel..
Difficulty level 3-4 Prep the area the same as you would with a dent . Now we are purposely going to Over fill the area to be repaired . this gives us room to sculpt the line or curve back in. Rebuilding a line. Difficulty level 3 For a line the thickest part of the bondo should be in the center of where the line should be. Now take your sanding board with 80 grit paper and start dragging the board at an angle stopping at the center of where the line would be. Keep doing this until you see one side of the line forming then switch to the bottom side and drag the board in the opposite direction at the opposite angle you used on the top. Keep repeating this on both sides noting not to take too much material off one side until the line you have sculpted matches the existing line. Once its just right replete the steps in the general bondo procedures. Then prep for glazing putty and follow the glazing putty steps and then prime. Rebuilding a curve Difficulty level 4 For a curve I apply bondo thick and over build the area a good bit. Then I sand each side of the curve flat but still a little bit thicker than I need. I then Wrap a 1" wide sanding board with 80 grit paper and begin rounding the sharp edge I just made. Then move back to the sides and sand them till there flush with the existing un damaged metal. Now take your 1"wide board and round the corner to match the existing curve. Once you have it where you want it prep it for glazing putty and apply. Then prep and prime. |
Re: Body work 101. A writeup on Diy body work
Fiberglass mat and polyester resin
This process is often used for repairing major rust holes in body panels and floor pans. It has many other uses such as custom speaker enclosures, custom dash and interior panels and much more. This process is made up of 3 ingredients. Fiberglass mat woven or chop pressed. Polyester resin There is several types you choose what's best for your application. Lastly a catalyst hardening liquid. This section will cover the basic uses and techniques for applying mat and resin the proper way and finishing it our for paint. Tools
*Warning* Polyester resin can and will adhere to any surface it come into contact with. It will ruin clothes if spilled or dropped on. It will permanently bond with any surface it come in contact with. Use extreme caution when working with it. It can also burn your skin If it come in contact with it, Resin will soak into any porous surface and is un removable. Use it at your own risk. It is also extremely flammable and the vapors are not only flammable but highly toxic. Be sure to work with it in a well ventilated area and away from open sparks or flame. As with sanding body filler, sanding fiber glassed pieces can also produce lot of dust. Wear a dust mask or respirator at all times while sanding and when wiping or blowing dust off of your work. Incase of skin or eye contact or chemical ingestion contact your local poison control center and get to a hospital. Repairing a rusted out body panel or floor pans. *Warning* These processes are only to be used on non structural peices. If you have a rusted out frame rail or shock tower or any other load berring peice then either weld in new metal or replace the whole peice. Fiberglass is not strong enough to withstand the stress and weigh exerted on structural components. General Prep Difficulty level 1-2 To begin the preparations for fixing a damaged panel or rusted out floor board you must first find out how much of the damaged area is salvageable. One method of this it to sand blast all of the rust away and if the remaining metal is less than 1/32" thick then I recommend cutting out the metal until you have a thickness of at least half the thickness of the original sheet metal. This allows a better foundation for the fiberglass mat to mate to. Below I will outline the way to prep a rusted out body panel and the way to prep rusted out floor boards. Floor Boards prep Difficulty level 4 Begin by removing as much rust and overly corroded metal by using a wire brush. If you find that there is very thin areas in the metal (1/32") then take your cut off tool and cut out the thin section. Now take ad sand blast the rest of the rust off or if you don't have access to a sand blaster you can take your grinder or dremel and remove all of the rust you can see. Make sure you do this on both sides of the floor board as the rust left on the bottom will eventually eat through the remaining metal and can make the fiberglass you lay down weak. Once all the rust and thin metal has been removed I like to take my grinder and lightly rough up the metal about 3.5"-4.5" around the damaged area. This gives the resin something to adhere to. Once you have roughed up the area around the damaged area I wipe it with a tack cloth and then wipe it down with wax and grease remover. Now law down some news paper or anything you don't mind getting resin on under the floor board on the floor of your work area. First coat of mat and resin Difficulty level 3 Put on your latex gloves. Take one of the 8 oz disposable cups and fill it 1/4 with resin Now take your fiberglass matt and cut it to fit over the damaged area leaving about 1/4 of an inch of the metal showing you roughed up with the grinder. Now take the cup with the resin and add however much hardening