The beginning of body work

[evil_twin]

Alright, fall has finally kicked in and I am thinking of going to start my body work. I can do mechanical work, but body work is a whole new level for me.

So lets me start with the dents and filling them or banging them out. Anybody have any advice on what kind of filler I should get or any websites that will help me out?

Much help is appreciated. Thanks.

[motorsports_3]

I have to get back to you on the filler, but honestly there are way more qualified people here to help you on that area.

There is a good filler, some thing gold. It works great.

Try to get all the dents pulled out as much as possible and use as little filler as you can.

I will try to get back to you with more info.

[e30this]

evercoar Z grip for filler. dont use any of that BONDO glazing putty because it will shrink.
Dont use BONDO brand either.
Get yourself some sanding blocks, some long blocks, shit load of sandpaper and a lot of time, pratice and patients.

[evil_twin]

Aww, no love left?

[Devil Inc]

That gold colored filler is "something" chromate if I'm thinking of the one you're thinking of. Works really well and shrinks very little if at all.

Edit: USC makes a gold filler named Kromate-Light, but the container is diferent than what I had used. May be the same thing, just different labeling.

[der affe]

evercoat RAGE for your heavy stuff. work it wet as best as you can, because when it dries it sands like concrete

evercoat oem metal glaze for the glazing putty

for sanding blocks get balsa wood. yea i know it sounds low $ and it is. it is hard to fuck up a panel and carve a grove in it with balsa wood VS sanding blocks. sanding blocks can warp over time, even the expensive ones, no mater who makes them. go to your favorite craft store and get 2 strips of each thickness of the wood (balsa only, no bass wood ETC) the thicker is used for the straight stuff and the thinner stuff for the more curved stuff. it is easy to cut to what ever shape or length you need

[kenika65]

balsa thats sweet, good info.

[der affe]

get the 3m dry guide coat too. easier to work with. DO NOT SPILL IT!!!!!!!
it will make a huge mess.

once you get everything flat and finished to 180 grit, take your finish (palm ) D/A and a "soft pad" and go over everything with 220. then you are ready to prime.

DO NOT USE PRIMER AS A FILLER!!!
it will shrink over time and cause the sanding scratches to show through the paint (shrink).

[evil_twin]

Balsa wood eh? I should choose that over a cheap sanding block?

[der affe]

IN A HEARTBEAT!!!!! you will just fuck things up with a cheap block. spend the $$ on good shit or buy the balsa. eventually they both crap out though.

[evil_twin]

sweet deal. I haven't bought anything yet. I am going to start my collection of paint stuff soon, I just need to get prep stuff started first.

[der affe]

spend the $$ on good paper too. it may seem like a bunch of $$ at first (and it is), but better paper will stay sharper longer and not clog as much

[evil_twin]

what is paper?

[der affe]

sand paper, look for mirka, fandelli, klingspore, etc. you don't have to buy 3M as it is over priced.

go to an automotive paint supply and purchase your paper there (not lowes/ace/or the depot) they will set you up with good paper

[evil_twin]

really? huh, I never knew that paper would be such a big issue. What about using a DA, do you recommend that?