what do ya'll think of my body work skills?

[NICE59FORDF100]

here are some photos of my body work. does this look good? i cant tell, because no one will help me. also, what do you all think of the reveal (lift gate) molding removed? im trying to make it look like the 98+ explorers. anyway, let me know what yall think. im hoping to have it painted by summer when i earn the money....donations accepted

 

[Hartman]

You didn't just slap some bondo in there did you?

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

im thinking im goin to be dreading your response, but i got some high quality body filler, eaton or eastwood, something like that....from my neighbor who races sprint cars...anyway, i sanded with 80 grit to metal, put the filler in, (some dents multiple times) and sanded with 220, then a couple coats of auto primer...this is what i have done on my 59, and so far, no probs....

 

[burnin_up]

ummm, you should probably wash your truck before doing that kind of work. and it makes it really hard to tell what exactly it is you have done.

 

[Hartman]

As long as the filler isn't more than 1/8th of an inch thick, it should be fine. I know that the trim on the rear hatch has holes behind it, did you fill those with filler too?

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

i did wash it, thats all the dust from sanding. and all i was asking, was my body work skills....that last picture with the primmer, that was a dent about half a dollar big, and 1/4 inch deep

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

the holes im goin to weld up...as soon as i learn how to weld....anyone care to come and teach me? haha

 

[burnin_up]

oh.

the dent, you couldnt beat it out any? quarter inch is pretty deep...you filled it back to level with filler? It looks good primed up, but a quarter inch of filler might be breaking up sooner than you want.

 

[X~FACTOR]

Originally posted by NICE59FORDF100
the holes im goin to weld up...as soon as i learn how to weld....

In the meantime, better cover those holes up with something. You don't want water to get in there and rust out your hatch. That'll take a lot more Bondo.

Good job, btw. Now the hard part is coming up with some $$$ to get it professionally painted.

 

[yob_yeknom]

Originally posted by NICE59FORDF100
the holes im goin to weld up...as soon as i learn how to weld....anyone care to come and teach me? haha

Filling a hole is hard to do if you're not a good welder. Welds don't want to jump over airspace very well, so you have to make a circle around the edge to slowly fill it in. You usually end up melting the edge of the hole and making it bigger if you're not really good.

And on the primer... When you get ready to paint it make sure you sand that primer back off and get down to the clear coat and scuff it. Then reshoot the primer where its needed and feather it smooth with the clear.

It looks like it blends smoothly in that last picture so I guess you did a good job.

 

[Hartman]

Stacey gave a good tip on an episode of Trucks about welding up small holes. He said to put a pop rivet in it, weld around and in it, and then grind it down. It worked great.

 

[have2goski]

filling the holes with weld

If you can get behind the metal use a peice of copper as backing.

once the copper is behind the hole it will desipate the heat quickly and keep you from blowning through the edges. Also the weld will not stick to the copper so you can just weld the hole shut with out pushing through.

Once the hole is sealed up, pull the copper out from the back, and then proceed to any grinding\ sanding\filler....yada yada yada

i used this techniquie on my fenders with great success.

 

[blue_97_v8]

i have been thinkin of removing my molding to..how many holes are there?? my painter/body guy weld's so i geuss i will see if he can do it

BTW it look's GOOD

 

[MONMIX]

try this.
grab an old tee shirt and cut a section a bit bigger then your hand. Lay it flat on the pannel and with your hand ridgid and flat feel the pannel next to the repair and close your eyes and concentrate. As you feel from the non damaged repair surface to the repaired surface. Other than texture you should feel no differance.

It is tough to base on looks at this point, feeling is the only way. Kinda tough to do via internet.

I repaired my hood last week and took step by step photo's. I will post later this week.