I recently traded my K5 Blazer for a 92 'bird...definitely traded up! The bird's pretty nice, but has dents and dings, and I intend to freshen the paint next spring.

I have decided to give the body work a go myself, but the work is new to me. Any tips or tricks from the Thirdgen think tank that can be of any help?

Thanks guys! And I have had a pretty slow week at work, and cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed browsing these boards and drooling over your rides!

 

Congrats on the new car!

Bodywork is a bit hard if you've never done it before but if you're determined to try then heres some autobody 101 - Unless they are very small, dents need to be pounded back into shape or pulled out with a stud gun before you apply body filler. Body filler can only be put on 1/4 inch thick and I recommend using less if you can help it. Also it can only be applied over bare metal, though good brands of glaze can be put on over paint if its sanded properly. Always use a sanding block to sand body filler and primer, keep the block flat whenever possible and sand in a criss cross pattern. Sand with the correct grit sandpaper because after a couple years in the sun the primer will shrink into any deep sand scratches and will be visible again. I don't know if you plan on painting it yourself but if you do you'll need to sand or scuff every inch of the paint to get the new paint to stick. Keeping the car clean is the biggest key to a good paint job. I clean before bodywork, before sanding, before masking and usually again in the booth. Theres a LOT more to it than that but those are the basic tips, if you have any specific questions post them up.

 

Thanks! My hammer and dolly kit is on the way. Right now, my plan is to straighten the body out...I don't have the room to set up a paint shop, so I will probably pay someone to spray it. I am now a YouTube expert on repairs!

What type of primer should I use after straightening and bondo'ing?

 

You're going to want what is called a '2k primer' which is basicly a primer that you mix with an activator. If you're looking for a cheaper one I'd look into Omni or Nason. I've never sprayed their primers but I've sprayed their sealer, base, and clear and Its been decent for the price. Other budget ones will work fine too if you spray them correctly. BUT you need a good compressor to keep up with the spray gun so if you don't have that then you're out of luck. The only other option is rattle can primer which is '1k' primer. At the shop I work at we use rattle can primer very small repairs on the cheapest used cars that the sales department is paying us guys in the body shop next to nothing to fix. It has a tendency to bubble when you spray it, it shrinks more, doesn't sand well, and will probably fail eventually. The brand we use is 'One Choice', maybe other brands are better but still probably pretty bad.

 

Definitely get as much info from youtube as possible, but understand that bodywork is one of those things that takes hands on practice. Maybe don't sand down everything at once, start with one panel and see if you can fix it. If its not as fun you you though it would be then at least you wont have to repaint the whole car

Also it would be a good idea to price out paint before you start sanding so you can be sure you have the money to complete it. A couple years ago I gave my alero a full paint job and it cost almost $800 for the primer, sealer, base, and clear... And that was with cheap Shopline paint! Way more money than I was prepared for...

 

-Body filler is designed for skim coats, not for 1/4" applications.
-Be wary of advice from this site and Youtube.
Start here.
-Do not practice on your car.

 

Read a tech sheet bud. Any good brand of filler will tell you 1/4 inch max thickness, I'll bet my car on it. That being said, its like a tech sheet saying you can seal over 240 grit sand scratches or a tire has a max psi of 45. Yes you can do it... but you shouldn't need to and you'll be better off if you don't.

 

What I would do first is call around until I found a shop/painter(if you can find one) that will paint over you’re body work/prep. If you do find one ask for an estimate of what he will charge to do a base/clear coat. Be sure to ask about any kind of guarantee because it will most likely not have one, so be prepared for that.

 

I'm aware of what the tech sheets specify. I'd still maintain that it isn't inherently designed to be applied at it's max, nor is it good practice. I'd also say that mentioning to a noob that filler is "only good to 1/4"" is a bit reckless as well. We might be safe with this one as his hammer and dolly kit is apparently already on order. Let's hope he doesn't practice on his car.

 

True. To Tpoch845, its really not a good idea to fill more than 1/8 inch, and less is better.

 

As in the past, I'd approach it like this. Keep body filler to the absolute minimum. Ideally, you wouldn't use it at all, but it some cases, that's not practical. Skim coats only. Look up Ron Covell on YouTube, he's a master at metal work. If your looking for a hammer and dolly mentor, it doesn't get much better than him.

 

Thanks guys! This forum ROCKS! I am clear on the less is more part. I don't have a choice but to practice on my car (wife won't let me try on the family minivan ). I have already decided to start on the hood. Worst case scenario, I can replace it if I really muck it up...