I
> guess my whole problem is the (amp meter).... Dose anyone know were I can
get
> one????
Try Bob Hoffman or Terry Tanner for originals or try www.egauges.com
they are a VDO dealer
> K, well on to the out side now I guess..... I found bondo & bondo
> fiberglass witch one should I use to fix the crack and hole in the cars
> pannels???
Small cracks that are not all the way throught the fiberglass, just in the
acrilyc can be fixed with the bondo fiberglass, dynaglass or some eqivelant.
to do this you must 'dig out' the crack to a solid base, I usually do this
with a dremel type tool. Then mix the filler and apply dragging the filler
both the length and across the crack. this will orient the strands in both
directions for the best strength. if you have holes or cracks that go
through the fiberglass the proper way to repair these is with fiberglass mat
and resin. you first grind the back of the panel untill all of the loose
pieces are gone and you have solid surface. you then brush the area with
catalysed resin. then stick an apropriate sized piece of fiberglass mat to
the resin and soak the mat with more resin keeping in mind the shape of the
panel and the size of the hole, the mat should over lap on the sound
material twice the distance of the hole/crack or a minimum of 2". allow to
fully cure grind lightly and do it again going a little bigger. now you are
ready to start on the outside. It is best to do the same procedure on the
outside but you can get away with filling with a stranded filler and sanding
smoothe starting with about 40 grit then 80> 120> 180> 320 fixing any
defects between sandings. be carefull not to scratch the surrounding area
too much with the coarser grits.
Now comes primer. Much has been said in the past about primers. let me add
DO NOT use spray bombs. DO NOT use Laquer based primer. DO NOT use urethane
primer. You can use a water based primer designed for acrilyc or I have used
in the past (25+ yrs) and still use a POLYESTER based primer. This is a
'fiberglas resin" based primer that is 2 part. don't be fooled by other 2
part primers.....it must be a polyester based primer and the hardner should
look like liquid fiberglass hardner. This is sold as "slick sand" and other
brands.
> Also what grain sand paper should i use to remove the paint???
It greatly depends on the thicknes of paint. If the car has been painted
several times and is full of stress cracks.... dont bother. it will be
cheaper in the long run to change the panels!(been ther done that). If the
panels were not primed properly before, they will be full of checks (bad) or
will check shortly after painting (worse). here the only safe bet is to
change the panels.
IN CLOSING....
Body work done by amateurs usually looks like it was done by amateurs and
costs more to be repaired than if it was done by a pro the first time. Small
repairs are usually ok but if you are unfamiliar with the process you may
want to find a local body man that works on the side to give you a hand and
guidance. you can do a great deal of damage with sand paper and power tools
and sometimes this damage is not easily or cheaply repaired. One more thing,
keep chemical strippers away from the car unless you plan on changing the
body, they destroy the acrilyc.
Rick
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