looking at attempting body work, need some input on tools

go with Martin tools. You can find them at some local tool suppliers also. check garage sales. especially with spring coming up. it seems there are always old timer body guys selling their stuff. at least around the metro-detroit area anyway.

and as far as filler goes, try not to. the more you practice, the more you can fine-tune the bumps to get a smooth finish.

 

Fillers? Quantum!!!! A bit pricey but sure is forgiving if you get in a bind and cannot cut or begin sanding it when it sets up. One can come back days after and it sands very easily. No need to get a concrete saw or jack hammer!!! And with 3 different hardeners (temp ranges) One doesn't have to wait forever for it to set up in cold temp weather. It doesn't clog your paper as much either.

 

red and oj thanks for the offers, I havent been able to meet up with any actual wrenchers in my area. Everyone that ive meet so far takes there stuff to shops to do the work. Not my cup of tea. Im sending both of you guys pms now.

I guess everyone kinda took what I ment the wrong way. Ive never done body work at all, So if i spend a boat load of money on snap on and find out that its way over my head, then im out of alot of money.

I know that quality tools cost money, if you looked in my garage you could tell. But everything that ive bought so far I use the piss out of and it holds up because its snap on or crasftmen. But I use all of those tools and im pretty good with them, What im also getting at is that the internet and me trying and messing up is how I will learn body work, due to me not knowing people in the area down here.

about the rustoleum paint, I think it will work fine. im just wanting it all one color right now.

 

I painted a few bikes and just 2 cars .
First one with Duplicolor , a cheap gun , a compressor for power tools and outside on the driveway .
Really decent result.

For the 2 nd car , I really wanted to try Rusoleum . Nice gun this time , real compressor and inside the garage .
I was a real mess ... Realy difficult to spray , drops , etc .
I saved maybe 50 $ to have a result I just can t wait to sand and do again .

Of course some have good results , but is the job worth ?
I m just an amateur , so ...

 

If all you want to do is slap out the crease as close as you can an then filler it out. Then grab a ballpeen hammer and a block of wood and work the crease down from the back side toward the wood "dolly" . The wood will absorb some of the impact and minamize the streaching from hitting on dolly once you get close. Then apply your filler. If you can spread it out smooth enough you should beable to knock it down with 80 grit. { i haven't used a cheese grater since i was a teenager! I am now 55} use a guide coat to find high and low spots. {powdered guide coat from 3m is pricey, but carpenter snapline chalk from the lumber yard will work, just rub it on with a rag. Spray can auto primer will work to} spread thin coats of filler till you have filled your low spots blockingg with 80 grit, when you think your close move up to 120, then 180 and 220, guide coating between. If you are going to 2k high build prime with a spray gun then fine you can feather 220 sanding . If you are going to spray bomb prime it, i would feather sand it with at least320 first. And if you think a 3" swipe of filler will cover your crease make it 9 to 12"! The damage no matter how minor, moves out alot farther than you think. This is how i started when i was 15! Before i even knew where to buy body tools let alone afford them. Larry

 

check your local craigslist too

i picked up 5 snap on hammers, 4 snap on dollys, a snap on s****, and a slide hammer set with every attachment snap on offers for 85 bucks. the slide hammer kit is like 3000 or something ridiculous last time i checked. some times you get lucky

 

the best body work investment has to be a big compressor that can keep up with the air tools that are usually required for body work, harbor freight does have a little starter body hammer and dolly set that will get ya started and is very cheap, i have a set and used it for a few years and it works pretty well for home/amatuer use, its like 5 or 6 hammers and 4 or 5 dollies......all shapes and sizes.....and at the price if you stay amateur its no big loss if you never use em again....

 

also x2 on "The Key to Metal Bumping" by Martin tools Better information in there than most books, dvd's, or community college cl***es. Its clear, concise and to the point. Its a small book but everything is great information. I differ a bit on shrinking technique but part of that is personal preference.

 

someone gave me one of those sets (they found it in an old car they bought). I tossed it onto a load of s**** I hauled last summer.

 

yeah, me too...

