To begin, the task of repairing 44 years’ worth of accumulated dents and dings in the left rear quarter had finally come on the menu. Having managed to clean and preserve the bare metal panel successfully, the time to sit down to the careful and particularly delicate work of dent removal and metal finishing was at hand.
After
several hours of careful study of every inch of the panel, I decided it best to
start at the front and top half of the quarter and methodically work my way to
the back, repairing every irregularity in a given area before moving on to the
front lower half and repeating the process.
This method allowed me to maintain a clear focus on each repair area
until the repairs were as good as I could possibly make them.
Beginning
in the area just behind the striker post, I had a nice, sharp dent that
slightly deformed the leading edge and radiated back into the open panel by several
inches. Like with any proper metal work,
some form of “indicator” is required to understand and visualize the extent of
the damaged area so you know exactly what needs to be repaired and how far out
from the heaviest damage to begin the correction. The first rule of dent removal is to
understand that dents must be removed in the reverse order in which they were
created. In other words, the outer
peripheral damage must be slowly moved back into shape first if you are to get
the “core” damage to move as well. In
simplest terms, if the dent started at the front and ended at the back, the
repair of that dent starts at the back and moves to the front.
My
preferred “indicator” on bare metal is a giant Sharpie marker instead of
conventional guide coat paint. It dries
quicker, is much thinner, very easy to clean up and does a nice job of highlighting
the low spots. Oh, and it’s ridiculously
cheap too! So, the first order of
business is to swab the entire repair area with Sharpie and lightly scuff the
surface with a rigid sanding block with 80 grit paper. Very quickly, the true extent of the dent is
revealed and the road map for repair is defined.
Starting
at the outer edge of the dent, began the repair by welding a series of draw
pins about ½” inboard of the edge of the dent and began the careful process of
pulling the metal while gently tapping the outer crown with a dinging
spoon. Then I cut the pins off and ground
the heads smooth and inked the area.
After the ink dried, I lightly sanded the surface again with the rigid sanding
block to check progress and define what area would need attention next. This basic process was iterated about a dozen
times over several hours to bring the surface as close to the original contour
as possible. Once complete, all that
remained were two small shallow points where I had to shrink the metal with
heat to pull the leading edge back into form and a few shadow outlines where
the welded draw pins were removed. All
told, the final skim of filler that would be required will be less that about
.020”.
Moving
back on the quarter to the trailing fender lip radius, I had to attend to a dent that was an alarmingly similar to the first one. Fortunately,
the damage was not as severe or deep, so less time was required to get the
metal to return to its original position.
Using the same technique as previously described, this dent was pulled
and the fender lip radius restored such that almost no filler will be required
at all.
The
final metal finishing task on this quarter panel involved straightening up the
area where the marker light was filled with a welded patch as an aesthetic
improvement. Since this would involve a
much larger area that would require attention, I marked out the zone with a
marker to help keep my mind focused on the specific repair area. Then I coated the area with machinist dye as
an indicator similar to the Sharpie marker I used earlier. Machinist dye is easier to apply over a large
area than Shaprie marker, so I use it for the sake of convenience. Another advantage to it is that it stays wet
longer and allows you to look at the panel from various angles with a high
gloss on the surface to see in great detail very subtle (and not-so-subtle)
irregularities in the metal that will require attention.
Again,
the repair area was sanded to provide the appropriate contrast and I went to
work with more conventional hammers and dollies, dinging spoons, bulls eye
picks, a large shrinking disc and rubber mallets to nudge the surfaces as close
as possible to the original contour. No
welded draw pins were required in this critical area. Unfortunately, I failed to properly document this
operation but I am happy to report that this are too will require very little
filler to get straight.
The
final area of concern was the front lower joint between the quarter and the
rocker. This area required extensive
repair for rust and other damage and I welded the seam and ground it smooth for
aesthetics. Careful metal work during
the reconstructive phase allowed that no heavy dent repair was required in this
area as the areas that I wanted to be low (e.g. weld seams) were already in
shape and the rest of the contours were very close to what they were
originally. So after a few minutes with
a dinging spoon and dolly, the area was ready for filler.
With
that, the “heavy” metal work on the left rear quarter was complete and it was
time to plan the process of applying fillers and smoothing up the panel and the
associated seams before sealing everything up with primer.
Using a huge Sharpie marker, I coat the entire damaged area and use it as a guide coat to see just where I need to work. The camera flash already makes the dent very obvious. |
A handful of draw pins and one less dent! |
Even sky lighting the repair area shows very little filler will be required to get this area perfectly smooth. Now to repeat this repair procedure for all of the other areas on this quarter! |
After several hours of very gentle manipulation from both sides of the panel, the marker light area is quite straight and ready for filler. |
Very nice work Sven. You are indeed an artist. I wish I had been able to employ half your skills on my own build.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your kindness Alex! I sure hope others see my work the same way as I am moving more and more toward pulling in "paying" jobs as I try to move out of the corporate frying pan!
ReplyDeleteAnother rousing episode of Sven's Corner :) Sven, seriously, you should think about perhaps video taping some of these segments and posting them to You Tube. This would allow you to reach a larger audience and perhaps begin to build a following that would eventually use your services once you jump off the corporate cliff.
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated RJ! I have been asked on several occasions to produce more “how-to” video tips but I have no idea what equipment would be required to produce good quality videos. I am sure my Go Pro camera is not the right camera for this type of work, and I hate poor quality video and sound on this type of topic. As such, I have just let that topic remain dormant until smarter people than me can show me the way! I am wide open to an education on this front for sure!
ReplyDeleteSven, like your mechanical skills, I think this video thing should develop the same way. Start with your Go-Pro camera - don't worry about sound and quality for now. Worry about where the camera needs to be, listen to your voice - 'Am I boring? - am I interesting? - I need more clarity there - I need less explanation and more showing'. Show them to friends...or us...we are your best audience. We'll throw lots of rocks if you need them thrown :) You didn't start out with a giant tool box of cool tools - you started out with 2nds from your Dad and the classic $109 Sunday flyer special from Craftsman. Learn the craft of videoing, then worry about the equipment. I actually get more enjoyment out of watching shows like Fast and Loud for their technical video taping than their content. It's fun to watch the new shows grow their own style. Give it a go - we are here to help!
DeleteVery good analogy RJ. I get it! I might have to just roll over and give it a try. I am NOT what you'd pick as the "face" of a well done video production, but there are ways around that.
DeleteI did a few time lapse videos and stuck them up on YouTube for entertainment and to see if I could do it. I find this sort of thing a lot more work than blog updates, so it might be a while!
Wow. Was this Deja Vu for me. You will have very little filler on the quarters. High build primer may be enough. The advantage you had is your dents were small. My ginormus "cow running into the side of the quarter" was much more involved, not to mention the rust. I still may end up going back and doing more work to make it flatter. Excellent work, as usual.
ReplyDeleteHa! I was thinking about your trials on your 68 the whole time I was writing this latest update Dennis! I just KNEW it would strike a chord with ya!
DeleteGreat work on the small details Sven! That car is going to be flawless when you get finished.
ReplyDeleteGrant, you are too kind! I am certainly going to give it every effort to make it as good as I can and so far, I am happy with the direction it's headed. Loooooong way to go!
DeleteWow, I had no idea the dent repair process was so extensive. Nice work! That car is looking great!
ReplyDeleteDid you get that pneumatic paint mixer at Harbor Freight? Does it hold well?
ReplyDeleteYes! As much as I hate Harbor Freight, this mixer works pretty well. I am always on the lookout for an old Red Devil single gallon mixer, but this one does a pretty good job and it's cheap!
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