Bodywork for Dummies
Discussion
My Wedge (400se) had a SEAC spoiler on it when I got it. I took this off (prefer the clean lines of no spoiler). So then I had four big holes in the boot.
Need to get the boot lid (and the extra hole in the offside rear wing (car phone aerial?)) sorted. I know, I thought. I'll do it myself.
Problem is, I forgot I was crap. At everything it seems.
I bought some filler. Forgot what it was, but I followed advice so I'm sure it is the right stuff. Two types, a rough one and then a finer finishing one. Went to a recommended paint supplier and bought some paint (Flashy Red). Did I want it in an aerosol or a tin? Memories of spraying my replacement wing on my MK1 Capri after an incident in the 80s involving a tree, wet roads, remolds and a girl I was showing off to (so it was her fault then...) where my finished result felt and looked almost as bad as the bend wing which came off, so I went for the tin and a little brush.
I have filled the holes, but they are over filled, if you like. They are "proud", sticking up like five nipples of an inverted cow. I have tried sanding them with blocks of sanding-type stuff, as recommended by the knowledgeable staff at Halfurds. But they seem to have set like pinnacles of diamonds, and seem just as hard. So I painted them.
I now have five vaguely red lumps on my rump. Currently hidden under (red) insulation tape.
I have been quoted £250 by a local TVR shop to sort it and paint it up, but can it be that hard, really?
Firstly, what should I be looking at to smooth my nipples away to a flat surface?
Secondly, how do I paint it up so it looks reasonable?
Thanks.
Need to get the boot lid (and the extra hole in the offside rear wing (car phone aerial?)) sorted. I know, I thought. I'll do it myself.
Problem is, I forgot I was crap. At everything it seems.
I bought some filler. Forgot what it was, but I followed advice so I'm sure it is the right stuff. Two types, a rough one and then a finer finishing one. Went to a recommended paint supplier and bought some paint (Flashy Red). Did I want it in an aerosol or a tin? Memories of spraying my replacement wing on my MK1 Capri after an incident in the 80s involving a tree, wet roads, remolds and a girl I was showing off to (so it was her fault then...) where my finished result felt and looked almost as bad as the bend wing which came off, so I went for the tin and a little brush.
I have filled the holes, but they are over filled, if you like. They are "proud", sticking up like five nipples of an inverted cow. I have tried sanding them with blocks of sanding-type stuff, as recommended by the knowledgeable staff at Halfurds. But they seem to have set like pinnacles of diamonds, and seem just as hard. So I painted them.
I now have five vaguely red lumps on my rump. Currently hidden under (red) insulation tape.
I have been quoted £250 by a local TVR shop to sort it and paint it up, but can it be that hard, really?
Firstly, what should I be looking at to smooth my nipples away to a flat surface?
Secondly, how do I paint it up so it looks reasonable?
Thanks.
I suspect the vast majority of the £250 will be the prep time ahead of painting it.
How much time have you got to spend on it? It's not a 'quick half hour'.
Personally, I thinking seeing is easier than reading for this type of thing. Youtube is likely to have a million how to videos on the subject from repairing fibreglass to prepping and spraying. Been done loads of times in the early series' of Wheeler Dealers.
Have you got a Haynes manual [for any car]? They usually have a section on minor body repairs.
How much time have you got to spend on it? It's not a 'quick half hour'.
Personally, I thinking seeing is easier than reading for this type of thing. Youtube is likely to have a million how to videos on the subject from repairing fibreglass to prepping and spraying. Been done loads of times in the early series' of Wheeler Dealers.
Have you got a Haynes manual [for any car]? They usually have a section on minor body repairs.
I enjoyed reading that!
If it were me I'd pay the money, they'll do the repair properly. Probably knock out what you've done, bridge the holes using fibre glass, then repaint the whole section rather than just blowing over the holes.
Depends on how precious you are with the car I guess but a nicely finished panel will draw in your eyes for the right reason.
If it were me I'd pay the money, they'll do the repair properly. Probably knock out what you've done, bridge the holes using fibre glass, then repaint the whole section rather than just blowing over the holes.
Depends on how precious you are with the car I guess but a nicely finished panel will draw in your eyes for the right reason.
