The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Info on fixing dents?

Im looking for a good source on doing body work. Id like to do some if not all the dent repairs on my 72'.

Any good places to look? Any good books? Im highly against using body fillers and want to do a good job.

Most of the big round dents are easy but some of them on my cab look like someone took the claw end of a hammer and hit beat the hell out of her. Not large dents but small and deep.

Appreciate the help, Jeff

Good body work is a skill that takes a lot of practice. I've seen a lot of do-it-yourselfers that have "fixed" the body of their vehicles. I've never seen even one that wasn't wavy when painted. You have some serious stretching it sounds like which takes skill to fix correctly. I understand your desire to do the work yourself but if you can afford it I would recommend you let a pro do it. Good Luck.

Jeff, this comes from a guy who started 30 years ago doing his own body work in high school and went on be do it for living. I can "Metal finish" (no body filler) and also teach the body repair trade to others.

First, repairing body damage with no filler is very possible, but not without a LOT of practice. There are no magic books, videos or anything like that will make you a skilled craftsmen over night.

There is nothing at all with using body filler. 99.99% of the cars or trucks at a rod show have some on them, PERIOD. 99.99% of cars that will go thru a collision body shop will leave with some on them, PERIOD. If used properly it WILL outlast you and me. We will be dead and gone and the filler will still be on your truck, no one the wiser. If used anywhere near it will not fail, crack, pop off, what ever goofy thing you have likely heard. Those "old husbands tales" are simply not true.

There are a ton of sources for doing body work, be it with filler or fillerless.

To start, check out some stuff I have writen on the "Basics" at http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=74560

For some metal finishing there is places like metalmeet.com,http://www.fournierenterprises.com/index.html, http://www.ghiaspecialties.com/ and http://www.covell.biz/ are a few sources.

Check with John at Ghiaspecialties first. He has some dvds I beleive and some great write ups he can link you to.

Brian

Im not looking for perfection. Id like to do the best I can myself and have a pro do the rest. Id just like to learn what I can. I dont want to do it for a living just recreation.

Im not against using fillers, just not like some DIY's throwing it on with a trowel. And Id like to know what types to use and the best way to apply them. Im leery cause Ive seen what happens when there not done right, pretty scary...

Brian thanks for the links Ill check them out.
Jeff

Read the "Basics" on plastic filler and large flat panel dents. That would be a good start.

Like I said, anywhere near "right" (and there are TONS of "right" ways to do it) using a quality product, it WILL out last you and I.

Evercoat fillers are one of the best, that is what I use. RAGE for a "regular" filler is pretty hard to beat. Then "Metal Glaze" or the super minor and skim coat applications. It is a "polyester putty" and basically a "bondo" like product that has the talc finer ground so it spreads and sands easier.

Brian

sometimes working the metal will make it look worse then if you just fill with a filler but try and knock the metal out to keep the filler as thin as possible the more you do it the better you will get good luck

I wish I could afford to have a pro do the body work! Unfortunately, I'm on a strict budget with the truck so I want to do as good a job as I can for now and then let a pro handle it when I've saved up five or six grand to get it done right. Also, my truck is a daily driver so I can't afford to have it out of service at a body shop for 3-6 months for body work and paint. So, I'm left with working on it myself on the weekends and wishing I had more practice!

Heck, I hate body work. That's why patina is so popular!

Builder- That's what I'm gonna do! Fix the dents as well as I can and then paint it with a faux aged patina.

Just got the 11/03 streetrodder magazine article about how to do the patina finish. They started with red primer in the spots where the paint usually wears through (or the whole thing if you have time), then painted the whole truck with flat black (they used John Deere Blitz Black), then scuff the black through to red with a 3-M pad, then topcoat with BRUSHES using paint and flattening agent. Next scuff through the top coat in places the paint usually wears (ie where your arm would wear outside the window). Next airbrush some oxidation stains and rust stains around the doorhandles, hinges, louvers, bolts, and other common spots for water normally runs off the body. (I'll do this to the dents that I don't perfecty fix...)

The guys who the article is about will do a professional fauxtina finish at their shop if you want- Dan or Joshua Shaw 513-575-3535

So, what do you do to simulate rust?

Leave it in the rain???

Brian, The ability to metal finish is indeed a rare skill this day and age. I haven't seen or heard of anyone metal finishing in years. Please do pass that skill on and thanks.

I agree with Tiny,

I had a tutor on metal work and lead fill when I was a kid. I kind of had the knack for it, but it was something I never pursued. It is hard to be satisfied with other bodymen after that, and the ones who do such nice metal finish are very expensive and hard to find.

I think the best method for fixing small dents is taking a bathroom plunger and getting it wet and then put it on dent and pull out it works great on surface dents.

Guys, there are PLENTY of people out there who teach metal finishing. I do small stuff with a method taught to me by one of my mentors as a kid.

Here is an article on the subject...
http://www.autobodystore.com/ms13.htm

I use this very procedure most every day at work on small dents and dings on new parts we get in the shop. It is really pretty amazing and easy once you get the hang of it.

Larger dents can be done with a shrinking disc. If you click on the like to Giha Specialties in my first post he sells discs and videos I think. He even has some videos on this web site. John also teaches classes.

Brian