Re: Larry's 1951 Club Sedan Project
Posted by Larry51 On 2012/12/9 21:27:34
Shaping the Rear Quarters on the Coupe
It's been a hectic couple of months since I posted last. Have done quite a lot on the car, so now I'll do some 'catch-up' posts.
The most time-consuming area of restoration on my car has been getting the panels absolutely true prior to painting. The rear quarters have been a pleasant challenge, as on the Club coupe they are a vast flat area and must be totally free of any imperfections. The 'spats' (as we call them - actually wheel covers) are another challenging area to get right (gap to body) as are the decorative pressings that extend for some distance above the wheel opening.
After a couple of applications of filler (Bondo) the rear quarters have been 'approximately shaped'. Still much more filling and careful shaping was needed to get very close to the exact profile.
319: Trunk lid fitted and gaps checked before any priming or shaping is done.
[img width=450]<a href="http://s829.beta.photobucket.com/user/Larry51_2009/media/Packard%20Project/Rear%20Quarters%20Shaping/P1000319.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/zz218/Larry51_2009/Packard%20Project/Rear%20Quarters%20Shaping/P1000319.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"/></a>[/img]
322: Most of the Bondo has been shaped to get shape close to correct. The grey primer on top of fender is what was applied over a year ago when the car was blasted. It is all removed back to bare metal.
326: Passenger side (- Yep - it's a RHD car!) showing stage 1 filler work completed.
332: All the old primer has been removed with a stripper disk.
337: Overall view.
340: Priming will also include across the trunk, forward of the lid.
485: After etch priming the problem areas can be easily seen
489: The sculpted section is mis-shaped and will need plenty of work
490:
493: The rounded shape of the fender is pretty close to OK
504: Reconstructing the end of the detail
507
---------------------------------------
510: Shape looks fairly good after priming
513: Any rub-throughs have been reprimed
516: After spraying on the hi-build primer-surfacer, sanding for hours, then another four heavy coats and further sanding. Very close to true now.
518: Minor dings filled with red glazing putty and sanded close
The '51 has the nice sculpted detail on the rear fenders which needs to be almost perfectly shaped. This is very time-consuming. Some high spots were first reduced with a body file. Very necessary to get rid of the highs, before any filling is done. These were the result of the welding (TIG) that had been done along the ridge of the detail when the new section was welded in. The weld was done along this detail because it was less prone to warping (although TIG is not likely to distort the panels if done carefully, and there was virtually no distortion present). Also a weld along this detail was easier to achieve than on the flat of the panel.
Finally it was time to apply the 2K spray primer / surfacer, do more shaping via careful sanding, and get the quarters and sills to their exactly correct shape.
I use a 2-pak primer/surfacer which can be applied as a heavy build without risk of shrinkage, cracking or poor adhesion. A big improvement on the old single pak which could crack if applied too heavy and not allowed to dry for long enough before over-coating. You apply four heavy, wet coats with about 10 minutes flash-off between each coat. Then after only 2 hours you can get stuck into sanding most of it off (thereby flatting out the high spots). Then subsequent extra coats are applied if there are still low spots (- and there almost always are) and then sanded again (with 17" sander and/or various blocks). This process is repeated as many times as necessary.
338 First 4 wow coats of 2K primer surfacer
339
342 Some glazing putty into any nicks and scratches etc, then more coats of primer surfacer
343 Now getting to the 'almost done' stage
344
347: This 'half-acre' panel is looking quite flat now . . .
543 Shadow coat applied, and final blocking started
549: Plenty of water to keep the paper clear and dust down.
550 Many hours later . . . . pleased with the result
------ooo
ooo------
It's been a hectic couple of months since I posted last. Have done quite a lot on the car, so now I'll do some 'catch-up' posts.
The most time-consuming area of restoration on my car has been getting the panels absolutely true prior to painting. The rear quarters have been a pleasant challenge, as on the Club coupe they are a vast flat area and must be totally free of any imperfections. The 'spats' (as we call them - actually wheel covers) are another challenging area to get right (gap to body) as are the decorative pressings that extend for some distance above the wheel opening.
After a couple of applications of filler (Bondo) the rear quarters have been 'approximately shaped'. Still much more filling and careful shaping was needed to get very close to the exact profile.
319: Trunk lid fitted and gaps checked before any priming or shaping is done.
[img width=450]<a href="http://s829.beta.photobucket.com/user/Larry51_2009/media/Packard%20Project/Rear%20Quarters%20Shaping/P1000319.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/zz218/Larry51_2009/Packard%20Project/Rear%20Quarters%20Shaping/P1000319.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"/></a>[/img]
322: Most of the Bondo has been shaped to get shape close to correct. The grey primer on top of fender is what was applied over a year ago when the car was blasted. It is all removed back to bare metal.
326: Passenger side (- Yep - it's a RHD car!) showing stage 1 filler work completed.
332: All the old primer has been removed with a stripper disk.
337: Overall view.
340: Priming will also include across the trunk, forward of the lid.
485: After etch priming the problem areas can be easily seen
489: The sculpted section is mis-shaped and will need plenty of work
490:
493: The rounded shape of the fender is pretty close to OK
504: Reconstructing the end of the detail
507
---------------------------------------
510: Shape looks fairly good after priming
513: Any rub-throughs have been reprimed
516: After spraying on the hi-build primer-surfacer, sanding for hours, then another four heavy coats and further sanding. Very close to true now.
518: Minor dings filled with red glazing putty and sanded close
The '51 has the nice sculpted detail on the rear fenders which needs to be almost perfectly shaped. This is very time-consuming. Some high spots were first reduced with a body file. Very necessary to get rid of the highs, before any filling is done. These were the result of the welding (TIG) that had been done along the ridge of the detail when the new section was welded in. The weld was done along this detail because it was less prone to warping (although TIG is not likely to distort the panels if done carefully, and there was virtually no distortion present). Also a weld along this detail was easier to achieve than on the flat of the panel.
Finally it was time to apply the 2K spray primer / surfacer, do more shaping via careful sanding, and get the quarters and sills to their exactly correct shape.
I use a 2-pak primer/surfacer which can be applied as a heavy build without risk of shrinkage, cracking or poor adhesion. A big improvement on the old single pak which could crack if applied too heavy and not allowed to dry for long enough before over-coating. You apply four heavy, wet coats with about 10 minutes flash-off between each coat. Then after only 2 hours you can get stuck into sanding most of it off (thereby flatting out the high spots). Then subsequent extra coats are applied if there are still low spots (- and there almost always are) and then sanded again (with 17" sander and/or various blocks). This process is repeated as many times as necessary.
338 First 4 wow coats of 2K primer surfacer
339
342 Some glazing putty into any nicks and scratches etc, then more coats of primer surfacer
343 Now getting to the 'almost done' stage
344
347: This 'half-acre' panel is looking quite flat now . . .
543 Shadow coat applied, and final blocking started
549: Plenty of water to keep the paper clear and dust down.
550 Many hours later . . . . pleased with the result
------ooo
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