auto body repair help

by dhw3971 Mon Oct 31, 2022 3:35 pm

I found a NOS fender for my station wagon at a swap meet last month. It had a good coat of rust on it so I had it sandblasted and primered until I can get it on the car.

The rust ate into the surface and left some minor pitting over most of the fender. A show-quality paint job is not required and if I continue my fake patina paint job the rough surface may not even show.

But...

If I chose to, how would I fill in all those pits? BOdy filler? some sort of other primer?

by bracketchev1221 Tue Nov 01, 2022 2:31 am

You can try high build primer but poly fill is good for small pin holes.

by dhw3971 Tue Nov 01, 2022 10:40 am

is polyester body filler the same as our old friend Bondo?

by Joe73 Tue Nov 01, 2022 10:49 am

Since you had it blasted (I would have gone dustless instead of sand to avoid heat and possible warpage), I hope that you primed it with 2k epoxy primer. Normal primer is porous and any humidity or "morning dew" that gets on the piece will start the rust process again and you wont be able to see it until its too late. As for filling the pits, its pretty simple. I 2k prime everything before any fillers are used. Then for the pits I concur with BracketChev121 for using a high build primer. I use Evercoat Feather Fill. It will lay down some block sandable primer in the 2-3 mil range per coat. You can let it flash and then put on another coat if need be. You will need a gun with at least a 2.0 size tip for it to flow. After it dries, Id use some "guide coat" or even the cheapest spray can of flat black you can find and dust the whole fender. Then you can start block sanding. The guide coat will show you all the low and pinhole spots you missed. when done you will have a perfect flat, smooth fender. Sounds long but its actually quick work. Good luck with it.

by dhw3971 Tue Nov 01, 2022 1:45 pm

The body shop did say they would use care when blasting and they warned me that they may only be able to clean one side due to warpage. Looks like they were able to clean both and the fender looks the same as when I left it.

I don't know what type of primer they used; I noticed it has a semi-gloss gray finish instead of the flat gray I am used to. THey also told me primer was not water proof. I plan to keep the fender indoors for the winter.

by Iggy Tue Nov 01, 2022 3:11 pm

For future reference, Worl Truck and Auto Body on Blue Star Dr (TC) does soda blasting - better for body panels than sand blasting.

by Joe73 Tue Nov 01, 2022 4:48 pm

Soda blasting is good as long as your very careful of the cleaning process after its done. Many primers and epoxies have adhesion problems down the road when the metal has residue leftover. I looked into it prior to blasting my chevelle body. Dustless blasting (its actually fine crushed glass with a touch of water) around me costs about $800 for a full car. Plus $150-200 if you want the interior done as well.

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