Body work

[drifterx]

how would u do body work? with bondo....
i have a few rust spots i wanna clean up before winter
is hand sanding the only way?
how do the pros do it?
they cant hand sand all those cars can they?

[drifterx]

no love for me?

[LanceS13]

Don't have to deal with much rust down here...sorry.
This has to do with dents, not rust...so it may or may not help.
<a href="http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/archives/tech/tech01_0701.shtml" target='_blank'>http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/archives/tech/tech01_0701.shtml</a>

(Edited by LanceS13 at 8:37 pm on Aug. 27, 2001)

[drifterx]

yeah dents too

[gt7152b]

If it's just surface rust you can sand it down and then use a sealer like POR-15 to keep it from coming back. If it isn't too deep you wouldn't need bondo, just the POR and lots of sanding. If the metal is rusted through, the best thing to do is cut it out and weld in a new piece of metal. Then you can use a grinder and bondo to smooth it into the panel.

[drifterx]

it is deep
my whole back fender is rusting... near the wheel

[Jeff240sx]

They sell stuff in Wal Mart that supposedly eats the rust away. &nbsp;It's only like $6 so you might wanna give it a try. &nbsp;It's in the section with the car touch-up paints.
Anyway, to do body work... it's a long and painstaking bitch of a process.
Sand the rust down. &nbsp;Seal it. &nbsp;Bondo. &nbsp;Sand. &nbsp;Sand. &nbsp;Sand. &nbsp;Sand until it is baby's butt smooth. &nbsp;If you close your eyes and run your hand over the spot and feel it, it will really show when you put the clear coat on. &nbsp;You shouldn't even know where you put the bondo on with your eyes closed. &nbsp;Then primer it. &nbsp;And depending on your color paint, you might need to repaint the whole car to get a smooth color. &nbsp;Even pros suck at paint transitions.
If you have questions, ask or email me. &nbsp;I have worked as an apprentice at a custom auto shop, under a PPG Level 4 (highest) certified painter, and fixed my Corvette. &nbsp;It got backed into, and the estimate was $950. &nbsp;Then a couple deep scratches. &nbsp;Bondo'd up, sanded, painted, it was a beauty. &nbsp;Then 2 people at school asked me to paint their cars, and my grandfather made me do body work on his Fiero. &nbsp;Gee I made a lot of hush hush money that summer <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>
-Jeff

[drifterx]

yeah i plan to do the sanding and bondo but i was wondering does the whole car need to be hand sanded?
cuz that would suck....
then i would buy a body kit and repaint the whole car...

[Jeff240sx]

You can use a machine to sand. &nbsp;I would recommend a buffer with roughing compound. &nbsp;And if you were gonna paint the whole car, I would recommend you get a pneumatic dual action palm sander. &nbsp;Orbital sander. &nbsp;Get some wet sanding 1500 grit, and go down to the primer. &nbsp;Hand sand the primer off from there. &nbsp;But sanders save a LOT of time!
-Jeff

[96SEChick]

Just be REALLY careful around the rounded panels (hood, top of doors, bumpers, etc)--those orbital sanders will eat through the primer down to the metal and leave &quot;flat spots&quot; that will be very noticable after repainting and clearcoating. &nbsp;I recommend only doing the flattest, smooth areas with the orbital sander and then doing the rounded areas by hand. &nbsp;Been there, done that! &nbsp;hehe

[drifterx]

do i want to sand down to the primer or the metal?
and what sandpaper should i starts with?

[Jeff240sx]

I would do something like 140 or 220 for the rust. &nbsp;They recommend 40-60, but I think that would be overkill if you slipped. &nbsp;Also, after the rust, go to 500 to get the rest of the car. &nbsp;Once the paint is a somewhat light color i.e. after the clear and a coat of paint is gone, I would immediatly switch to 1500. &nbsp;On bondo work, use 1500 to smooth it out, and any trouble spots, use 2000.
And I would sand down to the primer with the orbital. &nbsp;Hand sand it after that. &nbsp;GENTLY. &nbsp;Otherwise, you will scar the metal with scratches, and those will come out in the final look.
-Jeff

[drifterx]

jeff: thanks.....
well i think the clear coat on my car is dead.... hahha
i think u need to see it... lol
the car is like charcoal now
i think it was black....
and i have parts of my hood cracked to the metal...
so when i sand, i should obital to the primer, then hand sand the primer to smooth it like a baby's ass.... then i am done....

do i need to re-primer after i get to the primer part, then resand?
THANK U SO MUCH
i know i am stupid =)

[Jeff240sx]

Primer is made to stick paint to not sticky stuff. &nbsp;I really don't know what happens to primer when it gets old, or has already stuck stuff on. &nbsp;I just sanded the primer off. &nbsp;Then re-primed it. &nbsp;
I think it's better to be safe than sorry, and start the paintjob from the ground up. &nbsp;I really don't try to cut corners. &nbsp;You might wanna try to someone who does to figure out IF you can leave the old primer. &nbsp;I don't know.
-Jeff