Bodywork

[Storer]

I have made a bit of progress on my build lately and now need to order the bodywork which leads me to my question.

How many on here have done their own removal of flash lines etc and body pre-fit?

How difficult is it to achieve a quality job and if you have done it yourselves, would you do it again?

I know the easy route is to get the factory to do it but I am wondering if I would get a good deal of satisfaction from achieving this myself or would I end up with even less hair than I have now!

Paul

[GTRCLIVE]

If you mean to get a Gelcoat finish, then get them to do it. If you going for a painted finish then yes do it yourself for painting.....

Its hard to get rid of the join lines and then buff the whole body, Plus your probably have to regelcoat some parts that chip and will need filling in again..... not a Job for a Novice...

[DHGTR]

i got the factory to do the flash lines and did the pre fit myself. You do get a good feeling from doing it yourself but it can very difficult in places. Make sure you have someone to help with lifting. Be very careful, it's an expensive part of the kit to make mistakes on.

dave

[Paul.B]

Get the factory to do the flash lines etc. If they mess it up they supply a new body panel. If you mess it up you pay for a new body panel!!! Simple economics. Oh, and they are bloody good at it.

You should be ok doing the pre-fit. Ask about your local area and see if there is another builder local who could help.

Paul.B

[pilbeam_mp62]

I got the factory to do the flashlines AND the pre-fit of the bodywork - they do a fabulous job - as you would expect - because by now, they are experts at it.

If the factory do it, the car will come back to you with a few holding-rivets and a perfect set of shutlines - you should then drill all of the rest of the holes BEFORE removing any bodywork.

Having said that, if you feel confident that you can do a good job and you have the time - go for it.

I would be interested to hear from people that did it themselves, how many hours it took them.

Regards

[cliveg]

I had the factory remove the flash lines and did the pre-fit myself without anyone to help. It took a lot of patience to get right and I lost count of the hours it took. Also, I made the mistake of ordering the body and then not fitting it immediately. It sat on the floor for weeks before I started, which didn't help.
I have just started building another Can-Am and have asked the factory to do the pre-fit this time as I have little hair left to lose after fitting it the first time round.

Edited by cliveg on Sunday 28th March 20:06

[738 driver]

Took two of us with appropriate power tools, space and many years of motor body experience about 2.5 days (12 hour + shifts) to do a prefit and sort the doors. The doors are the worst bits needing lots of on-off minor adjustments, sanding, shimming etc as they were supplied hugely oversize.
The bodylines and apertures were quite nice when finished.
Not really a job for a first timer if you want a half decent finish although with enough time and patience it is possible.
Same goes for flatting and polishing the gelcoat although it is far more forgiving than reworking paint-finish.


Good luck.

[Storer]

Thanks for all the input guys.

So there are a few who have done it themselves but it is not a job for the feint hearted. I have the space and the tools, and I can make the time as I am not in a rush.

I have never tackled anything like this before but I am used to working alone on things that need more hands than I have.

Body colour is now something I am undecided about. I had planned on silver but being drawn to the red gel coat. The stone chips on my Cerbera requiring a partial respray every 3 to 4 years is making me look again at the gel coat.

If there is anyone in my neck of the woods (Cambs/Herts/Beds border) that fancies giving a few tips to a novice in exchange for beer then I would be glad to hear from them.

Paul

[martinlaw]

Don't go for red gel coat as it will be affected by sunlight.

My car was only 18 months old when this happened, you get horrible black swirl patterns in the panels - the only solution then is to then have it painted.

I know several other owners having the same problem.

Martin.

[Storer]

martinlaw said:

Don't go for red gel coat as it will be affected by sunlight.

My car was only 18 months old when this happened, you get horrible black swirl patterns in the panels - the only solution then is to then have it painted.

I know several other owners having the same problem.

Martin.

Is this still a problem? I had heard about it but thought it had be solved.

How much exposure to sunlight is needed to have this effect?

Paul