Anybody do Body/Paint or upholstery? Show your work here!

[yellow2000S/R]

Started a topic hoping other body, paint, and/or upholstery people can post up work they've done and share tips or answer questions for others!


1966 Chevelle SS

Items worked on: Hood, hood "faux" vents

Damage: Hood fell over while the engine was being swapped and messed up the edges. Also shut hood after filling oil without putting the cap back on and left it on the air cleaner and put an upwards crease in the outer skin. Many spots from water in clear, car was painted in a barn approx 10 years ago (actually looks pretty good minus how the hood was).

Repair Method:
After working on the damaged areas some, I decided it was best to strip the entire outer skin to metal. I informed customer and proceeded. Hammer/dolly crease out then a very light skim coat in the general area.


The "worst" damage below. Many spots on entire hood from bubbles.

Stripping

Primer blocked

Painted, color sanded/buffed and Finished:

 

[bmwpower]

How'd you fix those dents?

 

[yellow2000S/R]

1972 Challenger

Items worked on:
Passenger headlight surround
Copy stripe for passenger fender and replace 12" damaged section
Strip and redo hood vents
Lay matte vinyl on center of hood

Damage:
Ripped ~5” of the headlight surround off and damaged stripe on fender backing out of garage. Hood vents had been painted ~3 times with no proper prep and were chipping bad and had quite a few knicks.

Repair Method:
Mask off and fiberglass piece to repair the damaged surround, cut, ground, and shaped to flow the 3 contours followed with a light coat of filler. Blasted hood vents then sanded a few spots and some light filler in some nicks and a gouge. Primed, wetsanded, then painted with a semi-gloss from rattle can.


Closeup of damage and missing section. I ground it out slighty and sanded the inside some so the fiberglass sticks good.

Fiberglass on, curing.

Vent

Shaped, gap sanded out to be correct, light filler

Vents finished

Hood cleaned and vinyl on. Fender stripe sectioned (duplicated from a friend) and paint on the repair area. Owner just got a generic yellow from the paint supplier that was returned, plans a full ground up in a year or so.

 

[yellow2000S/R]

How'd you fix those dents?

The edges that were chipped bad were just a quick hammer/dolly work from the bottom up. The spot that was raised from the cap left on the air filter took quite a bit of time for hammer and dolly. I messed with it for about 20 minutes before I touched the paint so I could use the gloss as a guide for straightness and get it flat. After stripping the hood I used my trusty hand to feel and got it real close then used a side of a ruler. I forgot to take a pic of the filler but it almost wasn't even worth putting on after blocking.


While doing that some surrounding area broke loose and I realized the paint was nearly 1/16" thick total between the primer, and 3 different times the hood was painted red. (Counted red then gloss layers and feathered out the area just to make sure which is part of the reason I opted to strip).

I stripped the hood with a blade holder which stripping all the red/clear off didn't take long but the primer and original white took quite a few sheets of 80 grit.

 

[yellow2000S/R]

I'd post pics of the Cobalt I'm working on but its way to much to show everything that has been changed along with splicing the stock bumers together with an aftermarket kit that is said to fit but was way off.

 

[yellow2000S/R]

The following is the procedure I use to get headlights as clear as new, lasts approximatelly year till they start dulling more. The "best" way to avoid dulling again would be stop at the 800 grit step and get somebody to spray a good automotive clear with a good UV rating.

Tools needed:
Foam Sanding Block
400 Wet-sand Paper
600 Wet-sand Paper
800 Wet-sand Paper
1000 Wet-sand Paper
1500 Wet-sand Paper
2000 Wet-sand Paper
Bucket
Dish Liquid
Sponge
2" Painters tape
PlastX™ Clear Plastic Cleaner & Polish


Step 1: Mask off surrounding panels (Bumper, fender, and hood). This is to prevent you from sanding through the paint on the panels.

Step 2: Put all sandpaper in bucket, fill with water and a little Dish liquid (dish liquid is used to allow sandpaper to glide easier. W/O it, it can sometimes become like a suction cup and be very difficult to sand)

Step 3: Soak sponge and then use it to wipe off the headlight lenses to get any loose dirt off.