£250 sounds a lot to me
Now we are probably going back about 5 years I guess but I split a roof panel and wanted it painting.
So I gave it to a local guy who not only filled all the holes - you should see the shoddy GRP work done to make a roof panel - and painted it for me. Admittedly he didn't have to blend it into the colour of the car - just have a good go at matching the colour of the roof. But it cost me £100
I've just been quoted £200 to have a pair of galvanised doors and hinges for my Land Rover prepped and painted and blended in to the car.
Now we are probably going back about 5 years I guess but I split a roof panel and wanted it painting.
So I gave it to a local guy who not only filled all the holes - you should see the shoddy GRP work done to make a roof panel - and painted it for me. Admittedly he didn't have to blend it into the colour of the car - just have a good go at matching the colour of the roof. But it cost me £100
I've just been quoted £200 to have a pair of galvanised doors and hinges for my Land Rover prepped and painted and blended in to the car.
OP - you reminded me of my first car, a Mk2 Capri that was 12 years old when I got it in 1988. It was full of rust and I must have spent days on various filling jobs over the 6 years of ownership
Like you, I was a bit crap at it and any filling I did was never finished properly. £250 for a good job is worth the money.
Like you, I was a bit crap at it and any filling I did was never finished properly. £250 for a good job is worth the money.
Thanks for the replies.
Yes I suppose I could just pay the money but there are a couple of reasons why I wanted to "have a go" myself.
When I bought this car, I justified it as an investment. Yes, we could have wasted our money on hot food and living inside a house but look darling it's a classic car, it's an investment. No, it won't cost much to keep. I'll, er, do all the maintenance myself. I mean, how hard can it be?
I'm now divorced.
But I'm a real man. The whole point of a classic car is to fettle. On a Sunday morning. I just need to drink real ale and get leather patches on the elbows of my tweed jacket.
I would like to have a go at the bodywork. It can't be THAT difficult to get a half decent result? Ok, like trying to chat up the prettiest girl in a bar you know you might be doomed before you start, but God loves a trier.
The second point is the whole bodywork is "good". Not excellent, but maybe 7/10. It is 26 years old, and like anyone heading towards their 30s it is starting to look a bit worn and lived in. A bit flat. I might treat her (always a 'her', after all, look how you get the fuel in) to a full respray next year, so I don't want to give her a bum job, like Kim Kardashian, only to have it all done again next year.
So could someone please give me sone pointers on prep and then on spraying? This way I can spend the £250 on my girlfriend and so actually prove she does mean more to me than my midlife crisis, sorry classic car investment.
Thanks.
Yes I suppose I could just pay the money but there are a couple of reasons why I wanted to "have a go" myself.
When I bought this car, I justified it as an investment. Yes, we could have wasted our money on hot food and living inside a house but look darling it's a classic car, it's an investment. No, it won't cost much to keep. I'll, er, do all the maintenance myself. I mean, how hard can it be?
I'm now divorced.
But I'm a real man. The whole point of a classic car is to fettle. On a Sunday morning. I just need to drink real ale and get leather patches on the elbows of my tweed jacket.
I would like to have a go at the bodywork. It can't be THAT difficult to get a half decent result? Ok, like trying to chat up the prettiest girl in a bar you know you might be doomed before you start, but God loves a trier.
The second point is the whole bodywork is "good". Not excellent, but maybe 7/10. It is 26 years old, and like anyone heading towards their 30s it is starting to look a bit worn and lived in. A bit flat. I might treat her (always a 'her', after all, look how you get the fuel in) to a full respray next year, so I don't want to give her a bum job, like Kim Kardashian, only to have it all done again next year.
So could someone please give me sone pointers on prep and then on spraying? This way I can spend the £250 on my girlfriend and so actually prove she does mean more to me than my midlife crisis, sorry classic car investment.
Thanks.
I used to own capris, spent hours welding them and getting them looking right. Also stripped a mini van back to bare bodyshell and rebuilt from that up.
The prep is everything. It takes hours to get it right, but unless it's perfect, every minor flaw is magnified when the paint goes on.
£250? Bargain, get it done.
The prep is everything. It takes hours to get it right, but unless it's perfect, every minor flaw is magnified when the paint goes on.
£250? Bargain, get it done.
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