My 72 skylark convertible is torn apart at this point, and I am putting back together now. I plan on doing body work myself, as long as I can have a decent finished product. I have not done much body work. I have read some books, and would like your advice on how to proceed. I am determined to take the time to do the preparation for paint. I have quarter panel and trunk floor issues, but that is for later discussion. If some of you that are knowledgeable in this field wouldn't mind tagging on to this thread and providing your input, I would like to use this thread to go from now to finish. I am about to finish the rolling chassis, and I will be working on the engine build which will take me several months to get the funds for parts and machine work. Here is where I am at, and what I need help with. Basically, where do I start. Everything is off the car, but did not take main body off the frame. Car has been painted at some time, but I am going to paint it Saturn Yellow. 1. I am thinking first thing I need to do is strip the current paint from all of the body parts. What is best method? Chemical strip? If so, what type. 2. Where is best place to get supplies? Mail order best for me. Eastwood? I have heard that it is wise to use good supplies, sandpaper, etc. 3. If I start with a body panel, and strip it, do I do any filler work at that point, and then spray with primer before moving to the next? 4. Would it be smart for me to take one panel at a time, and go through the above process before going to the next? Or should I strip it all, and work from there? Any advice would be helpful. I am all ears, and willing to learn. Just building a driver. Here is where I started Here is where I am today.
1. Its dusty but media blast sees to be the best way We use soda for our cars. 2. buy your supplies local. You should be able to ask lots of questions from them if they are quality guys 3. Doing one panel at a time is a very good way to do the car. After it was stripped put a etch primer over the bare metal that will keep it from rusting. Then do the repairs at your leasure prime each panel as you go. 4. see #3 for an answer. Email anytime if you have questions I dont mind answering questions Buying a quality set of blocks will make the job as straight as you can. Going to the local paint store will help as they shold (I say SHOULD) be knowledgable enough to help with the materials
Chemical is a mess. I think the best way is with a good varial speed polisher and 8" 80grit disks on a hookit pad. Nice low rpm wont warp panels and you can go at your own pace. http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/...&Product_Code=FAPS6258-p80&Category_Code=SPAR The link above is a good place. this is another http://www.tcpglobal.com/AutobodyDepot/ remember the good paints / primers are dealer only so go local I would go one panel at a time or it can get overwhelming. Do your dolly, metal work before you strip it down. get the panels as straight as you can before you strip them. If there is rust to fix just strip enough to weld in new metal. Then strip the whole panel down and do your filler work. treat panel with picklex then epoxy prime (then within the recoat window shoot your high build primer) you don't want epoxy to sit more than 3 days uncoated because it is a pain to scuff and then you need to shoot another coat of epoxy then the high build. Within the recoat window you do not touch the epoxy - just shoot high build over it. Once you shoot a panel with high build it can sit for years (inside)
http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=E709&Category_Code=FM Substitute this for your first coats of high build and it can really help you get a panel lazer straight. I love this stuff. It makes it Soooo much easier for the weekend warrior to bridge filler edges and body work. Lays on thick and sands great with 180. you will need a 2.2 tip though
1. When i did my car i tried just about everything to get the paint off. I had SEVEN, yes seven, different coats of paint i ended up stripping to get to bare metal. I tried chemical stripping and couldn't stand it. It makes a huge mess and actually took longer than sanding. I couldn't find anybody around here that could media blast a whole car for me (short of shady craigslist ads). I recommend getting a really good assortment of sanders and some quality paper (theres a big difference between 3m and harbor freight brand). 2. There's actually a paint supply house here in Lubbock that i got a lot of the specialty stuff from. It's Finishmaster over on ave q (across from the Jeep place). Be prepared to shell out a little more cash for the better stuff. 3/4. If you strip the body panel, be sure to at least put some self etching primer on it if you plan on leaving it in bare metal for more than a couple of days. The way i did mine (working in limited space) was to do the bulk of the body work on one panel at a time, off of the car. When it came time to do the block sanding, I reassembled the panels on the car and blocked it that way to ensure my gaps would line up. I'm not sure if that's the right way to do that or not, but it's what i did. The thing to remember is to take it slow, and keep reminding yourself that this is just a hobby, and that you still enjoy it (you won't when you're removing paint). I hadn't ever done body work till the skylark, but after finishing it I've found that I actually like doing it. If you have any questions or need any help, feel free to ask. We just picked up a 63 scout and i'm planning on starting the body work this weekend, so i'll be in that frame of mind.