liquid that the resin calls for. Its usually 8 drops per oz. Be sure to check on the container your resin came in. Now mix this up quickly with one of the popsicle sticks as you only have 6-8 min before the resin starts to set up. Now take one of the disposable brushes and walk over to the damaged area with. Dip the brush in the cup of resin and brush it onto the exposed metal that you roughed up earlier. Be generous and apply a good thick coat . Now quickly take your fiber glass matt that you cut earlier and lay it over the damaged area . Using your hands press it into the resin and once you have it on there and the middle isn't sagging any then brush the rest of the resin on top of the edges of the mat. Now its time to sit back and drink a beer or 3 while the resin dry's. Once its dry put on more gloves and this time mix up about half the cup with resin. Once its mixed. use a new brush and brush the resin over the rest of the fiberglass cloth. once you have it thoroughly soaked sit back and drink some more. Second coat of mat and resin. Difficulty level 3 Put on more latex gloves. Cut another piece of the mat the same size of the piece you cut earlier. Mix up a full cup of the resin and pour about half onto the first layer you applied earlier. Brush it so that its a even coat and lay the mat on top of it. Then pour the rest on top and brush it out making sure to work out all the air bubbles. Once you have it coated well let it sit and cure. Repeat this process two more times. Once you have 4 layers of mat and resin down let it harden for 24 hours. Sanding for primer and paint. Difficulty level 2 You can choose to smooth this out with bondo if you want but as its going to be under carpet and never seen I don't do it. If you want to smooth it out with bondo please read the section on bondoing the fiberglass box. I start sanding with 40 grit paper on a electric sander to smooth out any major high spots . There's no real technique to this just sand until you see the surface beginning to level out. Then lightly sand with 80 grit and progress to 400. Once your happy with the way it looks you can wipe it with a tack cloth and some wax and grease remover. Then you can spray it with primer. Then follow the steps to prep the primer for paint. Touching up the bottom Difficulty level 1 Remember when you removed the rust on the bottom? Well now its time to make sure that it rust no more. When your looking at the area you removed the rust from if you see any surface that has formed over night make sure to remove it with some sand paper. Then wipe it down with wax and grease remover . Now take the self etching primer and spray the area covering up any exposed metal. If the bottom of the car came with a rubber undercoating then you can buy a small spray can of it and re spray the bottom of the repaired area. Or you can just spray it with a goof urethane based paint. This should prevent any further rust. There may also be some places where the resin dripped and left little nubs. These are easy to cut down with the sander and 80 grit paper. |
Re: Body work 101. A writeup on Diy body work
Repairing a rusted out body panel with fiberglass.
Difficulty level 4 This method is only for use on holes 5" in diameter or smaller. You must also be able to reach the damaged area from behind. Prep Difficulty level 4 Using your grinder Remove all of the rusted through metal. Then with a flap wheel or a wire wheel remove any remaining rust on the metal. Now take your sander with 80 grit paper and sand down the front of the panel to where you have a 2" diameter of bare metal around the area. Now take a piece of 40 grit paper and reach back behind the panel and rough the area around the damage until you have about a 4" area that's bare metal. Wipe both surfaces with a tack cloth and then wipe down with wax and grease remover. If you have to go inside of the car to reach the back of the panel then cover up everything with plastic sheeting or newspaper. This is because you will have to pass resin covered fiberglass strips through the car to get to the back side of the panel. The same goes if you are working on the 1/4 panels and don't want resin on the wheel hub assembly's. For a front fender or hood I would recommend removing them. Application of fiberglass to backside of panel. Difficulty level 4 Put on latex gloves. Take your fiberglass mat and cut it into 3" wide strips cut enough to cover the damaged area 2 times. Now once you have the strips cut mix up about 8 oz of resin and use a little less hardener so that the resin doesn't set up as fast. Don't worry it will cure just not as fast. Once you have the resin mixed up carry it and the strips you cut into the car. Once your in a position where you can reach the back of the damaged area dip one of your strips into the resin. Now hold it up above the cup of resin and use your fingers to "squeegee" the excess resin off of the mat. Now take the soaked mat and apply it to the side of the damaged area leaving only 1" on the metal. Make sure its in a vertical position. Soak another piece and remove the excess resin and apply it to the damaged area overlapping the other piece about 1". Repeat this until you have the damaged area covered. Sit back and let it dry. Drink a beer or 2 and clean up any mess you have made. Now