Automotive Bodywork and Rust Repair

by Matt Joseph

  ner of your workplace, taking up the

  ways of performing the same tasks.

  space of a BMW Mini, gathering

  Never undervalue that sense of some-

  dust, and sagging the floor under its

  thing feeling right, it is not absolutely

  enormous weight, will do you little

  infallible, but it is usually important.

  good if, through ignorance or lack

  Beyond that, each metal worker

  of opportunity, you never use it. In

  brings to this work his or her own

  fact, it will do you no good at all.

  personality, character, and experi-

  In some cases you will fabricate

  ence. Attributes like keen observa-

  special tools for special tasks as you

  tion, sensitivity, logic, and the

  A good anvil, like the one shown here,

  go along. This is particularly true

  ability to plan are all helpful. If you

  provides information when you

  where the right tool does not exist,

  do it right, this work will concen-

  hammer against it. The sound that you

  or is too expensive. Always keep your

  trate these traits, as well as your

  hear when you hit metal on it brims

  mind open to making tools when

  attained skills.

  with useful information. A good anvil

  you need them, particularly in areas

  Traditionally, humans are con-

  rings on impact. An inferior anvil thuds.

  like fixturing. Devices to hold your

  sidered to have five senses. You will

  18

  AUTOMOTIVE BODY WOR K AN D R UST R E PAI R

  W HAT YOU S HOU LD K NOW B E FOR E YOU START

  do. Practice hammering out dents

  on junk fenders, before you try it on

  a repairable or restorable fender.

  Practice welding on metal that is

  similar to the metal you want to

  weld, and get your materials and

  settings right, before you ruin a

  good panel. Try out new tools or

  processes on scrap, before you try

  them out on something important.

  You get the idea.

  Some of the tools, equipment,

  and processes that you will use in

  this work are inherently dangerous.

  There are sharp edges, caustic chem-

  icals, flying abrasive grits, electric

  shocks, and many other hazards to

  consider.

  Always consider safety first. No

  sheetmetal creation is worth the

  loss or impairment of sight or hear-

  This fender was damaged by collision and by crude attempts to hammer out

  ing, or worse. Read manufacturers’

  its damage. Now, there is a range of approaches to repairing it, from dealing

  warnings about their tools and sup-

  with its stretched and deformed metal to removing the worst of it and

  plies, and take them to heart. Some

  sectioning in new metal.

  hazards, like those posed by sheet-

  metal brakes and welding torches,

  need to use four of them, and to

  different things in sheetmetal work

  are pretty obvious. Other hazards,

  effectively interpret what they tell

  than it does in refinishing. To be

  like those posed by lead filings and

  you, to do good work in this field.

  good at this work, you need to train

  airborne zinc fumes, are less obvi-

  Hmm, let’s see—sight, sound, touch,

  your senses to comprehend things

  ous but just as serious. If you have

  smell, and taste. Sight and touch are

  in ways that are appropriate to and

  any questions about safety, ask

  obvious. They directly inform you

  useful in this work.

  them. It will be worth your effort.

  regarding the contours, dimensions,

  Most sheetmetal tasks can be

  I try to note some of the safety

  and surface characteristics of the

  performed in many ways. Some give

  hazards in this work as I go along,

  metal on which you work. Sound is

  better results, or are more efficient,

  but I do not know and am not able

  critical in things like how a hammer

  than others. A few of them are just

  to mention all of them. As I said, if

  sounds hitting metal, or how a panel

  plain wrong, and fewer are indis-

  you have any doubts about the

  resounds when you tap on it. Smell

  putably the only way to do some-

  safety of some tool, procedure, or

  is useful when you heat metal. It

  thing. As you pursue this work, you

  process, ask questions about it.

  helps to inform you regarding its

  will learn which ways give you the

  Don’t become a victim of some-

  temperature. Okay, I don’t have any

  best results.

  thing that could have been avoided.

  use for the sense of taste in metal

  The best way to learn what

  You are responsible for your own

  work. I’m still working on that one.

  works best for you is practice. Expe-

  safety. While I try to inform you

  Each of the four senses noted

  rience is more valuable when it is

  about relevant safety hazards as you

  above can provide you with useful

  attained without ruining valuable

  read this book, the author, editors,

  information, if you interpret what it

  metal. Before you strike with any

  publisher, and agents of this book

  tells you in the sheetmetal way. For

  hammer or other device, always try

  cannot ensure your safety in this

  example, your sense of feel means

  to practice what you are planning to

  work. Only you can do that.

