Bodymen how do you get motivation

I just started doing bodywork on my 29 ,Having a rough time getting started,I did start .Any tips on how to stay motivated ,It is so damn boring .I know alot of guys that can't do it and send it out.Im fortunate I understand all the concepts .I think Im just burned out over the years.........

 

The only way I have found to keep my motivation is to keep a vivid image of the end product in my mind...if you can't see the finished product then you won't want to keep pushing to get it completed. On the other hand, I HAVE seen the end product on some jobs and opted to quit while I was ahead! Like WC Fields said, if at first you don't succeed...quit...no sense making a fool of yourself.

 

Its just so boring I usually get everything in 5 coats of filler .and prime And 6 glaze .Im doing the car in black and I am that good... Need to work on painting without color sanding .....

 

I'm not a body man by any means. But I like to break up big projects into smaller ones so it feels like I'm actually getting something accomplished. Like with body work, break it down to one panel at a time. When you're just having to look at straightening out a door, for example, it's a lot less intimidating that looking at straightening out the whole car.

 

I am working on a 58 chevy truck right now. I am a year into it and i have only the cab and most of the work on the doors done. The cab needed corners and steps and the top looked like it run under a bridge or something. It was the worst part of the truck and now it is over. The rest isn't that bad and hopefully I can knock it out in a few months. I feel like you do sometimes, after doing this for a hobby for 30 plus years I definitely get burned out. Doing the harder stuff first and getting it behind me helps get me threough the project.

 

No way around it, body work just ****s. Whether it's your car or a paying customers.

 

crack!





no, not really.....you have to love, or leave it

skull

 

I just think of the end results and the more I get done the closer I get to being done.

 

Did it for years and have a worn out body to prove it.

 

I have been doing bodywork since 1964 and at times it does get a bit mundane. Nothing worse though than doing a nice car and seeing all of the mistakes overlooked when the job is done. Nothing better than seeing a real straight paint job. If it is super straight you will not only get super compliments but you will get a sore arm patting yourself on the back for years to come. If you take short cuts you had better brush up on your excuses because you will have to be a virtuoso at it. The best motivation is to strive to do the best knowing it will pay back in spades when the job is done and thereafter. Striving for perfection (although truly hard to reach) is fun in its own right and if you don't believe it convince yourself of it-it may help get thru the boring times. Good luck.

 

I hate blocking and sanding, but if I'm gonna have the car I want I gotta build it myself. I don't have money. If I were rich that's one of the many things I would farm out.

 

I look at all the car that are just like mine.. theres are done , mine isnt..
Body work is a Pain.. but its just another step to getting the car done..

We would like to see your finished project...

 

Motivation?
Drink beer and puff weed for breakfast.
LOL.
Whars mah grinder?

Seriously,,you better know how to do it or it'll whip yer *** ,,,you'll work yourself in circles.
I call it getting lost.
Most people think a body man or mechanic is in a lower cl*** than a garbage man. I've seen 'em give it a try because it's so easy,,and fail miserably. "It's body work not body fun" as the famous Hamber said.
There's no better feeling than seeing what you did with your own hands,,as opposed to shuffling papers in an office all day and never seeing real results.
Make small daily goals and acheive them,,talk to an elder on streamlining your methods so that you aren't wasting labor.

 

Body work is a task that you look at in steps, when you look at that car in the morning you have to have a plan of attack and a goal to acheive by the end of the day. Its a real reward to see the finished product and taking a ugly peice of iron and turning into a piece of beauty. Having done body work for 25 years that how I looked at it, if you can't see it done you will struggle

 

The last car I did was a shiny black 51 Merc. HUGE car. Never, never again. Nothing but little bitty T-buckets from now on...

-Abone.

 

There is as much art in body work as technique. I grew up in a body shop and ran one for a few years when my dad couldn't, and I still can't do it. Make a flat panel curved or a curved panel flat? Sure, but not in the right order. It's only been in the past 10 years or so that people figured out that the body was what made the car, so getting it straight was important and not everyone can do it at home. That, and the "need" for new, high-cost finishes, is why the cost of the work went up so high. Most people, including yourself, will judge your car by the way it looks regardless of how it runs and drives. If you can do it, but can't motivate yourself by your vision of the final product, or by the need to keep that money in your pocket, move on to something you like and come back later when the final product is closer and the motivation to finish it is greater. Good luck.