that the strips you applied earlier have dyed its time to add the second layer. Mix up 8 oz of resin the same way you mixed it up earlier. Take it and the strips in the car. Soak one of the strips and remove the excess resin as before. This time were going to lay the strips horizontal. So starting at the top or bottom which ever you prefer lay the strip overlapping the previous strip with an inch of the soaked mat on the metal. Continue this process overlapping the previous strip about 1". when your finished let it dry. Drink more beer and wait. Clean up your fiber glassing tools. Prep for Filler. Difficulty level 1 Put 80 grit paper on your sander and rough up the mat from the outside of the panel. Rough it up good and use a piece of 80 grit paper in your hand to rough up the tight area where the sander will not reach. Now wipe the whole area with a tack cloth and then wipe down with wax and grease remover. Applying Filler. Difficulty level 2 As stated in the filler section only mix up a golf ball size of filler at a time. Once you have mixed up a golf ball sized amount of filler on your mixing board Apply it to the damaged area filling the "whole left from cutting the rust out. Remember to fully cover the area and the 2" area you sanded to the metal around the damaged area. Press on your spreader firmly against the fiberglass backing you did earlier to remove any air bubbles that may be trapped between the filler and the fiberglass. Once you have a light coat on let it cure. Sand the Filler lightly with 80 grit paper to scuff it up. Then wipe it with a tack cloth. Apply another coat of filler kind of heavy this time as to bring it up to the height of the original metal. It should be slightly higher than the original metal. Begin sanding the filler with 80 grit paper being careful not to take it to low. Once you get it close switch to 120 grit paper and sand it until its just about perfect. You should begin seeing the filler feathering on the metal. Once your at this point Switch over to 240 grit paper or 340. Sand it until its perfect and Switch over to 400 grit. Clean with a tack cloth. Apply glazing putty to fill in the pin holes. Sand the glazing putty with 400 grit paper and once your like the way it feels and looks Spray the area with a self etching primer. This Primer bonds chemically with the metal and is the best rust preventive. Now once the Self etching primer has flashed spray the area with high build. Block it with a sanding block and 120 grip paper. If you see no low or high spots switch to 400 grit and sand smooth and prep for paint. |
Re: Body work 101. A writeup on Diy body work
Fiber glassing dash and interior panels.
Overall difficulty level 4 Fiber glassing your dash or interior panels is one way to give them that smooth glossy. This is also the only way to produce a painted finish that will not chip. This is only a project for someone who is very comfortable with fiberglass resin. You can permanently ruin your dash and interior panels if theirs is not done correctly. If you have any doubts try a smaller project first and become comfortable with resin and fiberglass. If your planning on driving the car while you work on this project I would recommend getting a second dash from a junkyard as these projects are very time consuming. Warning Polyester resin can and will adhere to any surface it come into contact with. It will ruin clothes if spilled or dropped on. It will permanently bond with any surface it come in contact with. Use extreme caution when working with it. It can also burn your skin If it come in contact with it, Resin will soak into any porous surface and is un removable. Use it at your own risk. It is also extremely flammable and the vapors are not only flammable but highly toxic. Be sure to work with it in a well ventilated area and away from open sparks or flame. As with sanding body filler, sanding fiber glassed pieces can also produce alot of dust. Wear a dust mask or respirator at all times while sanding and when wiping or blowing dust off of your work. Incase of skin or eye contact or chemical ingestion contact your local poison control center and get to a hospital. If you are not comfortable with the use of resin do not attempt this project as this can permanently ruin your dash or interior. Remember to cover anything that you do not wish to get resin on as it is permanent and cannot be removed from porous or cloth materials. Acetone is highly flammable treat it as you would gasoline. It can also burn the skin from contact so use extreme caution when handling acetone. Tools