 

If you're not in a rush, you can find good deals on ebay and CL on decent tools. You might not get the first one you see, but persistence pays off. Gave a guy out in PNW the pn's of my Snap on body hammers as he was in same boat you are, also considering the cheap kits. He let me know later he got some SnapOn hammers at a good price....said it took him about three months, but he is real happy with what he got. I picked up some tools off CL where a local bodyman had p***ed away and his wife got tired of paying storage on his tools, so she listed all his stuff for sale. Got a nice SO electric dent puller, air tools, body tools, and bought every pair of vise grips he had. Would have bought more but I put a hurting on the slush fund

So good deals are out there, gotta look for em though. But you'll have better luck having a good quality used tool hold its value over some cheaply made import stuff any day of the week. There's a reason for that.

I'm about due east of you on the "western shore" in Leonardtown. If you ever wander this way, let me know in advance and we can work on some metal in the shop so you can see some of the stuff and its use. You going to OJ's meet?

 

Hey Folks,

I'm trying to educate myself about body work tools as well. What's you're opinion on this setup...?

http://www.toolking.com/performance-w1007db-7-piece-auto-body-repair-kit

Chris

 

way back in the fine year, ninteen and seventy seven, i got FED UP with high dollar, ****py work, body shops and decided to do all of my paint/body work myself. i experimented on my 72, silver, Formula Firebird and did a bang up job, if i do say so myself. i almost blew myself up though spraying that lacquer paint by having my compressor in the garage with me. it dawned on me and i moved it outside. after several tries and re-sands, i finally got a nice smooth finish. the car turned heads and the paint looked as good from 2" as it did from 15'.

the only advice i can give you is; just start doing it. you will figure it out and don't worry about making mistakes.

 

Hey Chris,

Ya may wanna reread this entire post, and pay close attention to the part about quality body tools!

As for the 7-piece set you mentioned, I can't think of anyone I hate badly enough to send that kit to!

" Humpty Dumpty was pushed "

 

im really thinking about driving up to OJ's. If im not working ill drive up.

 

i am a body man and have been for about seven years wish i had the 50 years of expeirence but i can tell you that on some cars when you work comission you dont always get the metal as smooth as some of the metal magicians and we use filler they have come along way since the old days and work great but its all in the prep get your old paint off dont put anything over laquer or enamel get your metal straight if you can get to the back of the panel hammer and dollie are the way to go i have some old hammers that have been p***ed down to me and some new matco one only use a few of them i use a stud welder or an eagle dent machine when i cant get to the back of a panel if you use a stud welder be gentle you can ruin a panel if you just go yanking on it as far as filler i use evercoat products rage or extreme put it on smoothe and to hell with a cheese grater let your filler tack and put some 36 or 40 on a block and shape it up with that while its tacky just be gentle then i move to 80 as far as blocks pick a block that fits the area you are working small area small block large area large one dura blocks are fine for the early body work i use the yellow 3m blocks and the pinkish orange ones get it shaped up and i like to finish with a coat of evercoat easysand glazing putty stuff goes on smooth and sands great with 120 or 180 knock it down and then guide coat with something other than enamel rattlecan it will clog your paper get it smooth and all your edges feathered prime with quality stuff do not block your primer with durablocks it will be wavy use a hard rubber block or i use a 5 gallon paint stick from shewin willams that i round the edges with a da block with that go through the proper grit changes and get you some quality paint and do it

i bought some porta walls to save money and they ****ed so now i spent the money on the real thing so you will spend more trying to save money than to do it right the first time

 

asprin.

 

Punctuation may help .

 

sorry it got bigger than i planned quick and i forgot all the comas and periods.

 

Go to metal meet.com,best metal work advice I`ve ever had.

 

sorry eastexas , English is even not my native
But this may help
Well at least this will help me ..

 

Hey Paint,

Thank you, those were exactly the words of wisdom I was looking for. I did a review of the whole thread too.

I'm checking out vintage stuff on ebay and Craigslist. That stuff about the older tools being made with harder metal makes a lot of sense and explains the cheap stuff out there now.