  AUTOMOTIVE BODY WOR K AN D R UST R E PAI R

  19

  C H A P T E R 2

  LIMITS OF MATERIALS,

  EQUIPMENT AND SKILLS

  As with any other work, many

  factors limit the autobody metal

  repair and fabrication projects that

  you attempt—and your results.

  These include your skills and orga-

  nizing abilities, and the limits of the

  materials and processes that you

  employ. Just because you want to

  repair something or wish to fabricate

  some shape, does not mean that it

  can be done or, more important, that

  you can do it. These are limits that

  you have to discover.

  A good first step in organizing

  any project is to visualize how you

  and your resources best plug into it.

  Anything can seem difficult and

  intimidating the first time that you

  do it. You may worry over all of the

  Repairing this rusted-out, lower door corner requires skill, ingenuity, and

  various things that can go wrong.

  imagination. True, the surface is not an accurate one, but just preserving its

  Later, after you have successfully

  authentic roughness poses problems. There are many ways to approach this

  done it, you will have the confidence

&
nbsp; job that will work: All require some planning.

  to know that you can overcome what-

  ever problems it presented. As you go

  at first seemed between difficult and

  have to be certain that your materi-

  further in autobody metal work, your

  impossible become possible when

  als, processes, and procedures also

  confidence level will increase, and so

  you break them down into specific

  are up to it.

  will the difficulty of the jobs that you

  tasks that you are pretty sure you can

  The limits of inferior and/or

  are comfortable attempting.

  successfully complete.

  inappropriate materials can haunt

  After you master several differ-

  Before you get to that point of

  and destroy your best intentions and

  ent aspects of this work, you will

  knowing that your knowledge, skills,

  most ambitious jobs. Take sheet-

  realize that many complex jobs that

  and judgment are up to a job, you

  metal, for example; it is available in

  20

  AUTOMOTIVE BODY WOR K AN D R UST R E PAI R

  LI M ITS OF MATE R IALS, EQU I P M E NT AN D S K I LLS

  that you might be able to use for

  autobody work. At least it comes in

  reasonable gauges for that use, and

  may have characteristics that are

  fairly close to those that are desirable

  for autobody panel work. The prob-

  lem is that it is specified for a wide

  range of hobby and homeowner pro-

  jects, and probably lacks the very

  specific and necessary characteristics

  for first-class automotive work.

  The best way to acquire good

  sheetmetal for autobody metal pro-

  jects is to look for it in places that spe-

  The metal restoration of this Dodge Super Bee takes high confidence, because

  cialize in supplying the autobody

  it is a very challenging job. The plan for this restoration is necessarily complex,

  trades. Body shop supply outfits usu-

  and the skills and judgment required to do it are definitely advanced.

  ally have a line of sheetmetal, in a few

  different gauges and specifications. At

  jects. It is too thin for most fabrica-

  least this metal is intended for the pur-

  tion and repair jobs and its carbon

  pose for which you are going to use it.

  content is higher than is desirable for

  And, consider this: These suppliers

  automotive work, making it harder

  rely on repeat business from body

  than hammered owl poop. And that

  shops for their livelihoods. If they sup-

  is when it is new. If you try to make a

  ply products that are bad for the pur-

  fender patch out of a salvaged bit of

  poses for which their clients buy

  this stuff, you can add the problems

  them, they tend to lose customers and

  of rust, denting, nail holes, and work

  hardening to the list of problems.

  “Ah-hah,” you might say, “But

  my local plumbing supply store sells

  26-gauge double-galvanized HVAC

  duct tin in 4 x 8- and 4 x 10-foot

  sheets, and it’s pretty cheap, figured

  by the square foot.” Sorry, but you

  When you make new metal for a

  knew that I was going to rain on that

  panel like this E-Type Jaguar cowl

  parade. HVAC duct tin tends to be

  section, there are plenty of things to

  too soft for autobody repair or fabri-

  worry about without having to wonder

  cation work, and 26-gauge is decid-

  if the metal is high-quality material.

  edly too thin for it.