Prep Difficulty level 1-2 Remove dash or interior panels from the car. Place dash or panels on work surface and remove any switches, speaker grills or air vents that may still be on the dash or panels. Take 80 grit sand paper and rough up the dash or panel surfaces that will be seen once you reinstall it. I recommend pushing a wooden round skewer into any mounting screw holes , and breaking them off so that there about 1"-2" long. Just push the point of them in until its tight. Once you have the dash or panels roughed up and no shiny surfaces can be seen anymore Wipe the whole dash or panels down with acetone. This being a surface that has had armor all I wipe it down several times with wax and grease remover after wiping it down with acetone. This leaves no possibility of any armor all or other protectors being left on the surface. Once you have wiped it down with wax and grease remove wipe it with a tack cloth. Cover any part of the dash or panels that is not going to be seen with masking tape. This make it easy to remove any drips of resin that may go astray. Now your ready for the first layer of resin. Applying the resin Difficulty level 3 Put on latex gloves and make sure your work surface is covered with plastic or newspaper as well as the floor. This will make clean up much easer. Ok now that your ready to add your first layer of resin lets get started. take your 8 oz mixing cup and pour in 8 oz of resin and only add 3/4 the normal amount of hardener. This will give you more time to work with the resin. Once you have your resin mixed up use your paint brush to "paint" the resin onto the surface of the dash. Once you have covered the whole dash or panels in resin smooth out any high spots or air bubbles that may have formed. This will make sanding easer. Sit back and let it dry. It will take more time to dry this time as you used less resin. But trust me it will dry. Once its dry its time to break out the trusty old sand paper. Put on your dust mask or respirator. Using 80 grit paper and a sander sand all the areas you can with the sander. Don't worry about getting this part perfectly flat. Just sand until there is no more gloss. For the areas the sander cant reach, hand sand them with 80 grit paper. Once all of the gloss is gone mix up 8 oz of resin using 3/4 of the hardener again. Apply it the same way as before. Wait for it to dry and sand and add another coat of resin following the same directions as before. Once this final layer is dry Sand down any high spots and all of the gloss. Don't worry about low spots as that will be taken care of later. Just sand down any high spots. Now your ready to smooth everything out. Body filler slurry application. Difficulty level 3 Put on latex gloves. Wipe the surface you have just sanded with a tack cloth and then wax and grease remover. Using a 16 oz disposable cup pour in 8 oz of resin and also add 8 oz of body filler. For the hardening cream use the same amount you would if this was just body filler and MEPK hardening liquid use 3/4 the amount you normally would. Mix this "slurry" up until it is uniform in consistency. What you have created by mixing these two is a "paintable body filler". Now take a disposable paint brush and "paint" on the body filler mixture you just made. Once you have the whole surface covered let it dry overnight. I do this because I like to be sure that all layers of resin and the top layer of filler/resin has fully cured. Now that you have let the piece sit over night its time to begin sanding. Put on your dust mask or respirator. Now take the 8" sanding block and wrap it in fresh 80 grit paper. Starting at one end of the flat surface begin sanding with the block held at an angle. Use long fluid strokes. Once you see the area "leveling" out stop. Now take your 5" block and wrap it with 80 grit paper. Start Sanding the smaller areas you couldn't reach with the larger block. For areas too small for the 5" block to reach use your hand with 80 grit paper. Once you have cut the whole surface with 80 grit switch everything over to 240 grit and go back over everything. Now wipe the area down with a tack cloth and then wax and grease remover. High build primer and guide coat application Difficulty level 4 Mix up your high build primer to the recommend mixture. Add enough dye to the primer to change the color from gray. Naturally this depends on whether your using a spray gun or a can of high build primer . If your using a rattle can you don't have to mix the primer with the reducer or add dye. If your using the can type this step will require you to use the darker primer. Either way make sure that anything you do not want over spray to get on is covered. I also recommend doing this in a very clean and well ventilated area as to keep the derbis out of the primer and the fumes under control. Spray the surface of the dash with the high build and let it flash. Then add a second coat let it flash. Once this last coat has fully dried then block sand everything using 240 grit paper. Once you have the over spray and any runs sanded off wipe the surface with a tack cloth and wax and grease remover. This time mix up the high build primer and do not add dye. If your using the rattle can type use the lighter color. This time where only Spraying 1 coat. So spray the surface with the primer and let it dry. This coat is your guide coat and will be very helpful in smoothing everything out. Final sanding and prep for paint. Difficulty level 4 Put on your dust mask or respirator. Wrap your 8" block in 240 grit paper and sand the same way as before. This time any high spots will show up with the darker primer showing. Sand these areas until there flat. Any low spots will show up by the dust pooling in them. For the low spots fill them with some filler and sand flush. Once you have the whole thing smooth and straight spray 1 more coat of primer and sand with 400 grit paper. Now the piece is ready for paint. |
Re: Body work 101. A writeup on Diy body work
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