The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Sanding question.

On my 53 6400, I'm sanding hail damage to the top of the fenders. There are outside curves and inside curves. Not having a problem sanding the outside curves, but those inside curves are hard to feather out. Anyone know a trick to this. Thanks in advance!

You have to get creative with your sanding blocks. I rarely use any store purchased sanding boards/blocks and tend to use things I have fabricated. My favorite is a short piece (about 4" long) of oak corner moulding. I wrap the paper around it, can hold on well and have two sanding surfaces with rounded edges. If fits in tight spaces and contours. You might try a hardwood dowel or something similar for your inside curves. The main point is you want to use something narrow with a slight curve especially on the edges so it wont dig in.

I have an assortment of PVC pipes cardboard rolls and specially formed sanding blocks. No store bought 'contoured' blocks.
They make a contour or radius finder that comes in handy. (google it) It allows you to copy any curve profile and transfer it to, in my case a 2" thick piece of that pink or blue styrofoam insulation board. Then I use adhesive spray and stick my sand paper to it.
I made some from Ipe wood scraps first but that was a LOT of work.

The convex curves of the fenders changes from front to back so I picked a middle of the fender point to get my 'copy' and find that by simply using the top, bottom or reversing the block gets me real close on the Outer curves.
The concave inner curves worked best with the 12" long variety of PVC or cardboard tubes. Whatever fits best.
For cutting the filler and primer I used 80 up to 220 grit on the sanding blocks. Once I get it straight I switch to simple 'soft pads' and work up through the grits with them.

You can also use a sheet of plastic film and cheap body filler. Can make a block to match that specific contour.

Radiator hose.

I had good results with a piece of polyethylene water pipe insulation.

Dennis

I like both of those ideas.. The corrugated hose oughta work good around... I'll find something.

similar to Jon, but I use spray can expanding foam, spray it on the saran wrap, roll it up tight, press it against the area to be worked or something the desired shape, give it overnight to cure - provides a bit of give as well as any odd shape

Bill

Seems like the common theme is to make my own. I have been using store bought sanding blocks and they have been working for me up until now with the concave curves. Bill's idea is ingenious.

thanks, but necessity was it's mother
another handy item I've used is a roller from a wringer washer with the steel shaft removed, sometimes the length is helpful - can also split end to end to allow using the inner concave curve

Bill

Bill, only you and those in your age genre know what a wringer washer is. I think I know what they are, I saw one once in a silent movie.

Use to wash my kids cloth diapers out with one all the way back in 1981. Made a great prewash tub.
I'd recycle one again for Bill's idea.
(It was electric... not a hand cranker for a wash tub)

hey! don't hafta be ancient to know what a wringer washer is, country folks and old school mechanics still have them around - they haven't been made since the 50's, but I've worn out quite a few over decades of washing the cloths at the apple mill, got a pile of rollers in the parts stash

Bill

Must have been one hell of a hail storm to dent AD fenders! Was it raining claw hammers?

Sometimes it seems like it! Out here, if you don't have a garage, you can count on having hail damage on anything outside.