VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Body - Sheet Metal, Paint & Wood pitted metal prep question

Can someone point me in the right direction? Is there a recommended book or can someone explain to me the proper steps to take a heavily pitted piece of sheet metal (fender, door, cowl) and bring it to a condition that is expectable for painting?

As far as body work witch I don't know Jack about and it is to hard of work for me anyway. I would take a class at your local junior college. I have friends that have done this and swear by it. There is a lot of safety issues in paint and body that is very hazardous to your health. That is my opinion on body work. I am sure someone will answer your question. Body work to me is a whole art in it self. Good luck on your project...Oscar :) :)

If the pits are not "holes all the way through" the after cleaning with "dip or blast". Use wax & grease remover and metal prep then a coat of epoxy (2 part) primer is painted on. After it is dry you can use a plastic body filler to smooth over and bring back to the original surface. After smoothing body filler use a high a fill primer(re-coating as necessary)and block sand. When surface is perfect another coat of epoxy primer to seal. Your color coat can then be sprayed on and then clear if your paint system calls for it. Final wet sand and polish. One good book is "How to paint your car" by Dennis.W. Parks and David H. Jacobs,Jr. or take a good painting class at a local Community College.

Thanks guys.

Jim the piting can be removed one of three ways. Like was said above. Dipping; works really good on fenders or anything without seams or double panels. You need to be able to clean it up real good or it will come back and haunt you. Media blasting.; Here you need to be super careful on what media you use or you will end up ruining the panels. As some believe it is the heat from blasting that does the warping it is actually the constant peening of the media that does the damage. For pits on parts that are too thin to blast I use naval jelly. After takin 80 grit to the body then I will go over the pitted spots with naval jelly and put serane wrap over it so it doesn't dry out too fast. Then I take steel wool to it and then wash off.It's alot of elbow grease but it works real well. I use a combination of all three when doing a job.After the rust is gone and panels are repaired I then go over the whole thing with 80 grit. Clean with a solvent based wax & grease remover and then I do it again with waterbourne wax and grease remover. You have to becareful with metal preps. I would stay away from them. Put on two wet coats of epoxy and then do your filler work, sand, reapply, and sand. When done your filler work then one more coat of epoxy. You need to seal up the filler work and you will have also sanded through to metal in spots. Then a good high build primer or a polyester filler like slick sand or feather fill is also fine. Seal up with epoxy after its blocked out straight. Epoxy will give you the best sealer qualities plus it gives you the best gloss retention for your top coat. If you are painting it a solid colour I would go with a S.Stage urethane or if its a metalic a BC/CC. Stay away from those rust converters. There are no place for those on a restoration. They don't work.

Again, thanks, this the kind of info I was looking for. I have had some sandblasting done for a different project by a local guy and was very happy with the care he took on the parts. The concerns I have with dipping is access afterwards to the areas that are under brackets or bracing such as where two parts are spot welded. Maybe I don't understand the process enough to warrant the concern. It seems to me that these types of spots would be very difficult to clean and prep after the dipping.

Jim all those spots you mentioned are a concern. It can and has been done but the rinsing process is the most critical. I always use a hot water pressure washer to rinse my parts after dipping. A car wash is the next best thing. If you have a guy that knows what he is doing with a blaster it is also fine. Once it is blasted you need to go over it real good with red scotch brite and an air hose to make sure all the grit that got imbedded in the metal is out. Then just water bourne wax & grease remover and you are ready for epoxy. A blasted surface is great for epoxy.

In my travels to collect all the best parts I could afford I have ended up with some extra parts. I have extra doors, extra front fenders and some other parts that I can use to practice on. So I feel these were a good investment.

Jim..Here's a great site that is full of talent and help. Just do a search for "SPI user's forum". There isn't one guy on there that will steer you wrong. You'll find everything from newbies to guys on there that do six figure cars. Do an introduction of yourself and ask away. Good luck and let us know how you make out.

If the metal is not too thin and still usable, I suggest following the metal prep procedures mentioned (except blasting which could warp thin sheet metal) and fill with an all metal or epoxy paste filler prior to priming with urethane or epoxy type primer and then use light weight filler to finish the body work if needed before final primer coats. All metal and epoxy pastes are water proof and very shrink resistant and over time the results with these fillers will resist swelling, cracking, lifting, etc. I've used both automotive all metal fillers and two part epoxy paste marketed for multi use with very good results. I find these fillers to be even better than lead fillers over time and since you don't use acid flux they can't introduce contaminants under the paint that could show up years latter. These fillers are harder than light weight fillers and work better with more careful application that doesn't require excessive shaping when set. I've even used the epoxy paste with patch panels for rust repair with great results also.