The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop I'm new to auto body work!!

As some of you know that may have seen my first post in the newb section, I'm new to the resto hobby.

I'm fairly talented in all that is metal, but am worried about this thin metal work and (welding) such.

I still gotta order my welder. I prefer stick welding so I do not have a good mig. I do have a little Lincoln mig, but it is not up to this task. I'm gonna get the Hobart 190 with spool gun for doing aluminum aswell. Is that a good choice?

The 48 Chevy Coe I have has quite a bit of rust. The mice lived in this truck for a long time, and did a number on the passenger door and the whole back of cab above the bulkhead below the window. They carried grain (oats) into every nook and cranny.

What gauge sheet metal should I use? I'm assuming 20 gauge but not 100% sure. The body work will begin a bit later but wanna start getting my materials gathered. Still gotta build my cab cart, finish stripping dash, windows, remove fenders, get my welder and few other things.

Thanks for your time and any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Chance

Typical outer sheet metal is 19 gauge, but the larger trucks will have areas that use thicker (like the front fenders), so best to check with a set of calipers. For something with "tricky shapes", drawing quality steel would be your best bet, sometimes known as AKDQ, or aluminum killed drawing quality. 20 gauge is a bit too thin IMO.

Thanks,

I didn't know you could get 19. I worked in a sheet metal shop when I was 18-19 and I thought it went 18 then 20 gauge. I'll call my metal supplier and check it out. My supplier is an industrial outfit, don't know if they will have the drawing quality. Might have to hit it with a flapper and use a sharpie?

I need to get my photobucket account straightened out on this iPad so I can show you guys some stuff.

Also, I've gotta get my welder. Should I spend the big bucks on a decent miller or the Hobart handler 190 be alright. I'm kinda guy that will spend the extra if it counts on things like this. It will pay for its self eventually, but I don't wanna spend it if there really isn't a advantage in quality.

Thanks

He meant drawing as in shaping between dies.
But you can draw on it with a sharpie, either before or after you draw it into shape.

On your welder, if you have a light duty MIG setup already, that should be fine for sheet metal work. I have a Lincoln Handy-MIG, and it's been doing well for me patching fenders and bed sides. I'm not even a full power on it. It works well for the 16 gauge bed panels I've been working on.

Your replacement panels should be as close as possible to what is in the truck now. Using a different thickness just because it was convenient at Home Depot will normally add to any weld distortion as the different thicknesses will react differently to the heat. Check actual thickness of what you're working with and see if any local machine shops or metal distributors have what you need. Keep in mind there is a tolerance in thicknesses, so when shopping I also tend to measure the thickness of the new stuff to make sure it's close. I like having the panel thicknesses within a few thousandths of the original metal, the closer the better.

If you don't have good luck in finding anything, I do have quite a few sheets of 19 ga AKDQ here, I could cut it into just under 12 x 24 pieces and load the whole thing in a flat rate game board box, as shown here:


http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...october-2015.995188/page-3#post-11226430


Works out to 55 lbs and flat rate shipping of 17.90

"I'm new to auto body work!!"

Forget what everyone is telling you!
Run and don't look back!
It is seemingly never-ending.
Find a better paying job, or two regular jobs so that you can pay a professional to do it.
If you haven't guessed, I have not heeded my own advice and am currently pulling my hair out (I only have hair on the sides now).
Just when I think that I am "ready for paint", my painters tells me, "Nope, not yet."
I have made some remarkable salvages of nasty panels, but my skills in the final touches (filler) are lacking. "Bondo on with right hand. Bondo of with left hand, Daniel Son", but it remains wavy. I am ready for Cage Fighting now, however.
Carl

Sooo true. It was May the last time I worked on my Cab. I painted the outside floor finish color so I could set it down on the cart for final painting. I got to looking at it after about 5 years of working hard on it... I am now at the final sanding step. I have had many really talented experts look over my work. Some say WOW Dude! Just Go For It! But others say.. I'm feeling something "here" and "here" and... so I am going back and I actually find stuff. Unforgivable stuff had I painted it. Things that were obviously wrong and it would have looked like crap.

For the pain and agony I have put myself through, the YEARS of anxiety, there is no amount of money. Yet, the reason I am doing it is because I promised myself I would have no other hands on this project. Just mine from sandblasting everything through final paint and assembly. If it takes another 10 years, So be it.

If you do not have this same asinine stubborn streak, RUN, RUN VERY FAST and STEP AWAY FROM THE ENTIRE PROCESS! I will either be the Hero of all things Restoration, or the Village Idiot. I wouldn't place any bets right now on how this turns out. Just get out the popcorn.

It is a good idea to do your own welding if you are good at it. .023 Dia. wire might be a good choice. Old washing machine metal sides can be used or old car/truck doors/hood metal is good too. Learning to weld without warping is just a matter of taking a whole LONG time between spots and cooling with air to the touch. Don't run a bead, don't do more than one spot at a time. It's not worth it to get cocky. When it warps you are done...dead...back and forth nightmare.
I'm on the Carl/Deve side of things. Let a pro do the "body work" filling/smoothing. The inexperienced person, like me, can not do it. It takes too many years to get it and get the correct sequence and have the correct tools and be calm and patient and an artist all at the same time. We don't even know what smooth is. Too many "grits" to worry about. After we think it's smooth and then paint it, it looks like crap, always. Forget it or you will end up like Carl...abnormal, (in a nice way.)

bart, did you miss the part about, "I am ready for Cage Fighting now."?
The other aspect of learning to do the finish work yourself, is the extended amount of time it takes to finally get your panels ready for paint. This leaves your unfinished panels open to the elements, surface rust.
Carl

I am taking auto body in votech this year and the biggest thing that I have learned is the key is prep and cleanliness, I believe it is about 90% prep and 10% actual painting, just remember that and don't get in a hurry.

I did not want to reveal to everyone about you being in a cage. I thought that was personal.

If this is new to you it can get frustrating pretty quick. If you can find an antique car club in your area, you would be wise to find a body guy that would like to teach.... If you were closer I would welcome you to come by my shop for a few hours for some pointers.

It does take a lot of patience and looking at your mistakes to learn from them!

I suggest this process

-Bare metal
-Rust repair/metal work
-DP Epoxy primer
-All body work
-Evercoat Slick Sand ( cheaper than K38. A sprayable body filler almost)
-Block with 80 touch up body work
-PPG K38 Block with 220 dry fill minor imperfections
-PPG K38 Block with 320 wet
-Wet sand with 500
-DP Epoxy reduced with DT870
-PPG DBC base coat
-PPG 2002 clear with DFX11 hardner and reduced with DT 885

See the photo's in the links below.