  There is also sheet steel sold in

  many places and for many prices. If

  various thicknesses at hardware

  you want to buy a large amount inex-

  stores and lumber yards. It isn’t inex-

  A good stock of sheetmetal, in varied

  pensively, just go someplace where

  pensive, but it comes in different

  gauges and sizes, is a great asset.

  someone is removing an old tin roof.

  sized sheets, and says “weldable

  This material comes protected by

  You can buy the rusty, dented old

  sheetmetal” or something like that

  preservative oil to keep it corrosion

  roofing for the proverbial song.

  on the sticker that states it size,

  free. Still, it is best to keep your stock

  But there are problems with

  gauge, and universal price code. In

  of metal fresh and to store it well so it

  using roofing tin in autobody pro-

  fact, this is definitely closer to metal

  doesn’t corrode.

  AUTOMOTIVE BODY WOR K AN D R UST R E PAI R

  21

  CHAPTE R 2

  cease to exist. There are also mail-

  order companies that supply panel

  steel to the autobody and panel-

  fabrication trades. It is usually pretty

  good metal for those purposes.

  Another intriguing source of

  panel steel for some projects is auto-

  motive salvage yards. If you need a

  particular crown or configuration for

  part of a fabrication, or for a repair

  patch, you often can find something

  close to the shape that you need,

  incorporated in the decklid, door, or

  fender of some unrelated salvage

  panel. If that panel isn’t too rusty or

  Salvage panels may contain shapes that work as the basis for sections that

  damaged for your use, you can buy it

  you need to fabricate. Many metal workers have a stock of donor panels for

  and cut out what you need. You

  just that purpose. This fender has many such possibilities.

  never find the perfect item for what

  you need, but it is often much easier

  to modify an already stamped section

  of a panel to exactly what you do

  need than it is to start from scratch

  with virgin flat stock. I know many

  metal workers who keep a supply of

  salvage panels around, just in case.

  In general, the same rules that

  apply to acquiring good-quality panel

  steel apply to most other supplies that

  you will use in this work. Things like

  welding supplies, filling supplies, and

  fasteners should be high-grade items

  that are intended for automotive

  work. Using the cheapest versions of

  these things that are sold to the gen-

  eral public does not result in top-qual-

  All welding wire looks pretty much the same but varies in quality from terrible

  ity

  automotive

  work.

  Off-brand

  to terrific. Different wires work better in specific applications. It is a good idea

  soldering supplies, or welding rod and

  to try several of them to find out what works best for the jobs that you do.

  wire, may be perfectly okay or they

  may be junk. The small amounts of

  and supplies from reputable vendors,

  Pound
the metal into various

  money that you save by buying this

  it is always a good idea to test them,

  shapes to see how it reacts to vari-

  stuff are not worth the risk of messing

  to see how they perform when you

  ous processes, like hammering,

  up a project by using it. There are

  use them in an application. If some-

  power hammering, and wheeling.

  enough inherent problems in this

  thing is not going to work well for

  With welding supplies, make trial

  work that are difficult to predict, with-

  you, it is best to know that before

  welds. See if you get good bead for-

  out taking chances on the materials

  you commit to using it.

  mation and penetration. In the

  and supplies that you use.

  If you find a new source of

  end, you will benefit from using

  Even when you buy what are

  sheetmetal, welding wire, or rod,

  only those materials with which

  supposed to be top-quality materials

  try it out, experiment with it.

  you are comfortable.

  22

  AUTOMOTIVE BODY WOR K AN D R UST R E PAI R

  LI M ITS OF MATE R IALS, EQU I P M E NT AN D S K I LLS

  You should remember that no

  single material or supply is likely to

  be ideal for everything that you do

  with that class of material or supply.

  Sheetmetal of different specifications,

  and from different sources, works

  best in some specific applications,

  and not as well in others. Some weld-

  ing supplies are fine for one type of

  job, but less desirable in other appli-

  cations. When you evaluate new

  materials and processes, you should

  keep this in mind and remember

  what works best in which circum-

  stances, and for what purposes.

  Considerations similar to those

  The best way to evaluate a new

  All gas welding rod is not created

  governing the limits of materials, sup-

  material is to work with it to see how

  equal. If someone tells you that a wire

  plies, and procedures apply to your

  it performs in your applications. For

  coat hanger will do, don’t believe

  own skills and to your equipment. In

  example, testing how a sheetmetal

  them. Good welding rod has a flow

  some cases these will be adequate for

  forms is a good idea, before you

  and penetration that inferior rod

  particular projects and in other cases,

  commit to using it for a job.

  cannot provide.

  without upgrading them, they will