Ok, Im a little short on money so I decided that I am going to do the body work on my Firebird myself to save a little money on prep at the bodyshop. I dont have any major damage but just a bunch of normal dents that a 20 year old car would recieve. Is they any things that I should make sure I do or any special order of steps that I should use when I use the body putty. And should I apply the putty to bare metal or would it be best to have a first coat of primer on first.

Jay Banion

body putty adheres to bare metal the best.. make sure u get a good quality brand. I suggest Evercoat... get supplies from here if u cant find any better prices.. They are really helpful

check out this months issue of car craft,,,,,,cover article


there have also been some really good write-ups here lately also,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,i hate it when people say ""search" ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,so i won't

Did you mean Chevy High Performance? Becasue there isnt anything on body work in Car Craft, there is on Chevy High Performance.

the latest issue of car craft,,,,,,april 06,,,got it in the mail a few days ago,,,,,cover article is "how to paint your car at home",,,,,,,

well i work at a body shop and with my experience i would tell you to grind the area you are going to put putty, and make sure you use a two part putty not that crappy spot putty. Grind the area then apply it high, put enough to fill the spot and a little more, say ur dent is the size of a dime. apply about a quarter or 50 cent piece size. when it is NOT dried all the way but tacky enough to sand, put like 40 or 80 grit sand paper on a block and block it down till you start to get it smooth, then you get some metal glaze, which is more unless a watery type of bondo but it is used to fill scratches and such, smooth it over it, and remember glaze is not a putty!! so dont use it to fill a dent, its purpose is to fill scratches!. when you apply it..wipe it smooth, then block it with 180. That is what I do. But sorry if i get you lost, I have a hard time putting my thoughts onto paper, or computer.haha

what should we do to fix a pretty decent dent? while sanding my car down last summer (spray primer and painted it and stuck it in the garage until this spring.. school started and i didnt have the funds to finish until about a month in.. then i had no time) i found a decent dent with a good amount of putty.. i cound tell it was there before, but the dent goes in quite a bit (wide dent, maybe half an inch in.. havent seen it in a few months, im prolly exaggerating).. I took off all the body filler and found two holes that i am assuming was to help pull the dent out.. should i try to pull it out more or just putty it?

use little bondo as possible. If you have adent puller use it. drill little holes, or the holes that are there and pull it out as much as you can then simply wipe the area with bondo

Hey, Rab...
Do you have access to a welder?? If so you can fake your own stud welder, and use a puller. Then when the metal is straight, I'd weld those holes shut.
DO NOT just cover them up with bondo. You run the risk of seeing those holes down the road. If you do not have access to a welder, then use duraglass first, as it is water proof, then finish with glaze or bondo. You can also try ALLMETAL. Very durable, very strong.

yea..good point. but if you cant get to a welder than tigerhair works too.. its just a strong shortstrand fiberglass filler and is rock solid.

Good seeing ya Kevin.. it seems as soon as the winter rolls around i stop checking out the forums.. i guess it's too cold to go out and work on the car and i dont wanna get antsy..

yah, my dad has a mig.. i've never even touched it before tho... how should i go about doing it? weld a piece of metal and pull until it looks good?

also, i have another question... I have some rust pitting on my rockers and qp (mostly under the gfx) and a few tiny holes.. i slathered them in rust converter (POR15 actually.. POR15 claims to have great adhesion for primers/body filler u lay on top of it) and i was wondering if i should just weld some steel bits in the holes? i planned on just using body filler on the visible pitting (there arent any small holes above the GFX line..).. does this sound correct?

Yeah, the weather's a drag here in Michigan too! We've run the gamut here...one week it'll snow like a b!tch, then the next day it'll rain like hell. weird...
Great, you got a mig...that's all you need. Maybe have your dad help you set it up to tack a few washers into the crease of the dent...just tack them decent. Then get a decent size dent puller, they usually have a pin that has a 90 degree turn in it, (Looks like and allen wrench.) or a hook... grab the washers and slug the dent out...walking it along. Get the metal to level, and break off the washers...weld those nasty holes shut that those hacks drilled in it, and fill as needed.
On to the rust....Did you blast before you POR'd it? Always a good idea to sandblast rust. Welding is definitely better in the small holes...small patches, or what have you. Sink the holes with a pick hammer, or cut out the nasty...cut a patch, use a good zinc weld through primer, to protect the back side... and weld in the new.
(just remember to get good undercoating to the backside when done if possible.)

actually, i didnt blast it cause POR15's site said to leave the metal somewhat rusty for adhesion purposes.. but thanx for the help, as soon as it gets nicer out i will get to work on that