Chris

 

Hey Chris,

I got a catalog from TM Technologies in the mail yesterday, and in that catalog was listed the Martin brand of body and fender tools. A" light dinging"' or ""deep dinging hammer" lists for $24.50 each & a "track Dolly "a.k.a. railroad or general purpose dolly lists for $27.50. So for $65-$70 bucks you can score a couple of good tools, and get started. The last hammer I bought off EBay was more than that with a cracked handle!
I don't like ''pick hammers" as used improperly they do more damage than good to sheetmetal. The corner of the track dolly can be used to raise low spots without doing so much damage to the panel. The ''hammer-on '' method can also be used to raise low areas, again without doing more harm than good to the panel.
See, ya don't need a bunch of useless tools form a Chi-Comm kit to get started.

Good luck-


"Your head would look good on a pike "

 

Hey Folks,

I think I did pretty well. For grand total of $116 I got the following...

* Three hammers, large flat, small flat, and a pick
* A wooden mallet
* Channel lock for metal bending
* Cheese grater for Bondo
* Five hammer dollies, varies shapes and sizes
* And two brush looking things....

Anyone know what the last two are for? They are in the lower left corner of the photo.

How'd I do?

Chris

 

Maybe to hit on them to make shapes ?
I just start building real patches on my 66 , and already know why we need several hammer shapes
Just use what you have , you ll find what you need later , and maybe it s on the left corner ...

 

I agree! At the tender age of 18 (29 years ago) I worked part time at a speed shop that sold these tools. I brought a set and it was real junk, I cant understand that they still are make them (or I can, because people love to buy cheap junk!). The metal is soft, wrong curves, sharp edges, no balance at all in the hammers, and the shaft and hammer split when you use it!

 

Based on your discription of the repair I would go about it like this.
1, strip back paint in area to be repaired

2, Remove dent using flat dolly and s**** / slap file. If you beat the metal flat against a flat block with a body hammer then you will strech the metal and make a high spot and probably create an oil can. The s**** will tend to strech less and a slap file will shrink the metal. I make slap files out of heavy ******* or mill files then grind the faces a little to get the disired shrink out of them. The one I use the most is a Mill file with most of the teeth ground down.

3, Skim with a little bondo (Priming with an epoxy prior to this step is up to you)

4, flat work I like the new hard foam blocks (dura block) but all you really need is a couple of the hard rubber blocks from home depot (short and long) and a flexible paint stick ( I have some made from lexan), Sand 80 finish 180 and prime. Spray a little rattle can primer on the bondo and you will easily see highs and lows. Feel the surface with your hand to check for highs and lows as well. Do not be suprised if you find that you are using the short block for your repair. It will not create an area as flat as the long block but if your repair area has not already been worked the entire length of the panel chances are it is not really flat anyway and you will end up chasing the flatwork across the panel. Stay away from the air tools, while they are great for body men (I will use them to remove material quickly) most of your finish work will be completed by hand. To speed up your process also get the bondo with the cheese grater or 36 while it is soft enough to cut, but not so soft it pulls the edges of the bondo or cloggs the paper. When it is not fully cured the bondo will shape effortlessly and tend to give a flatter end result.

+ 1 on the better materials. When you are not cloggin paper and get decent build from your primers then you will spend less time re-working those areas.

Good luck with the repair.

 

The hammer/dolly kit is cheap but should do for your first attempt, the sanding blocks...in 50 yrs I've never used them. I guess I just like my old style sanding board..two sizes.. and the Rasp/cheese cutter you will need one type or another. start small, only do one small area at a time until you think you have the hang of it. No sense waisting materials. Gotta start somewhere. Good Luck.

 

To make your life alot easier go to lowes or home depot ,Buy a 12 inch spackling knife ,Works great for large flat panels,Clean right away after use,With thinner ,Always work thin......

 

Looks like you got some sound advise on the tools and all..

One thing (or i should say one person HAMBer Donut 29) came down to my place and gave me a good afternoon of his time teaching me how to use the tools, that was priceless for me.
Books are great, but hands on is how I learn.