Body Work/Restoration

[KVH]

I'd sure like to know even a tiny bit about body work.

Can anyone just explain these few basic steps:

a) taking a body part back to bare steel. How is it done? How is an electric grinding tool with a stone attached used (without damaging the steel), and how is that different from using an electric grinder with a wire brush attached?

b) how does one avoid creating waves or rifts in body parts caused by sanding, grinding, etc.?

c) priming the bare steel. What is an etch primer coat? and does that prevent rust or corrosion while parts are awaiting assembly onto the car?


Thanks for the help.

 

[tosoutherncars]

Well, others will have more detailed answers, but...

A- If you're going to get down to bare metal mechanically (vs. chemically or by mediablasting) it's usually done using abrasive discs in a DA sander. Air-powered is great, but they take a lot of air. It's a good, quick method, particularly on simple panels without a lot of compound curves.

B- Sanding certainly does leave sanding marks; once the body is ready, they would be filled in by primer. Actual ripples in the metal would need to be sorted out by shrinking & stretching using a dolly and hammer(s). Irregularities, seams etc. are covered over using either molten lead (old-school), bondo (80s) or various newer non-porous fillers.

C- an etch primer neutralizes the flash rust that starts forming almost immediately on bare steel. It creates a surface to which following coats of primer & paint can adhere. Most primer, tho, is porous and hydroscopic. NO, you should not leave a car in primer for any length of time. It's a great way to ensure that your paint job will only last a couple of years. Epoxy primers would be the exception, they are somewhat more water-resistant.

 

[Guest]

If you are talking about repainting your car with the body on the frame there are a variety of techniques. If you can remove the body, then there are others. I assume you are leaving the body on the frame. An old, tried-and-true technique, if you have the time and space to keep the car from weather (ie, outside moisture) is to use the razor blade. Go buy about 20 retractable single edge razor blade holders (cheap, about $2) and a box of 100 razors (also cheap) and peel the paint right off. You can get 99% of the paint off, down to the metal, without disturbing the steel beneath. Beware that any technique using a sander will not only leave marks in the metal but potentially thin it out in some areas. Using a chemical stripper works to get to the difficult spots. Martin Senour makes a wicked automotive paint stripper that will cut through anything, including your skin (and eyes) but is very, very effective in removing stubborn old paint. The reason I suggest having a place to work and leave the car to come back to, out of the weather, is the obvious tendency for unprotected metal to rust. The razor blade technique is slow.

 

[Geo Hahn]

We had a local club member demonstrate the razor blade technique on the TR6 he was restoring. We then each took a turn with a blade... pretty slick and fun for awhile.

We finally wised up to his plan.

It is slow but a very clean result.

For what I need to know about body work I go to a book... my checkbook.

 

[Don Elliott]

Go to your local library and borrow some books on body repair, etc. or Google the key words. Buy the book for the restoration of your model of TR. I had never done a restoration before I did mine. See the steps I did from 1987 to 1990 when I did my 1958 TR3A on the Montreal TR Club web-site.

https://www.rucompatible.com/triumphmtl/member_cars.htm#TR3

Since 1990, I've driven 94,000 miles and now, it's been 49 years since I bought my TR3A brand new and I still feel like I'm 20 years old.

Don Elliott, Original Owner, 1958 TR3A

 

[TR6oldtimer]

I have found these forums very helpful....

Autobody

Metal Meet

And a lot of practice

 

[71tr]

I used a spray-on paint remeover that lifted the layers of paint right off. Then scraped the gunk off with a putty knife. Any leftover paint or bondo I hit with a sanding disc on a grinder tool and poof in a cloud of dust I was at bare metal. The six looked like a Delorean when all was done.

 

[BryanC]

Peter Egan of "Road and Track" said there are many ways to remove paint - none of them pleasant. He was right. I've used chemical strippers and sanding. I think I'm going to try chemical stripping again on my next project as it seems easier to contain the mess than sanding. Sanding seemed to throw dust all over. I never had too much trouble with thinning the metal when sanding on steel panels. I would be very careful on aluminum panels, however. A 7" sander works well for most areas but you can't get the tight places that way. I used a 3M Scotchbrite disk on a drill to get into the tight spots.

I've had mixed success with chemical strippers. Some work better than others. But be careful of your eyes and skin. I usually do this outside with a garden hose nearby. If it gets on your skin it hurts and you'll want to wash it off quickly.

I had never heard of the razor blade trick - I'll have to try that.

Bryan

 

[71tr]

FYI: I used the spray on paint stripper below and it worked great.

ZIP-STRIP PAINT AND VARNISH REMOVER

 

[martx-5]

Believe it or not, when I removed all of the paint from my TR3, I found that the paint strippers were the LEAST messy of all of the DIY alternatives. And, be advised, that not all paint strippers are created equal. I found some good stuff at Home Depot. It's called Kleen Strip KS-3 Premium.

It may require several applications, depending on how much paint is on there. Also, if there is any bondo on the panels, the paint remover will take that off also, unless it's pretty thick. Then, the best method for removing the rest of the bondo is a propane torch. That will soften it up enough to easily scrape off. Do this in a well ventilated area, as if you set the bondo on fire, it's some really acrid stuff. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cry.gif /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/devilgrin.gif

The paint remover won't get it all, so that's where you have to bring out the sanding apparatus. The DA is a little wimpy for this job, especially if it's pnuematic... go to the 6" electric sander/polisher. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thirsty.gif

 

[TRMark]

I posted about this recently, I don't mean to repeat myself and bore folks. I am a great fan of soda blasting. I have used the process on two occasions. I blasted and painted my Lancia Beta two years ago. Only downside was alot of bicarbonate of soda dust to be washed off, everywhere. The upside the car was ready in a day and most of the mess was somewhere else. I had to do alot of cleaning to get rid of the soda residue, including several wipe downs with a Preps ALL. The surface came back very slightly roughened I did some additional sanding, perfect for etch and primer. I recently used soda blasting on my aluminum sports racer. I have a 39 Ford Standard that will began restoration next year, gonna have it blasted.

 

[Arrow]

The last time I re-did my TR-3 (1975) I used paint stripper and it worked great so I am sure todays chemicals have come light years. I am currently redoing the car again. This time I have media blasted the main body and dipped all the parts that bolt off (fenders, doors, etc). String of notes above all seem to work. Option one is money and option two is time! TA

 

[heliguy]

Soda is great if it is just paint and gunk you want to remove. It actually leaves a "film" on the surface that prevents flash rust from happening. Downside is that this "film" needs to be neutralized ( lemon juice wash ) and removed before your primer is going to stick.

 

[beaulieu]

Soda also is a one time use if you are doing it yourself ,
it "explodes" when it hits the surface.

Chemicals will work, not sure if the current batch is as good as "the old days" because of pollution regulations,

and how do you get rid of the chemical stripper mess legaly ?

beaulieu