The beginning of body work

[der affe]

D/A' s can cost a mint! my snap-on was $600 when i bought it.
now astro makes a pretty good copy for under $100. that is palm sanders.

for your regular D/A where you are going to do the rough nasty stuff the $20 -$30 harbor freight one will work fine. the next choice up the line would be the CP (Chicago pneumatic) i think it is right around $120

[der affe]

the more $$ you spend on a D/A the better job it will do to a point. after that it is a fatigue issue, if it shakes like it is having a seizure, it will take a toll on you if you use it day in and day out.

wow! look at my unemployed ass post whore like farbin!

[evil_twin]

ha ha, alright well I will have to pick up a bit nicer of a DA then that I see.

[Cha Ching]

Where's the best place to get these "anything-but-Bondo" body fillers? I'm assuming an automotive paint supply shop?

[der affe]

yep, just look in the phone book to find some in your area. lie and tell them you are in some sort of vo tech or trade school for body/paint and they will usually give you some sort of a discount

[Cha Ching]

yep, just look in the phone book to find some in your area. lie and tell them you are in some sort of vo tech or trade school for body/paint and they will usually give you some sort of a discount

Sweet tip, thanks! :up:

[evil_twin]

What grit sand paper should I sand my car down with?

[der affe]

DO NOT TAKE IT DOWN TO BARE METAL EXCEPT WHERE YOU HAVE TO FOR BODY WORK!!!!!

remember that. people that talk about a bare metal repaint are for the most part dumb! there is a rust inhibitor that is applied to the raw sheet metal at the factory that is hard to duplicate. it is called E-coat.

with that out of the way. 150 to start, 80 where you need to ad filler.
then once you are happy with everything 220 the whole car and prime it. then block it with 220/320.

[AndrewBird]

I'll add only one thing. DO NOT APPLY MORE THEN 1/8" OF FILLER. Even 1/8th inch is pushing it. Work the metal first and get it as close as possible, then use a skim coat of filler to take out any imperfections. Body filler is NOT made to fill big dents.

[der affe]

updates???

[kylebes1]

The other thing about filler is that two thin coats is better than one heavy coat.

I would recommend blocking the entire car with a 6" block and 320 grit. This will cause dents and small imperfections to show up... the paint will still be shiny in those low spots. This will allow you to find all the dents easily and end up with a flatter finish... You also could simply use a DA with the 320 on panels that seem straight.

I love doing body work, but cannot find time to do it to my own car which needs it!

[madformx5]

This thread has some great info.

[monty]

I agree with Kylebes1 on the block sanding the whole car with 320 except I would use a longer block. When prepping to fix the dents I use a 90 degree angle grinder with a 3 inch 36 grit disk. Grind off all the paint off the dent. This makes a nice deep scratch in the metal for the body filler to stick. Make sure you remove all the paint where filler will be applied. When you are done(you have applied and sanded body filler and icing) you want there to be metal all around your repair area between the filler and paint. This way you can "feather" the paint back so it is smooth and does not have edges like steps when you run your hand acrross it. Also is you are right handed feel your bodywork with your left hand. You can feel more because it is not your dominent hand. I will try to take some pictures at work tomorrow so you can have some visuals.

SUPPLIES I USE FOR DOING BODYWORK:

-Rage Gold body filler or Maxum Extreme
-Evercoat Metal Glaze for topping off the body filler (used for filling in the paper scratches and pinholes)
-36 grit 3 inch grinding disks
-40 grit longboard paper
-80 grit longboard paper
-220 D.A. paper
-Body filler spreaders (obviously)
-3 inch 90 degree angle grinder
-6 inch D.A. sander
-4,6, and 12 inch sanding blocks (depending on the size of the dent)
-Air blow gun

[kid325e]

Anyone have any good info on dent pulling/repairing kits?

[der affe]

you mean this?

http://www.asseenontv.com/prod-pages/pops-a-dent.html