 

This is an interesting question, when applied specifically to body and paint. I know of no other task that involves such back-breaking exertion, yet demands such artistic talent and devotion to perfection. You're developing a surface that needs to be first forced into submission, then coaxed to perfection. Make no mistake about it...good body and paint men are ***-bustin' artists!!! I agree with those who have said to split your work up. Take your time, and possibly do other things in-between. Use good tools. Use a big-*** sanding-board to develop those large panels. I actually enjoy the last stages best...less effort, more artistry. Reflecting those light-rays off the surface in order to see it, and finessing it. Good luck. - Rick

 

A couple more thoughts. Music helps me. Good motivational music. Gotta take breaks though...don't hurt yourself. Take a day or more off if needed. Let your body heal. One time I pushed too hard, and I got such a back-spasm...I honestly thought I was havin' a freakin' heart-attack! It's gonna be nice when you get done though. I just know it. - Rick

 

I have over 35 years under my belt. Oh and guess what, i do it all day and then........i go home and work all night and weekends to. Actually, during the day i'm involved more in collision repairs and every job is just a little different. Bodywork is more than just slapping mud on and sanding it. We deal with suspentions, bent frames, mechanical, etc.
Restoring cars is a whole different animal. Extremly time consuming. We always hear about the guy who took his pride and joy for bodywork and most are looking for a deal and the car gets started on and sits. Sometimes for months and nobody working on it. This is the shop that does mostly collision repairs and that's how he makes a living for the most part. When he runs into a slow spell he may take on a project like a cl***ic or rod only to find out he's litterly dying on the thing and actually starting to cost him money. That car he took on is just too much to make any kind of profit.
Restoring vintage cars is a pain in the ***. Bodys are basicly crude even in 'mint' form. It's not hard to spend 500 plus hours on a body. Takes it's toll on your motivation, believe me. Same ol piece of **** staring at you day after day. Been there too many times. Most body men drop out after the first 3 years and move on. The love of old fords got me into the trade and the work can be brutal and depressing sometimes. That's why so many drink in this trade i guess. Personaly i've never been a drinker or a toker. I get hi on old fords. I love a challenge of building. It's art man, old rods have soul. That's my motivation. It's not for the faint of heart. You gotta be tough and that will delelop a bit of crusty personality after awhile.

 

Have a buddy over to help, that helps me through periods of no motivation.

 

Me too!

Early on in my career, I was given a roll over pick-up to fix; there was damage everywhere. Looking at the truck, it was overwhelming with all of the work that needed to be done. I had to replace the roof panel, the whole right side and then there were dents on the rest of the truck that needed to be fixed. One of the older bodymen that I worked with, told me to look at the whole job like a lot of little jobs; that helped a lot. Don't start on the whole thing, just do a little at a time. What I still like to do when starting on any project, is work my way into it. I'll do all of the easy stuff first and the hardest part last, that way when the hard part is done, the whole thing is done.

 

I finished my 65 elky last winter, all black like the others have said do it a panel at a time and use guide coat and when you lay that black and clear on there then color sand and buff and that SOB looks absolutly killer in the sun and you walk away a winner at every show you attend that's what motivates you!

 

i smoke a bunch of cigarettes til i feel like i need to get something done. i feel ya man the hard part is to get rolling

 

medical marijuana

 

Well.... If you are able to do a good job. I would have to say you do great work if you are painting it black. With that being said think about paying someone to do the same thing you can do and paying them all that money for nothing. + you have all the glory of saying you did it yourself. If its a hotrod that has to be some kind of excape from the world working on it also.. It is for me anyways.......

 

I have a hard time staying motivated also. It helps to have a friend come over so it is not so boring.

 

I love bodywork, i have a hard time stopping as opposed to starting. Gotta love it i guess......

 

MOTIVATION?

******, **** and Tequlia. That always works on her body!

 

the va hospital sends me these blue,white, and green pills..when i'm not feeling any pain..i go to work.

 

I started on my model A and worked on the body for 8 months full time fixing and straightening and fabing minor stuff fixing broken bolts and , finally got sick of it,
bought a car to get going to shows etc and bought a total of 4 more vehicles and just cant bring my self back to working on it, some fabrication is just plain disgusting to think about

of course going through the driveline and stuff and cleaning up the other cars is mostly a full time job too, it take me about 3 months to get most of them roadworth and showworthy

most of my work is spray cans now days and sometimes you can do amazing things with them on lower quality cars[ actually fun cars , drove one 10K to shows etc this year]

i guess if all the other cars are in show condition, I will have to resume on the model A and finish it, but i dont relish spending 5 to 10K to finish it these projects sure seem to escalate in work and $$$$
I have so many boxes of paint and primer that I am not even sure what it is for anymore

I , 2 would just like to go back to implement enamel it was a lot easier in the old days, sand in morning and spray in afternoon, next day clean off masking and get car ready and drive in the next afternoon did it many times, why do we want perfection in everything now??


cars that fit and bolt together may be ok, but stuff that has to be made can slow a person down