Step 4: Wrap 400 grit paper over foam sanding block and get busy. I like sanding in 1 direction and then going an opposite 40* for the next grit. Its easier to see where the sand scratches from the previous paper is and you can tell when you get rid of all of them.

Step 5: Continue sanding with 400. After a few minutes, wipe off lens and allow it to dry. You will see areas that are still yellowish and/or somewhat clear. You are going to want to keep wet-sanding until when the lens is dry it is completely white with no color changes.

Step 6: Once it is all completely white, go to the 600 at 40* to what you were previously sanding until 400 grit scratches are removed.

Step 7: Repeat step 6 working your way up, changing sanding direction from grit to grit until you get to 2000. When wet with the 2000, it will be somewhat clear... and most likely already look better than it did when you started depending on how bad your lights were in the 1st place.

Step 8: Now that you are done sanding, dry off the lens and any water off the surrounding paint.

Step 9: Now that it is all dry, its time to break out the buffer and PlastX. Apply some PlastX to the lens and buffer pad. At 1st just tap the trigger so the pad and PlastX gets spread out, if you go all out at the start, it will fling the PlastX all over the place.

Step 10: Continue buffing. Don't stay in 1 place too long and go from headlight to headlight. If you stay in place too long it will heat the plastic, causing it to yellow, and if real bad, it could warp it and possibly even create bubbles (this would take a good amount of heat to create bubbles... not sure if you could do it with a buffer).

Step 11: Buff until entire lense is clear. The light should look brand new providing you never had anything leaking inside of it.

Step 12: Pull off masking tape and give the car a wash to clean off any PlastX that may have flung.

 

[illmatyk]

I'll be painting my engine prolly this weekend if weather permits, i'll take some shots of it and post.

 

[da34guy]

I'm a builder/ fabricator/painter.
Here's 1 I built 4 years ago. Also 1 of a 32 roadster I just finished

 

[Elroy]

The highboy has the stance just right. Excellent work.

 

[da34guy]

Thanx Elroy--- Ain't that the way a hiboy is possed to sit?

 

[jeffg]

My first upholstery attempts from last weekend.

Charcoal grey Alcantara and black tweed.

 

[95possom]

63 Chevy II making a mustang II front end

almost all tacked up

 

[Uncle Buck]

The highboy has the stance just right. Excellent work.

Thanx Elroy--- Ain't that the way a hiboy is possed to sit?

Nothing much to add, the big-n-littles, wheel choices, and straps at the hood were also nice touches, not to mention the Carson style top. High praise from my corner, I have a real soft spot for old school quality rods.

 

[e-tek]

The following is the procedure I use to get headlights as clear as new, lasts approximatelly year till they start dulling more. The "best" way to avoid dulling again would be stop at the 800 grit step and get somebody to spray a good automotive clear with a good UV rating.

GREAT thread, great posts!
Can I ask a few Qs?
On the Yellow Chally - why not remove the trim you repaired? Looks good non-the-less, but just wondering...
On the one above - What stopped you from spraying these ones with clear? I've found lately that even a spray-can clear looks good and makes them last a few years. So long as they're sanded first!
Also found that clear can near-totally restore marker and brake light lenses too that are all stress and age cracked. It works really well.

I'm a builder/ fabricator/painter.
Here's 1 I built 4 years ago. Also 1 of a 32 roadster I just finished

These are beautiful! Do you have any build pics or a build thread? Would love to see more of your fab work. Maybe you could start another "rare" new thread in Fabrication!

 

[StingRay]

Here is a truck I rebuilt when I got it, during and just back from the painter. My prep was perfect but a little too much peel from the painter.

 

[da34guy]

That's what 1200,1500,2000,3000,4000 and a buffer are for

 

[Rusty Kustoms]

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[Rusty Kustoms]

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[Rusty Kustoms]

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[GeorgiaHybrid]

Rusty, Nice work....If you keep practicing, you are going to turn out to be a pro...




Just kidding, That tank is a VERY nice job but I still prefer the plain Jane Challenger above it. Most people don't know how hard it is to make a plain, single color paint job look that nice. You can tell that you take a LOT of pride in what you do.

