Starting project! Metal repair help!

[jonnyboy1617]

I am fixing/painting my 73 duster. Whoever tried to repair and paint the car was a complete idiot, doing a cruddy job with overloads of bondo. And even the paint was put on wrong, it had dust on the topcoat and would flake off in places.

So, I have now stripped the car to bare metal and coated it in epoxy for protection. There are a few major spots i am trying to fix on the metal. The easy part for me is straightening the body. But it seems the hard part is making the body lines again. I have not found any tutorials on how to remake the lines on a car. Here are a few examples.



Here is one part, and the holes were not me. That was from the previous repair. It's sad because they weren't even necessary



And how do I make this line straight and sharp again?



Another part I need to remake the line.

I started to hit the inside of the metal with the edge of a hammer the try and sharpen it up, but i thought i should get advice before trying anything on my own. I'm just hoping there is an easy to do it without alot of bondo.

Thanks for any help, I'll try to keep updated as I move along.

 

[shimsham1]

1st off stripping all the way down is the best thing to do. I would get it to bare metal then apply an etch primer 1st, then the expoxy primer.
Hitting that line out from the back side with a body hammer will work but you have to be carefull that you dont make it worse with high spots. either way you will need to apply some bondo. i would rather fill the low spots then try to blend in high spots. tap out as much as you can (slowly) use a sand bag or something on the outside to keep the area from distorting.

 

[OldVart]

As previously stated, gently work the lines as well defined as you can get them with a hammer and dolly. Once you think you're close enough, run a piece of masking tape along the top or bottom of your body line then do you filler on the opposite side of the tape line. So, if you put the tape to the top of your body line, put your filler up to the bottom of your tape line and work your filler with 80 grit paper on a long sanding board, working up towards you tape line. Once the bottom is to your satisfaction, remove the tape then tape the line on top of your just finished filler, and do your next batch of filler to the top of the tape. Again, work it with 80 grit on a long board until you can really see the line the way you want it. Spray on 2 or three coats of high build 2K primer, let it dry, then lightly fog on some fast dry sanding primer in a contrasting color. Once that's dry, sand very lightly with 180 grit on your long board to get rid of the highs and spot any lows. Keep doing this until your lines are sharp and crisp. Good luck.

 

[shimsham1]

You should also check out --- eastwood.com -----
They have great body tools and materials. I think the even have a how to section.

 

[shimsham1]

Key to metal bumping book is great place to start. Sold on eastwood web site.
Tells you what tools (hammers, dolly's) to use for different types of damage in metal.

 

[1qwikScamp]

i wouldnt even try to beat the body lines back n shape. i would just skim some filler in or like feather fill primer and work it in with a straght edge because the lines arnt really harsh, if you can just blend it a little it should look fine body filler is your friend in moderation ,just dont go over board the fillers of today have come a long way of what they use to be. as for the holes i would mig / tig weld them up be carefull not to get too hot its probably not going to warp much right there but you still dont want it to draw much keep it cool with a wet towel after welding smooth it off with a flap wheel sander on a grinder, then prime and guide coat if its not how you like it after that skim some filler over it and work it untill your happy dont let body work scare you its not that bad just take your time and work at it untill your happy

 

[FISHBREATH]

Those panels were stamped in cold presses, so hammering/dollying will eventually move the metal to where you want it. Labor!

 

[blue missile]

jonny,
I had the same problem, what I did was take a 1.25" thick 10"x 4" piece of maple and use a table saw to put a 90deg point on the long edge (2-45deg cuts) I marked the panels from the inside following the undamaged body lines and extended the line through the damaged area.Then I used the maple block as a dolly to restore the lines. Once you get the long lines restored cut the piece into a shorter block for the rest of the lines. It took some time and careful lining up of the block but it really worked well. As your photo shows keep checking it with a straight edge.
Hope this helps.
Andrew