Re: Larry's 1951 Club Sedan Project
Posted by Larry51 On 2011/11/17 7:11:23
Shaping the Restored Rear Quarter Panels & Sills:
Have been restoring shape to the re-built quarter panels and door sills. (About 12 inches of the lower quarters was cut away some months ago and totally replaced with new metal, because it was hopelessly rusted out).
The replaced sections of the quarters were very close to correct in new metal but of course they needed some filling and shaping to get that magic rounded 'sculpture' of the 24th Series which makes the rear quarters so nice. There's not much of the original metal left in the lower parts but the MetalMan had done a good job with the new sections welded in. Only needed a few ounces of filler to get the right shape.
I've been looking forward to this part of the restoration for a while, but when I started it the old sense of frustration returned. I've done a few panel-beating jobs on cars over the years and I certainly don't have the ability the pro's have to get the shape right in a reasonable time. My motto is 'keep trying - eventually it'll be right'.
Past attempts have sometimes been a bit 'wobbly' when the paint has gone on, so I'm spending a lot of time to get a really smooth result
Have been using U-Pol Top Stop Gold for the not-so-thick builds. Good to work with (- ease of sanding, non-sag, etc). I would recommend that anyone who is keen should have a go at doing their own repairs using this stuff. (If it all gets too much, you can always call in a professional to fix the mess).
There are dozens of YouTube videos available showing techniques and making it look easy, but I've found in the past that there are many areas where you can easily make mistakes if you don't know the tricks involved. It's not as easy as it looks, getting a really good result can take a lot of time. But very satisfying when you finally get it right.
Check out quite a few of the excellent videos before starting. Another recommendation is going to a body shop and watching how the pro's do it (if you can). But practice is the only way to get good at this.
There are a few ways to get the correct original shape, and a good variety of shaping / sanding tools make it much easier to achieve that. In fact, making a few of your own 'tools' can really help. Like for various inside curves such as along the pressings on '51 rear fenders, using 1" and 1-1/2" plastic pipe as the sandpaper holder works well.
Fenders:
620 Second application of filler
624 Shaping well under way
625 Checking the profile
630 Not much filler needed here
Sills:
231 The new sill is not a perfect match to the bottom of the front guard but not much thickness of Bondo will be needed to correct it. . .
232 Taking more (or less) off to adjust the gap
234
235 A straight run, not very difficult to achieve
Have been restoring shape to the re-built quarter panels and door sills. (About 12 inches of the lower quarters was cut away some months ago and totally replaced with new metal, because it was hopelessly rusted out).
The replaced sections of the quarters were very close to correct in new metal but of course they needed some filling and shaping to get that magic rounded 'sculpture' of the 24th Series which makes the rear quarters so nice. There's not much of the original metal left in the lower parts but the MetalMan had done a good job with the new sections welded in. Only needed a few ounces of filler to get the right shape.
I've been looking forward to this part of the restoration for a while, but when I started it the old sense of frustration returned. I've done a few panel-beating jobs on cars over the years and I certainly don't have the ability the pro's have to get the shape right in a reasonable time. My motto is 'keep trying - eventually it'll be right'.
Past attempts have sometimes been a bit 'wobbly' when the paint has gone on, so I'm spending a lot of time to get a really smooth result
Have been using U-Pol Top Stop Gold for the not-so-thick builds. Good to work with (- ease of sanding, non-sag, etc). I would recommend that anyone who is keen should have a go at doing their own repairs using this stuff. (If it all gets too much, you can always call in a professional to fix the mess).
There are dozens of YouTube videos available showing techniques and making it look easy, but I've found in the past that there are many areas where you can easily make mistakes if you don't know the tricks involved. It's not as easy as it looks, getting a really good result can take a lot of time. But very satisfying when you finally get it right.
Check out quite a few of the excellent videos before starting. Another recommendation is going to a body shop and watching how the pro's do it (if you can). But practice is the only way to get good at this.
There are a few ways to get the correct original shape, and a good variety of shaping / sanding tools make it much easier to achieve that. In fact, making a few of your own 'tools' can really help. Like for various inside curves such as along the pressings on '51 rear fenders, using 1" and 1-1/2" plastic pipe as the sandpaper holder works well.
Fenders:
620 Second application of filler
624 Shaping well under way
625 Checking the profile
630 Not much filler needed here
Sills:
231 The new sill is not a perfect match to the bottom of the front guard but not much thickness of Bondo will be needed to correct it. . .
232 Taking more (or less) off to adjust the gap
234
235 A straight run, not very difficult to achieve
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