 

[ZRX61]

Ye gods thats a lot of masking tape, why don't you use Frisket paper/Sticky Mickies ?

 

[Justanoldguy]

Sorry, no upholstery.
But here is some body paint...

.

 

[Rusty Kustoms]

I always use masking tape, I can not only do it faster but but it sticks better also, not to mention there is no risk of going to deep with a razor blade.

 

[Rusty Kustoms]

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[Rusty Kustoms]

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[466ranger]

this is what i painted in a normal garage with no booth and it was not cut and polished after painting

 

[Gearhead559]

i did my engine bay

before

after

 

[e-tek]

That's what 1200,1500,2000,3000,4000 and a buffer are for

Really?? Ever try sanding with 3000, much less 4000? DO they even make 4000? It'd be like Toilet Paper!!! No sense using anything over 2000. The cut polish is about 2500.

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THAT is georgous!!!!

 

[WH0DAMAN]

Here are just a few. We are working on a 1955 F series now that should be pretty cool.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Hey Gearhead, was that the coupe under the cover in the driveway?


My engine bay

 

[Rusty Kustoms]

hey e-tech, I wet sand with 1500, 2000, and follow up with 3000 on the da, occasionally the clear doesn't cooperate and I need to start with 1200.

 

[yellow2000S/R]

GREAT thread, great posts!
Can I ask a few Qs?
On the Yellow Chally - why not remove the trim you repaired? Looks good non-the-less, but just wondering...

The Challenger had body/paint done approx 10 years ago at a local Ford dealer that did a hack job at that. Paint was bridged from the fender to the trim which made it impossible to remove. The guy just wanted a quick fix so it wouldn't be "as" noticeable that it was damaged and he plans on a ground up resto in 1-2 years.

 

[e-tek]

hey e-tech, I wet sand with 1500, 2000, and follow up with 3000 on the da, occasionally the clear doesn't cooperate and I need to start with 1200.

Good answer Rusty - and the only one I would have accepted!! While I haven't tried 3000 on the DA, I do believe it would work. But not by hand.

The Challenger had body/paint done approx 10 years ago at a local Ford dealer that did a hack job at that. Paint was bridged from the fender to the trim which made it impossible to remove. The guy just wanted a quick fix so it wouldn't be "as" noticeable that it was damaged and he plans on a ground up resto in 1-2 years.

Gothca - I'd do the same thing in that case!

Couple of mine:

 

[adam728]

Some beautiful work here. Mine's definitely not up to the caliber of those, but I'll post anyway.

Mid prep-work

Spraying. Hung plastic all around my parents garage, used a box fan to pull air out, a couple of furnace filters in the window to filter what was coming in.

About the best finished pic, before buffing.

My old Nighthawk, painted in a basement. It was a maroon bike, and went through many rattle-can paint jobs of yellow, flat black, dark gray, primer, and probably another color or two.

My favorite, rattle can camo. Crunch a panel? Pull a can out from behind the seat and touch it up. Beaters are by far the most fun!
Start.

Finish

 

[Gearhead559]

Hey Gearhead, was that the coupe under the cover in the driveway?

yep thats the one...

most i my build is on turbo forums, and on my website here http://gearheadzautomotive.myfastforum.org/about12.html

but i havent really even touched mine since the last body guy f'd me over. maybe on day i'll get back to it

 

[diggertodd]

da34guy,

the deuce roadster is spot-on. Can you PLEASE tell me what color that is??? I have a c-10 dying for that color.

 

[da34guy]

da34guy,

the deuce roadster is spot-on. Can you PLEASE tell me what color that is??? I have a c-10 dying for that color.

Thanx for the "Kudos" Digger
The color is Kustom mixed.

A few more to wet your whistle guys.

 

[woodman1]

My wood fiberglassed boat I made...................

 

[wreckercologist]

Not my paint work here, just a truck I'm stretching and mounting a carrier on.

 

[e-tek]

Thanx for the "Kudos" Digger
The color is Kustom mixed.

A few more to wet your whistle guys.

Is that a CLUB? or all yours?? very cool!