Now this

[Bayless]

I thought one rear fender and the rear end to finish stripping and the rest of the Sprite would be ready for primer. The interior and underside are fully painted and the rest of the outer skin is already in epoxy awaiting final prep work. I happily started sanding on that last fender thinking maybe tomorrow. Then this popped out from under that primer and about half an inch of bondo.

 

[drooartz]

Ouch.

 

[Boink]

At least you found it... but what a pain.

 

[Bayless]

Yes that's a tough place to have to work, especially for a guy who doesn't really have the skill, me. I am glad I found it though. It surely would have broken through the new paint before long if not.

 

[Bayless]

Well, I finally decided it was not gonna fix itself so gave it a shot. Actually spent 2 mornings on it and it was done. A little filler and it is ready for paint. Turned out not to be as bad a job as I expected. Maybe I am getting a little friendly with the MIG after all.

 

[drooartz]

Well done! I find welding to be one of those classic skills where the first 80% of the skill is not too hard to learn, but getting the rest of the way takes real skill and practice. Technically I know how to weld, but I wouldn't be brave enough to dive in on a bodywork project. Good on you for getting it done.

 

[Bayless]

Well done! I find welding to be one of those classic skills where the first 80% of the skill is not too hard to learn, but getting the rest of the way takes real skill and practice. Technically I know how to weld, but I wouldn't be brave enough to dive in on a bodywork project. Good on you for getting it done.

You are quite right. I have a long way to go before I can call myself a welder but I am working on it. I guess I got a little lucky on this one because there were no errors or do-overs. Then today I finally got epoxy on the rest of the body. Finally no more bare metal and no more rattle can primer. All the removable bits are already done. Everything except the outer skin is already finish painted. In fact, it took close to 5 hours just to mask off all the yellow painted stuff to not get white epoxy overspray on it. Now I can concentrate on getting it all straight and smooth. I'll probably wait until September and some cooler weather before final paint.

 

[SaxMan]

I often wonder what kind of surprises I'd find on my '69 Sprite if I tried to strip it to bare metal. At this point, I'd rather keep wondering than try to find out. I certainly lack any kind of welding skill to perform that kind of repair.

 

[longbridgehealey]

I think you might be surprised at how solid she is

 

[Bayless]

I would not strip to metal unless there is a real need. In my case, I bought the car completely disassembled and already stripped. The PO then shot it all in spray can primer to stave off rust which hid the filler. He intended a full restoration but got a divorce instead. After a few years it starts getting some rust under the primer.

 

[Boink]

"...intended a full restoration but got a divorce instead."
Now there's a line you don't read everyday.