+1 for a high build primer. It wont hide enormous errors, but it does help to mask some of the more minor flaws. And one more thing, body filler is to be used sparingly! (i had to literally chisel out a 1 foot by 4 inch section of body filler that was half an inch thick).
thanks ya'll. I do have a local supply house that I have been to several times. I got the fire red paint from them for the red car. I didn't paint or prep that car, but I did pull it apart and put it back together. I have a small blaster, but it doesn't seem to work well. I will give it a try though before I hit the sander. Chuck, you mention doing some of the metal work first, then stripping. that makes good sense, but I also don't know what I have under the paint in several areas. I am in a dry climate, so how quickly should I spray primer over the bare metal? How much primer will I need to prep the car? What is a good, low cost gun? I have a couple of old paint guns, but I am certain they were cheap when purchased, and old now.
Buy some picklex - the stuff is fantastic. Its the best IMO rust treater / inhibitor designed for to be used with modern epoxy primer. When used to treat bare metal - it will prevent flash rust for months if kept inside and dry - then work at your leasure. about 2 gal epoxy and 2 gal high build devilbiss finishline is a nice gun for the $$
Everything that was stated above is pretty much the process.My best buddy has been doing my car and Ive been at his side the whole time,so I may not have the skills,but I can say the steps listed sound right.My guy does this for a living and handled more then 1 panel at a time but has told me If I were to do something like this,do it 1 at a time.The only thing I can add is ,I had all my panels- Doors,hood,fenders and deck lid acid dipped and e-coated.The rest was stripped with the above mentioned 80 grit on a slow grinder-polisher.I tried my hand at bodywork on other projects,I thought I was OK at it, until the paint went on.It looked like a bag of walnuts.So if you have somebody who can check your work before you paint it,youd proberly be doing yourself a favor.Yellow is kinda forgiving.Good luck with this!
That's one reason I thought yellow for this car. Logan, you did your body work, and had the other guys spray it for you, right? Did they spray your jambs, underside of trunk stuff for you? I'm way ahead of myself here, but I was thinking about those areas, and if they should be sprayed before assembly. I'm going to start looking for supplies now. I think I have a poliser to use for sanding. Need some of the Picklex. What type of body filler (bondo) is good? I do understand I will work all the metal I can and only use this sparingly. I'm getting excited to try. I think I'll start on a fender as soon as I get some paper. I'll post progress. Thanks again for all the input.
strip it epoxy it ,metal is sealed . then you can do bodywork at your leisure without it rusting.as racebuick states soda or other media is best ,its always better to work with no paint primer etc, to deal with.
I sprayed my door jams and under the hood. We don't have a car trailer or a dolly or anything, so the car had to be driveable to the paint booth. My trunk was stripped out at the time, so i had them do the trunk jams. I just didn't want the paint shop responsible for masking off my door jams or getting overspray in the interior. I highly recommend painting the part of the fender that faces inside the engine bay (the three or four inches above the black inner fender) when the front fenders are off the car. I don't see a good way to mask off the rest of the engine bay and still get good coverage of those parts. Make sure you dial in all the settings on your paint gun before you start painting the actual parts. I made the mistake of just jumping in, and now i have a massive run on my passenger door jam that i still havent gotten around to.
If it has a lot of dents i would also consider getting a stud welder. It really saved me a lot of time. I just used the harbor freight one and had excellent luck with it. 99 bucks before a 20% off coupon is definitely worth it.
Mark, I have learned that before you put the top coat(color) on after the primer, make sure you spray a light guide coat - probably black. Block sand the guide coat and it will show you any high or low spots in the body. This is the key on how well the final paint/body looks in being straight and smooth. It is amazing what you can miss if you don't do this!
Mark you have seen some of the pics of my car. Same as yours 72 convert. I am doing the exact same project. I am just about done getting the body down to bare metal. I have primed and filled (dings and repairs) the fenders. I have primed and filled (doors) Put filler on one quarter Need to do some repare work on left quarter. I am working my way around the car finishing one part at a time. I am sure that everybody a way to keep things organized but that is my way Good luck on your convertible I love the drop tops......:beer
