In light of the recent everyone getting hit hooplah, I decided to share my somewhat in depth knowlege (Did I even spell that right?) of do-it-yourself bodywork.
the first thing above all is to consider what type of repair you need to make, to further determine the steps youll need to follow. Are you doing ding repair? Mabey fixing some rust? Perhaps your replacing fenders, bumpers, and the like. Mabey your even considering doing a full paint job.
...come to think of it, theres ALOT of stuff to type about this. Jeeze, what did I get myself into? Okay, okay...regroup Eric..they are all reading. Why am I typing what Im thinking?
Um...Anyway, yeah, you need to determine what you need to do. this professionally drawn graph could offer some insight as to what your up against:
Okay, another usefull thing....A list of some terms ill throw around(Ill update this as I go)
Edge / Edging in-
this is done to new/ new to you parts that will need to be painted before being hung on your car. The edges and if applicable underside of the parts to be are painted. Standard paint preperation for edging is scuffing and if needed light sanding
Scuff- This is a preperation tecnique in which you use either a scuff pad or a fine grade sand paper to dull the finish of the area your preparing to paint. Scuff pads are abrasive pads resembling the scratchy side of a sponge.A typical sand paper to use for scuffing is 1000-1500 grit, and can be done wet or dry (I tend to find wet better)
Feathering- this term is used to describe the sanding away of any irregular surface to make it smooth to the touch. Typically used in regards to chips and scratches. "feathering" is typically done with 400 grit sand paper and either a power hand tool (Such as a DA, long board sander, or palm sander) or by hand using a block the surface is sanded untill there is no trace at all whatsoever of the original blemish.
Guide Coat- this is a substance which you apply to an area your working on that works it's way into low spots and crevaces to reveal what is there. Used during sanding. typical things used as a guide coat are a light dusting of black spray paint or a specialized graphite powder
Okay, now that your eyes hurt, let me try to go all in depth on the steps. What to do, what to look out for, and how this may or may not be applicible to a certian situation
Step 1-Replacing body panels
A step I havent put on the chart...Before the new parts are hung on the car, they must be edged. This is your one and only chance to get paint in them places!
This is often more involved than one would think. I have found in my experiances that a fender is usually more than "Just a few bolts" a door is usually more than a hinge or two, and getting things to line up takes more than a "few" tries. All cars are diffrent in this aspect. I mean, lets face it. Subaru isnt going to put their bolts in the same place as GM, but, I can say theres a few places to start looking
Fenders
usually have three sets of bolts holding them on. theres the obvious ones in the hood jamb, theres the ones that you miht have seen where the fender and the door meet, and theres the ones that are usually a pain in the .....cavity...on the bottom edge of the fender underneath the car. Often times you must remove the inner fender wheel welley dealie to get to bolts, or (as it is on the svx) even some body cladding. The fenders will need to be adjusted to allow for proper gap to the hood and the door so they open and close unobstructed. This is a also a pain in the.....donkey.. as there are usually at least 6-10 bolts to loosten and tighten. Really nothing fancy to know, youll likely see what you need to do when you do it
By the way, this is probly a good time to remove things like headlihgts, tail lights, the spoiler, emblems...Prettymuch anything thatll be in the way of fresh paint
bumpers
nothing too fancy here. bumper covers are usually only held in with 4 bolts and mabey a strange fitting or two.bolts typically located where the bumper meets the rear quarter or fender, and mabey a few in a support somewhere. every car is diffrent here.. Once again, the inner wheel welly thingies will be a ...yeah... Bumpers typically dont adjust much, they either fit or they dont. I've seen some pretty horrendous "Factory replacement" aftermarket bumpers. Though I doubt any aftermarket companies have recreated the stock svx bumper, this might apply to someone else's car. Get the bumper from the factory, not some knock off from another company. this way it's gaurenteed to fit.
The svx's rear bumper, after much trial and error, is actually VERY easy to remove. unbolt the beam and everything from the trunk, and slide it out. The cover itself is held on with a bajillion screws, and sevral brackets. The front bumper can be done the same way, or actually removed from the beam itself
Doors
Doors typically have a few things holding them on. The obvious being it's hinges.The hingers usually will bolt on, but older vehicles and some trucks you need to pop out the hinge pin to seperate it.
Usually theres wires going into the door for power accessories such as windows, mirrors, locks, and the like. most cars have a plug hidden somewhere that you can seperate for easy removal, but if your car sucks like genral motors, it wont.
Also theres often some kind of stopper guidey thing that goes into the door. the svx's has a pin that hammers out.
When re-hanging a door with bolt on hinges, it may be necicarry to make adjustments in order for the door to catch onto the latch. theese adjustments could be loostening, moving, and retightening, or it coud be something as simple as yankign on the door untill it fits. Either way you will probly want a friend to help hold the door in place as you make the needed adjustments
Okay....Im very tired. More to come tomorrow. Sleep is good now..
MORE, because bill wants to know (THANKS BILL!!!)
Pulling Dents and Rough Shaping
Not much to explain for this entire step. If you have any big dents, try to push them out from the inside. I prefer to avoid using a hammer unless necicarry. If you have a dent you cant seem to get anything behind, there's a few tricks to try.
One is to use self tapping screws. Zip one in just enough so it gets ahold of the sheet metal, and use something to pull it out. This method often leads to MUCH cursing, and many, many holes in what was an otherwise good panel
The other method involves a welder. Go ahead and weld something to the panel...Mabey a roofing nail, bolt...something. Just put a small tack on, and use something to pull on the thing you welded onto the panel. Break the welded attachment off once the pull is made. This method also creates much cursing, and many holed burnt onto what was otherwise a good shirt
You've probably also seen some wacky methods on you tube incolving everything from plungers to aresol cans. Those probably work too, but I haven't been desperate enough to try any
One thing to remember...you can fill a low spot, but you cant cover a high spot. If you pull a spot out too far, simply hammer it back down. remember, this section s titled ROUGH shaping, not paintless dent removal tactics
okay, im bored again. More when someone else gets curious
