Tech: Bodywork writeup with pictures

jmk97GT

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Oct 29, 2004
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I finally decided to do a writeup for you guys planning on doing bodywork. Any additional questions can be asked through PM. Please do not ask me to do the body work for you though. I truly do not have time to do so.

Here are the two major things that I had to fix...both on the quarter

panels (either side):
View attachment 514907
View attachment 514909

Items needed for this particular job:
Power sander with sandpaper (not the 1000 or 2000 grit, tougher stuff)
1000 grit sand paper
2000 grit sand paper (not as much as the 1000)
Bondo (comes in a small paint-type bucket)
Activater/hardener (smaller paint-type bucket...will say its used for bondo)
Small straight edge spreader (usually plastic; can find at a bodyshop type store such as Ketone)
Plastic blanket to cover the car
Plenty of masking tape
Primer
Paint
Clearcoat

For the last three, make sure they are meant for automobiles. I would
highly suggest Enamel type paint instead of Lacquer type as it will look
much better.

1. Make sure the panel you are going to do the work on is nice and clean
with NO wax on it. The best thing to do is just not get the car waxed for
a month or so and it should be off by then. Not sure exactly how to
remove it, but mine hadn't been waxed since I got it :). ***If this is on
a plastic bumper, do not sand like this. I truthfully do not know exactly
how do do this in a plastic bumper. This article is for metal panels
only.

2. Around the area you plan to put filler (bondo) on, you'll need the
power sander with regular type sandpaper. Make sure you wear a doctor type mask so that you dont inhale anything. You really cant hurt anything
as you'll be sanding down to bare metal. Sand down the entire area with a
few inches extra around the area. It should look like this when you're
done:
View attachment 514911
View attachment 514912
NOTE: If it is a rear quarter panel like mine and the dents are similar
to mine, you can take apart the entire backseat and pop the dents out
partially so you dont have to use quite as much bondo.

3. Next, you want to sand down the entire panel you plan to paint with
1000 grit sand paper. To do this, you will use a technique called
wetsanding. The way to do it is just like it sounds; get a bucket of
water (you can put a few drops of dishwashing soap in it) and the
sandpaper. When sanding the area make sure the sandpaper is somewhat wet
at all times. You will know when the sanding is finished if the paint is
completely dulled out and you can see many swirl marks. This step may be
done before or after the bondo is applied, as long as its done before you
paint ;).

4. On the cans of filler and activater, there should be instructions as
to how much hardener to mix with how much filler. Mix on some kind of
plastic or metal surface that can be carried over to the car. Get the
plastic spreader out and apply to the area. It does not have to spread
perfectly, just try to get enough bondo on the area filling the entire crevice. Here are the pictures right after the bondo was put on:
View attachment 514913
View attachment 514914

5. The bondo doesnt take too long to dry, but I'd just wait 24 hours to
be safe. Once its dry, you can take that same power sander and sand it to the right contour of the panel. You will notice that you'll probably need
to apply more bondo after the sanding process is done. That is normal and
the bondo can be applied right on top of itself. Repeat the process until
you are completely satisfied with the shape.

6. If you already wetsanded the entire area to be painted, mask off the
area to be primed (the area with the bondo on it) with masking tape.
Doesnt have to be perfect, look at the pictures:
View attachment 514915
View attachment 514916
Once its masked off, apply a few coats of primer. You will notice that it
is very dense and you dont need too much of it. To apply, simply spray it
on like spray paint.

7. Wait another 12-24 hours for this to dry completely. Once dry, wetsand
the primer so you do not see the masking lines (the primer does not
buldge out from the rest of the panel) to prepare for the paint. You do
not need to prime the rest of the panel that still has the old paint,
just make sure its been wetsanded.

8. This one is very important if you want your paint job to look
professional. Make sure that wherever you're going to paint (most likely
a garage) is clean of almost all dust. The best way to do this is to open
the garage door as well as a side or back door to the garage on a
somewhat windy day. Let it all air out. If you have access to an air
compressor blow off all objects in the garage as well as the floor. Make
sure there is low dust.

9. Before painting, you'll have to completely cover the entire car
besides whats being painted. The best way to do this is to first mask off
the borders around the panel you're doing. For me, I masked off the side
of the door as well as the ground effects, rear window, sides of the
trunk lid, rear bumper, and tail lights all with masking tape. After
that, you can put the plastic cover over the entire car. Whatever is not
completely covered around the area to be painted you can cover with
newspaper and more masking tape or a garbage bag. Here is a picture of
what I did; do not pay attention to what has already been done to the panel. I had some issues with the clearcoat. Basically do not buy Promax, as you can see it really yellowed the upper portion of the quater.
View attachment 514917

10. Once everything is completely covered (and dont forget the wheels),
you are ready to paint. Make sure the entire panel is CLEAN and DRY.
Apply 2-4 coats of paint depending on how it looks. To do this, just do
even horizontal strokes with the spray can. No fancy spray guns needed.
Oh yeah, make sure to have one of those fancy masks so you dont kill
yourself from the fumes. Your garage WILL reak for a good week or two.

11. Wait about 15-20 minutes for the paint to settle (it will not be dry,
though) to apply clearcoat. The paint does not have to be completely dry
to put the clear on. You want to spray the clear on just the same as the
paint with only about 2 coats.

12. Let the clearcoat and paint dry for a good 24-48 hours before driving
it. Make that time about 3-4 days if there will be rain outside. Make
sure NOT to take the car to a carwash for at least a month! You can
handwash the car with a soft rag and a hose, just no car washes!

13. After about a week or two you are ready to wetsand the panels. You
will notice that the clear has created sort of an orange peel and is
somewhat bumpy. We are about to fix this. Wetsand the entire quarter
panel with the other wetsanding paper (2000 grit) just as you did before
paint. Do not sand too far down, just so the paint looks dull again. Do
not panic that you're dulling the paint, because really you're just
evening out the clear.

14. Once wetsanding is complete, you need to buff the quarter panels. To
do this you need a power buffer and the polishing compound used for
buffing. Apply small amounts to the buffer and just pull the trigger and
let it buff the paint. You will notice the paint start to shine and look
great! Make sure not to stay in one spot too long because you could heat
the paint up too much.
Thats pretty much the jist of it, if you have any more questions feel
free to ask. Oh yeah, here are some after pictures. The work itself came
out great, but the paint doesnt match perfectly. Oh well, at least I dont
have those nasty dents anymore!

View attachment 514918
View attachment 514919
View attachment 514920
For some reason I dont have a picture of the other side, but it looks
identical. The off paint kinda looks worse because the driver side door
is actually off as well. The paint is getting better, its slowly fading
to my liking.
 
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Write up may confuse some people, but I definately think its better than nothing...

Your finished product looks GREAT! Good job.
 
myponyrocks said:
Write up may confuse some people, but I definately think its better than nothing...

Your finished product looks GREAT! Good job.
Hah sorry...I aim it toward people that already know partially what they're doing. It would be a lot longer if I added more details.
 
StevenGT-02 said:
looks good bondo wise...You went thru allot of work but i think it would of been worth it to get a air compressor and paint it right.. But good luck with it...
I disagree the paint looks better than whats on there right now.