In reply to java230 :
I agree with the other guys, epoxy then filler. I like rage gold because I'm not that good and it makes me look better than I am at it.
Ialsi have a buddy that does show quality body work and he doesn't understand why any reputable shop wouldn't go to bare metal and then epoxy. He's been in the body business for decades, paints have improved use that to your advantage. Epoxy seals it right.
Sounds like I need to get my spray system going then. Epoxy over bare metal it is.
Compressor in the garage or the back yard (where it may be more noisy for the neighbors)?
Compressor: backyard, walled lean to.
In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :
That's my thinking too. Side or back is the real question.... Side won't piss anyone off, but also can just be walked up to from the street (behind a fence)
Small enclosure outside the shop seems ideal. Keeps noise down for every body and doesn't take up floor space.
In reply to Daylan C :
Yeah it think so as well, just debating where to put it..... Street side keeps the noise down for neighbors, it would go out towards the main road. But you could walk around my fence and access it. On the back of the garage will send the noise towards my closest neighbor, but its inside a gated fence, and close to 220v power there.....
I put my compressor in a closet in my shop. The E36 M3rats in my neighbourhood can smell the copper tubing.
Built a closet for it then lined the closet with two layers of ceiling tiles. You can hear it but you don't even need to raise your voice to talk over it.
Its a 220v compressor. 100 gal? Bolt it to the wall, and lock the door to the enclosure. If its too much like work, the thieves will skip it.
In reply to ShawnG :
Ceiling tiles, I like it!
In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :
220V 60 gal. Its behind a fence, so you would really have to be up to no good already. I think street side is better for the sound. will just need a long ass cord.
Regarding sanding through the epoxy primer while working the filler - I suppose the solution there is to do as much bodywork as you can prior to priming and filling. I'm talking metal bumping, hammer & dolly work. At least knock down the high spots. Get the sheetmetal as straight as possible given available resources & skills.
NOHOME had a good comment about his process on the previous page too.
In reply to Duder :
Definitely working on that! But I am not real skilled (yet?) Been trying to knock out high spots as I find them
Check out Trev's Blog on Youtube. It's a British guy who is a master panel beater. He has some good DIY tip videos for banging out dents.
In reply to Duder :
Thanks! I've been binging body work videos on YouTube.....
You guys have blown my mind with filler over primer. I'd seen it done, but sort of shrugged, and let it go. Back in my single digits when I started screwing with Bondo, I understood down to bare metal every time. The knowledge is appreciated.
Oh, and that Binder is absolutely gonna rock.
In reply to wheelsmithy :
Yeah I think it's really the way to go, especially if your going to work it slowly. Do one patch, primer over to seal the bondo a bit before you get back to it next time. Epoxy underneath protects the base.
Thanks, I think it's going to be a fun project!
The "adhesion of bondo to metal or epoxy" is a moot point in that it will be adequate in either case.
Putting the car in epoxy seals it off from further moisture degradation. The argument settler for me is that because of its chemistry and in certain humidity/temperature situations can trap water under the cured filler. I would prefer that the layer under the filler be epoxy.
In reply to NOHOME :
Yeah your completely right. If water is trapped in/under the filler over epoxy, they worst that happens is the filler fails rather than rusting the substrate.
Got a half hour in the garage last night. Borrowed a stud gun. Made porcupine. Pulled as best I could. Not enough. Pulled door inner skin..... Cant access that area! Ugh. Will continue to try from the outside, its ~3/16" low at the worst spot.
Maybe try heat-shrinking? Not sure if it would work in that location close to the edge of a door. It's a cool process to learn about in any case though.
In reply to Duder :
It's a giant low spot. But I did look at heat shrinking, very cool
I had a 68 IH truck and found that for big/deep dents in the relatively thick sheet metal of the body - that a conventional stud puller wasn't robust enough. So I evolved into using some 1/4" allthread and cut however many "studs" I needed and then MIG welded them onto the dent areas I wanted to pull. I then made my own big-ass slide hammer with vice grips to grab the allthread studs. But an equally effective method was to use vice grips on the studs, then a welded D ring on the back of the vice grips and a ratchet strap from the D ring to a large tree or similar assistant. Use the ratchet to get some modest tension on the stud and then beat on the vice grips or around the stud - whatever gets the metal to move for you. Warning - over ratcheting results in an outie instead of the innie you were trying to pull. 
In reply to Sparkydog :
Yeah I broke a lot of studs off trying to pull them (and learned I need a bigger garage.... My elbow meets the wall/boat/fridge/shelf every time they broke...)
I am going to try to pull/beat a bit more. Its almost close enough for mud....
But I also need to get a compressor installed tomorrow.
Need to get this in epoxy. Its getting a little surface rust in spots! Eeekk.
Started cleaning the gutters. Whatever IH used for seam sealer is TOUGH.
And ground the studs off. Its not pretty. I have never used one before.... Too much heat, too much pull, ugh. Lots of mountains. They "should" all be just low enough to fill over (except a couple) but man did I make a mess.
java230 said:but man did I make a mess.
but you learned something in the process and that's worth a little mess. well done!
In reply to AngryCorvair :
I did in fact learn something! The studs don't take much to weld them on enough.... And too much heat makes easy to pull into mountains.
And pull AND tap (around or at the crease) at the same time works WAY WAY better than just beating on the slide hammer.
And now I get to learn about panel shrinking.... LOL
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