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Some retrospective body work - Nevermore


Simeon

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blog-0468510001434107813.jpgblog-0468510001434107813.jpgJust as a background as to where I am at I thought I would share some words at least as to where I am currently. I apologise for a patchy record of progress as not only would I forget to take pictures as I go I managed to go swimming with my old phone in my pocket, losing a heap of pictures. Such is life.

I have been slowly stripping my car of paint over the proceeding year or two using a combination of techniques including paint stripper (used with plastic sheet covering to maximise its potency) and various means of mechanical abrasion. Steel cup wire brushes, 6" DA sander, angle grinder with 'surf biscuit' type abrasives, flap wheels and a miniature belt sander have all played their part. I also discovered a new tool which was plastic circular brushes embedded with abrasive which were excellent for getting into tight spots like corners and rain gutters and less lethal than wire brushes.

First panel up was the bootlid (trunk) that had rusted out in several places around the edges. This was too far gone for repair so I looked to replace it. I would have bought new but shipping to Australia (and risk of damage) was prohibitive so I opted for a good second hand one shipped from Melbourne. I stripped the paint from the replacement and it was certainly better than my old one but I discovered that a large patch had been welded into it and covered with filler at some point. This had not been badly done so I ended up applying fresh filler but it was the first of a few delightful surprises I found lurking under the paint.

After stripping, I gave it a few coats of 2 pack epoxy primer to seal it away from the elements. It took me a long time to get my set up dialled in for this primer as I have a slightly undersized compressor for my 2mm HVLP primer spray gun. The bootlid was a smorgasbord of runs, dry spots and orange peel as I adjusted my gun settings on the fly. The main thing, I reasoned, was to get it covered up again. I could always strip it again at a later date. I did have an opportunity to try some block sanding so set to it. This dealt with the worst of the poor finish coupled with a further thin coat of primer to deal with 'sand throughs' saw it finished and put to bed for a bit over two years.

Next up was the bonnet (hood). This was starting to go the way of the old bootlid and rust through the outer skin. Again, replacement would have been my preference but blah blah blah. In this case I kept my fingers crossed as I sanded paint off the outside edge. Every inch that went past, increased my expectation of finding a hole. By the time I got all the way around and discovered no holes I couldn't believe it. I thought luck may be shining on me at last. Changing the abrasive disk, I ploughed on with the rest. As I was sanding the curved portion on the front left hand corner, I watched the dust change colour as I continued to sand. I realised that there was a big chunk of filler right in the corner hiding a small but deep dent. Once I had all the filler removed, I realised that there was little else I could do but get my own filler out and replace it. The dent was deep into the double skinned section so could not be reached from the rear plus the proximity to the edge and other tight curves meant it was not exactly going to pop out or be pulled with a welded on stud.

Just a word about filler: as you may realise, I am not anal about having no filler on my cars, in fact I am probably less anal about removing all of the dents than most but I think it does have a place when properly used. I would not have chosen to fill this dent ordinarily but the difficulties of replacing the panel force me to work with what I have. When I use filler, I am a fan of applying over the top of epoxy primer (which has, in turn been applied over bare steel with an 80 grit scratch provided by a DA sander). The primer itself should be sanded before application of the filler and once I am happy with the shape and surface texture it is again sealed in with more epoxy primer. This stops any chance of water being absorbed by the filler preventing problems later. No 'cave and pave' applications (except for noted areas) with anything over a few millimetres thick. We are talking thin applications over large areas to remove the wave from panels that are supposed to be flat (including new ones). Most of this should end up on the floor as you sand it back level with the high spots underneath. I may still have issues in the years to come with that boot and bonnet; they haunt me like something from an Edgar Allan Poe story.

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