Bodywork Day 1 Questions
 

Not ever having done any bodywork before I decided to start with the door sills thinking that they are relative small and if I hose them up they won't be a complete eye sore.

So I removed the Sills per WSM and have to say I can see why Sills never fall off the 928s. The adhesive is still very strong and no where near brittle.

A buddy hooked me up with a DA Sander, sandpaper and blocks from his autobody shop and away I went with my 3 Gallon compressor. After 30 seconds the compressor could not keep up so off to Sears for a 33Gal 5.1CFM @80psi. The unit was on sale for $279.00 Off to the races sanding.

Due to budget(2 kids in College) I am restoring the car panel by panel fixing the ugliest defects first.

Clearcoat comes right off, then paint. I was expecting to see primer next but ran into another coat of Clearcoat, then paint then plastic. I took the panel to my buddy and he confirmed 4 coats. Basically, he says I've got to remove the paint until there is no shine.

Never having done this before, I'm looking for a second opinion on how much I have to sand down. Or is there a chemical stripper that would get me there faster.

Below is a picture. Not exactly sure what I've gotten myself into.

Get a book or two from Barnes and Noble, or your other favorite book store, and read up on what it is you are trying to do.

Thanks Jerry. I've been watching lots of video's on youtube and have a "coach" helping me out. The videos are only 5-10 minutes long which I'm finding are completely misleading on the amount of time and effort this is going to take.

I've almost completed the passenger side Sill. Portions of it have had 6 coats. I'm in no rush though.

When you say six coats I suspect you are actually dealing with six layers and that translates to many more coats than layers. Six layers could be more like 15 to 18 or more coats of paint. Nearly all of that thickness of paint must be removed.

when your sanding the body,
you will eventually get to a white coating,
this is last coat before paint is applied,
try to get to this coat and stop.
NOTE further sanding will remove the other protective coatings that were applied at the factory
NOTE it will be safe to spray your new base/ sealer /epoxy primer to this white coat.

Buy a used fender from any car and practice on that.

Yes, listen to Stan


And listen to IMO000 (a name would have been useful here)

Are you painting the pretty car in the Avatar?

Could we see before pics?

You will never be the same after attempting this.

I usually hate the car i paint afterwards for about 6 months,
if you're the perfectionist type just pay a professional.

I've prep'd and painted several cars, and after each one I swear I will never do another. Turns out that there are folks who have the right equipment and do it all the time. I have the equipment, but it always takes a lot longer than I think it should. I don't have a spray booth so final painting always goes to a pro.

That little $300 Sears compressor is about a quarter of what you'll want to run a DA. You'll be better off buying an electric Day and using the compressed air to blow the dust out of the sander. For initial material removal you'll want an electric disk sander. The DA is for after the majority of the old stuff is removed. As Stan shares, get into it to the factory sealer coat, then stop. Use the DA on material you are adding.

Before you get too far, take the time to remove ALL the trim, the for seals, window seals, weatherstripping, spoilers, pans, etc. Take everything out of the interior, like seats, carpet, door and other interior panels. Lights, handles, everything that can come out. Catalog it with pictures so you remember where it came from.


Oh... want a paint job you'll be proud of? Let a pro do it. It will be faster and cheaper than doing it yourself. Better too.

Never more true words.

Paintucation
 

If you're interested, I've got the Paintucation DVDs and would be glad to loan them. Looks like we're not too far apart.

I also have a parts car that could probably spare a piece or two if you think a practice round would be helpful.

Good luck with the project.

I don't care how many DVDs or Youtube clips you are going to watch. There is no substitute for hands on practice. Bodywork is an art, much like sculpting, a real PITA to get it right. You keep practicing on the 928 and it will be a disaster before you know it.

Thanks for all the great advice. I'll take before and after pics and post them.

As much as I'd like to do a perfect job I'm not trying to get the car back to concours. Too many sins were committed before I picked her up. It currently has a 10 foot finish preferably around cocktail hour.

First up is the right rear panel which has failing clearcoat and a couple of minor dings. The bumpers are next.

I'm working through the roughest panels first and will have a local restoration company do the painting. Basically, I'm doing the grunt work of sanding, patching and trim removal. So far I'm enjoying the process.

The sanding tips given here are very welcome. The compressor is having difficulty keeping up but it's going to have to suffice.

Buy a couple inexpensive 7" electric disk sanders for the bulk material removal. Faster and way easier than depending on a DA with a 20% available duty cycle on a tiny compressor. You'll get more done in ten minutes than an hour with the DA. Big box of coarse sanding disks too.

This should do what your air powered one is doing it's electric- uses 6" stick on discs, same as used on the air powered ones. I have one and it works well although I haven't used it on a car to strip paint, I have stripped doors & cabinets . If the backing pad is too stiff, you can get pads that flex more. Work large areas at a time & don't dig in with the edge.
Above all, wear a GOOD mask. Try speed setting 3 or 4- fairly slow. High speed can overheat / warp panels.

http://www.amazon.com/PORTER-CABLE-7...m/B002EQ96MG/2

Suggestion- take the hood off & start with that. If you find you are in over your head or just don't want to do it, that is easier for a pro to fix than something like a quarter panel.

As others have said, doing body and paint as a DIY is a pretty long and slow process. The job is 99.3% prep and .7% putting the new paint on, and buffing. I've painted a few, as a DIY and I don't care for the work either.

Your new compressor is 5.1CFM at some ridiculously low pressure like 40. You need a big two-stage or other heavy compressor to use air tools like a DA. Since you are doing spot/panel repair you need to decide where you're going to stop. It looks like you're gonna stop at the bevel that goes down to the rocker panel below. Don't go any further, because this is going to be your power paint line unless you are going to try to blend into the existing paint. I have to warn you, blending vibrant and very dark colors is extremely hard to get right. Red, orange, purple and black aver very hard to blend and even harder to feather in.

Stan already mentioned the base layer of primer coat that you don't want to grind through, and this is very hard when you are dealing with a car that been repainted, which I think this one has gone through. Hard to figure out the layers unless you have a practiced eye. Also hard to stay off the lowest layer with the DA and only do the higher one's around the primer coat.

If you are going to continue to DIY, take your time when you get down to the primer layer. If you go through to metal, then you'll need to prime and sand again before painting. If it hasn't been repainted, it could be that the original was redone in some parts.

Good luck, and take your time.