Ryan:
Your autobody technique sounds a lot like mine!!! Kinda makes
you wonder how Earl Schieb can paint a car for $89.95.
Remember the bondo rule of thumb... Bondo and sand, bondo and
sand until you think it's just about perfect, then do it one more
time.... Good luck.
Joe
On 3 Apr 00, at 10:21, BORDER,RYAN (HP-FtCollins,ex1) wrote:
> For those of you following along with my rear fender saga, I thought an
> update might be in order.
>
> Last weekend, I finally decided the metal work was done. This included the
> big (rust-out) patch where the bar-b-que grill backed bondo was, cutting out
> and patching 8 or so smaller rust holes (many on the flange against the
> welt), major reconstruction of both wheel arch lips, patching 4
> quarter-sized and 8 pencil-sized holes where the tail lights were, patching
> ~35 holes from dent-puller(s), and pounding out all of the dents, as best I
> could. I'm also doing the running boards, where I patched 12 small holes
> (aluminum steps mounted at one time), and pounded out a few pretty nasty
> dents. I burned through a whole spool of welding wire on this little
> adventure...
>
> With the metal work done, it was time to... bondo! Spare time this week was
> pretty much consumed standing in my drive-way with an air-powered in-line
> sander. I guess it wasn't really that bad; I'd come home from work, sand
> the bondo down, and throw on the next coat; letting it dry until the next
> evening. The bondo patches are large- hence all the sanding, but they
> aren't too thick anywhere. Thursday night, I took a break from the routine,
> and Por15'd the backside of everything.
>
> Come Saturday, I finally turned the corner on the bondo, and was just making
> small spot patches- by the late afternoon, I had decided the bondo work was
> done. Cleaned up the garage, and set up the paint booth: woohoo! By
> midnight, I'd shot the self-etching primer, and the first surfacing coat.
>
> Sunday morning; I'm determined to finish the fenders today. More sanding.
> This time it's 500 grit wet-sanding backed with a sponge. With everything
> sanded down, I've found some areas that need more filler work. Mostly just
> little pits, a little to big to count on surfacing primer to fill. So, I
> got out the glazing putty and filled them all. Things are looking good.
> Took an early lunch break to let it really set.
>
> 90mins later, the putty still has the consistency of bubble gum stuck to
> your shoe :-(. Apparently I forgot to knead the hardener :-(. It won't
> sand off. It won't scrape off. It's not setting. I finally ripped it all
> off with the inline air-sander... back to square 1 with the surfacer.
>
> Surfacer/sand, Surfacer/sand, glazing putty/sand, surfacer sand: and I
> decide they're finally ready for paint that counts. Time for sealer. I put
> on a good coat of (white) sealer, mostly to help my bright yellow paint
> cover the fenders. Waiting for it to dry, I can only watch in horror as it
> starts to sag. At about this point, I realize it's snowing outside, and
> it's way too cold in my booth to be painting :-(. I can't think of a safe
> way to bring a heater into my booth, and so decide I'm done for the day.
> All I can do is wait for it to dry and sand it down (a quick check of the
> label shows that the sealer is sandable, whew).
>
> So that's where I'm at- the fenders are mostly covered in white sealer, with
> dark gray patches of surfacing primer exposed where I had to sand out the
> sags. It's supposed to get into the 70's here tomorrow, so I should be able
> to sneak away from work to shoot the odd coat of paint. All that's left:
> o touch up sealer
> o 2 color coats (yellow)
> o clear-coat/wet-sand/repeat (till I like it, or run out of patience)
> o buff
>
> I *will* have them done this week.
>
> Ryan (the world's slowest body-man) Border.
> '55 2nd, wanna-be rod, Colorado.
> oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
>
Joe Clark
'50 3100 Deluxe
Knoxville, Tennessee
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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