Body work progress...PICS!

[Therian]

well not too much progress but here's how the car looks after one day:

I had never done anything like this before...here's a comparison of how 320 grit stacks up vs. 600 (600 on the right, 320 on the left)...before you guys bitch about how bad it looks...this was my test fender...it is now off the car

The big guy making it all happen

tools...

QUESTIONS:

on the hood there is cracking or 'spiderwebbing' in several areas. The pic below shows what I am talking about. 180 grit does not take this out. Should I sand down to 80 grit? I'm imagining the paint won't cover this up at all...

View attachment 459712

How do you get the moulding around the windows off? I thought I had all the bolts out of the quarter window moulding (5) but it seems as though it is attached to the moulding around the windows. How do you get the window moulding off?

 

[The Green GT]

Id try to fill those cracks with some bondo but make sure you dont leave a little raised part, cause you will see it once it is painted.

 

[zZsKyZz]

Do not use tools like that grinder, it will make uneven spots in the paint. Do it all by hand with soapy water and 400 grit sand paper unless you have to use bondo, then use 600 around the bondo then use 400. You basically just want to take the clear coat off, not the paint and such. Also, don't go in circles because it will create a swirl effect in the paint once the car has been sprayed. try going in one constant direction left and right, horizontally with the car. I just did the body work and sanding on my car... my dad use to paint for porsche and painted since he was my age [20ish].. so I learned from him..

good luck and post up some pics as ya go along.

 

[bigcat]

take the cracks out completely. use some glaze over it if necessary. dont just fill over it, that will cause problems.

 

[urban96]

the moulding bolts from the inside

 

[Therian]

take the cracks out completely. use some glaze over it if necessary. dont just fill over it, that will cause problems.

sounds good. This is what I was expecting.

zZsKyZz, the DA works very welll and I've had no problems with it. Are you not familiar with them...it's definitely not a grinder...they're made specifically so that they do not dig into the paint...and at 320 grit there's not much risk of doing any kind of unfixable damage. it does not swirl as long as you keep it on the surface and move with it. I've talked to many body shops and they use DAs for as much work as possible. Makes the job move a long faster and keeps the arms from falling off

 

[larrendeuce]

If its in your budget get a straight line sander. It will give you speed benefits while keeping your substrate level and swirl free.

 

[Pennywise2]

Well you are getting their.That doesn't look like easy work.
Good luck on your project and keep us updated.

 

[zZsKyZz]

sounds good. This is what I was expecting.

zZsKyZz, the DA works very welll and I've had no problems with it. Are you not familiar with them...it's definitely not a grinder...they're made specifically so that they do not dig into the paint...and at 320 grit there's not much risk of doing any kind of unfixable damage. it does not swirl as long as you keep it on the surface and move with it. I've talked to many body shops and they use DAs for as much work as possible. Makes the job move a long faster and keeps the arms from falling off

They say that but how won't it make it uneven? Still, I don't trust a DA/electric sander/etc... I spent about 2k on my paintjob and wouldn't want to notice anything bad so I don't mind taking my time doing it by hand.

 

[JS94cobra]

If the DA is used to sand parts of the car evenly without keeping the sander in one area for too long there shouldn't be too many problems when it comes time to lay some paint down and it being uneven. You could always DA the car first to get clear/paint off fast and then block it to get everything flush. I'm the kind of guy that likes to do things by hand so a nice long block sander for the flat parts and a flexible block sander for the contours is the way I prefer. I'm going to be painting my 94 cobra in a few months. Good luck with your project. I'm sure it will come out great. Diving in a doing things yourself always is the best way to learn too.

 

[FORCED2DV8]

The crack are from excessive fles in the fiber glass, or its just dried out, But like others said, sand them out completly and fill slightly if you have to. Good luck, its alot of work.. Its worth it.

 

[The Green GT]

They say that but how won't it make it uneven? Still, I don't trust a DA/electric sander/etc... I spent about 2k on my paintjob and wouldn't want to notice anything bad so I don't mind taking my time doing it by hand.

That what we sed when we did my fender and bumper. And we did it a a Ford Dealers body shop.

 

[Therian]

I'm keeping the air out of the compressor at ~60psi and the rpms low on the DA...at 320 grit I haven't noticed even a slight bit of unevennesss. the car will be block sanded with 600 after the 320.

I was wondering if you guys could be a bit more specific on how to get the pillar moulding off from around the doors...I can't see any bolts...except for around 7-8 torx bolts under the weatherstripping...they don't seem as though they would attach to the moulding though. The only bolt I can see holding it on is the one inside the door jamb. I already have the 5 out that are around the quarter window.

here's a pic for ref.

 

[urban96]

the rear one you need to take off all the interior paneling behind it to get to the bolts, the front im not sure about

stprorolla49 just painted his car and i remember seeing pics of them removed, try searching his name or just PM him

 

[Therian]

20 hours of work later

car was towed to be sprayed today...should be done in 10 days or so (gotta wait in line)...can't wait to see how it turns out

 

[bill302]

those cracks on the hood may be a recall issue 97S88 HOOD SEPARATION click on link and check...
http://www.ford.com/en/vehicles/owners/recalls/default.htm