Hey guys, I will be trying some body work for the first time in a week or so and I am getting the basic idea down of what to do for each job.
I picked up a cheap sunfire, and I want to do the evil eye mod. By the sounds of it, the best way is to weld them on. than smooth it out and all that.
Now I already have holes in the trunk since the previous owner had a supra wing on it at one point, on top of that I want to get rid of the stock wing. After I unbolt it, would welding be necessary or should I fiberglass underneath and bondo over top like one body repair manual said... It sounds fishy to me and one good slam on the trunk makes me thing I will see cracking like a mofo... So would welding it be the best or is there any other way? Same idea for shaving my antenna (I never listen to radio anymore).
Also theres some minor surface rust on the lower passenger rear fender. Whats a good way to cure that?
And last but not least I want to prime the car since it is a winter beater. I've heard just priming over the stock paint is just fine but it seems kinda wierd... Any advice would help. I dont plan on taking it past primer, but I dont want it to start flaking off or anything.
Thanks!
had a blown ecotec swapped 2000 cavy, now just an 02 Grand Am, and a 74 BMW 2002...
i personally think using bondo the proper way you should be fine for filling those holes, welding typically is done as a least as possible due to the heat warping the metal. u may want to u cut off the rusted part with a cutter and then use welder to spot weld sheet metal in or if u can, u can try to grab that piece of rusted fender from a donor car and spot weld it on. theres soo many ways, but it all depends on how far u want to go with your "winter beater" salt may be a big problem if your winters are like mine here in buffalo. any exposed metal or rust that was not completly removed and sanded and prime will grow like wildfire. Im not 100% sure on the primer, it depends on what you use, and how you apply it. i have not tested it against the elements of snow rain ice. i use sandable primer and i love it, its made by krylon and its typically only on my car for a few days before getting to the paint booth. email me if u have any ?s bwagner16@verizon.net
Evil eyes-weld them on, smooth the welds (use a sanding pad on a grinder), then cover with some filler (I use evercoat rage), and glaze if needed.
For the holes in your trunk, weld them shut. I welded mine when I shaved the trunk lid...as long as you're careful you won't heat warp it. Fiberglassing it is a BIG no no. Fiberglass and metal expand at different rates and will separate from each other.
Shaving the antenna- weld a piece of sheet metal from inside the trunk, then some filler on the outside and block sand it level.
As far as priming it, if you plan on painting the car at some point, don't leave it in just primer (especially through winter!)...primer absorbs moisture and once that happens and you paint over it then paint will bubble and flake. But if you really want to go that route, scuff your existing paint (personally I would sand into your primer, but you can go over the paint if your not worried about doing a nice paint job over it). Just don't use rattle can primer..get real primer/sealer and spray it.
If you need anymore help just pm me..I've been doing body work for a long time.
Awesome! Thanks so much. I am just wondering if I just took a sander to the surface rust I might get it down to decent metal. And yeah the thing will be staying in primer for the rest of its life.
From this...
To somethin like this...
had a blown ecotec swapped 2000 cavy, now just an 02 Grand Am, and a 74 BMW 2002...
as long as there is usable metal under the rest, I would use a light grinding pad and a wire wheel to clean off as much rust as possible, then apply a rust converter over top (I use one from Eastwood that is excellent and I think they even make it in an aerosol form now for like $12) then spray primer over that.
If you are going to leave it in primer i would at least seal it if you are going to be driving in the elements. And again, use real primer, spray can stuff will have shrinkage.
Use Fiberglass filler when going over the welded holes then smooth that out. The go to body filler. DO NOT USE JUST BODY FILLER! After its painted and out in the hot sun if you just used body filler you will see the outline of the holes, The fiberglass filler is not hydroscopic so it doesn't abosrb water. Also it will had strength and wont halo around the holes.
Ty Petersen wrote:
Now I already have holes in the trunk since the previous owner had a supra wing on it at one point, on top of that I want to get rid of the stock wing. After I unbolt it, would welding be necessary or should I fiberglass underneath and bondo over top like one body repair manual said..
I'd go ahead and weld it, using bondo to fill in an uneven surface is alot different than using it to fill a hole with no bottom to support it, you might not even notice the difference, but half assing is never a good idea reagrdless
rattle can primer=the devil in body work never ever use it, before painting, maybe a rattle can of etch prime is fine, but a rattle can of primer for the whole car are you nuts???
welding on a deck lid is about the hardest thing to do, even for me a 20 yr journey man, deck lid/roofs/hoods are the worst to work with it will warp bottom line unless you use tig welder, the biggest piece of advice i can give is to make a tem plate of the metal you are goin to fab up, the metal needs to be clean on the car and on the new metal, ground down all galvanized gone off the metal, why do you think when you weld you see white smoke??? its the galvanized metal is not clean enough, @!#$ even grinding will sometimes warp a panle, so custom work metal fab is not something for the inexperienced guy
evercoat is one of the best products on the market today bottom line, and just recently they came out with a new product it contains kevlar we use it over a bond line like when we put on a 1/4, right over that weld line, there top of the line filler rage extreme, is corrsion resistant, it does not shrink up, if body work shrinks up it is our fault, we did a @!#$ty job, its not the produtcs fault, i stopped using duraglass/fiberglass it shrinks down allot faster then say bondo, i use the kevlar product or ALL-METAL, again made by evercoat, it is a lead based body filler, now that stuff does not shrink up does not move around, corrosion resistant, if you use a high quality product and have the experience the job will last the life time of the car
onto primer, the only company out there right now is PPG there ncp 271 primer is a high build corrosion resistant material, there is no need for a substrate beneath it at all, no other company out there can hold a candle to this product, it sticks to plastic, alumminum, fiberglass, metal, it would take yrs for this product to break down, even in the sun, its that damn good, as i can say my self never one problem with it, it can be tinted using the dbc color tints, it can be reduced to make it smooth and it still retains it full properties, can a rattle can primer do all this??? hell @!#$in no!!!!
thats why using the correct material and the correct process is so important for quality work, slaping bondo on bought from walmart and rattle can primer is gooin to give you crappy results looking like a 12 yr old did it, and then when brought to me its goin to cost you twice as much now becasue you hacked it up, well dude sorry to say maybe you shouuld have brought the car to me before you wal-marted the car up<<<<<<example
any more questions feel free to ask
can i haz bondo
Thanks everyone for the advice! BigDaddy, so that evercoat is something i'd use for my trunk right?
Yeah despite being the fact that the sunfire is my winter beater for now it doesnt mean it shouldnt be done properly. Since I have no real experience in welding, let alone body work everything is new to me. Any advice/help is greatly appreciated!
So I should be going to pick up my new bumper in about 2 weeks, cant wait to get it home. Than I just have to track down a clutch and slap some registration and my 250 dollar car is on the road.
Im just tryin to think of any other questions I need answered at the moment... I guess I will post them as they come up! Thanks so much for the help!
had a blown ecotec swapped 2000 cavy, now just an 02 Grand Am, and a 74 BMW 2002...
Welding is definitely trial and error whether you are actually taught or not. As stated before, sheet metal is really easy to warp and blow holes in. The best idea is to get some sheet metal and practice welding on it. Once you start you'll know exactly what I'm talkin about and will be glad you didn't start on something you need.
