I bet you gals want the gun...
the LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNUUUUUNNNNNNN!
the LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNUUUUUNNNNNNN!
BUILD THREAD The Mullet Maurader, The Epic of the LS swapped Buick
- Thread starter Northernregal
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Pretty big update today.
C pillar and roof restoration has begun.
I started off by addressing a couple of holes from the Vinyl top that were from the factory rivets.
Now you see them, first one patched.
Now you don't. Had the get the welder all unpacked and set back up with some 0.23 wire, but it was very quick work.
Then I moved to the big ticket item. The C-Pillar that i uncovered 2 years ago.... first step was wire wheel and 36grit prep. Cleaned them both up, double checked the lines to make sure I really did have them nice and lined up with the body lines.
Then I went to the bench and mixed up some fiber filler that I picked up last week. I had been contemplating using AllMetal filler, but did some deep digging and decided I wanted something with a little more flex. I'm going to flex the body hard so a harder product like AllMetal was probably going to pop out. After some conversations with The Rktpwrd godfather and some online research this is my direction.
I am not a body guy, I have not done any body work before. This was the first venture. So I read the instructions.
I didnt lay on too thick, I wanted to end up slightly under finished surface so I could give it the "Oldscool" multi-layered finish. And it worked out really well. I think anyway. After the prescribed drying time, I hit it with the DA and got both sides down to just noticeably under a straight edge on the sheetmetal. Stage one complete.
So far so good. This took a couple hours as I was being cautious and making sure I had it done right. After the Rktpwrd approval of the texted pics of the work I carried on.
C pillar and roof restoration has begun.
I started off by addressing a couple of holes from the Vinyl top that were from the factory rivets.
Now you see them, first one patched.
Now you don't. Had the get the welder all unpacked and set back up with some 0.23 wire, but it was very quick work.
Then I moved to the big ticket item. The C-Pillar that i uncovered 2 years ago.... first step was wire wheel and 36grit prep. Cleaned them both up, double checked the lines to make sure I really did have them nice and lined up with the body lines.
Then I went to the bench and mixed up some fiber filler that I picked up last week. I had been contemplating using AllMetal filler, but did some deep digging and decided I wanted something with a little more flex. I'm going to flex the body hard so a harder product like AllMetal was probably going to pop out. After some conversations with The Rktpwrd godfather and some online research this is my direction.
I am not a body guy, I have not done any body work before. This was the first venture. So I read the instructions.
I didnt lay on too thick, I wanted to end up slightly under finished surface so I could give it the "Oldscool" multi-layered finish. And it worked out really well. I think anyway. After the prescribed drying time, I hit it with the DA and got both sides down to just noticeably under a straight edge on the sheetmetal. Stage one complete.
So far so good. This took a couple hours as I was being cautious and making sure I had it done right. After the Rktpwrd approval of the texted pics of the work I carried on.
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I went back and reprepped the surface with the 36grit, scuffed the filler and got ready for application 2.
I did this one side at a time as I was slowing it down to make sure I had it all right. Prepped, wiped down, blow off with air, quick wipe with degreaser, mix filler. This time it was standard featherfill.
Even touched up the rear window edge as I have welded up the vinyl top rivet holes there too.
While I waited for this to harden the prerequisite hour I started fitting up the rear quarter patch panel I cut out 2 years ago. Again, I watched TONs of YouTube videos to see different processes and have come up with a game plan.
Step 1 was fitting the outside panel, it's not fully cut to butt weld in yet as I need to replace inner and outer wheelhouse patches, and they will need to be fit with this in place so it all is happy together. And I need to get the bumper off.
This particular panel doesnt have through bolts for the bumper filler so I'll have to tack some in before it's ready for final fit. But the fit is decent, and its gonna work.
This took enough time to harden the filler so out came the DA with 80 grit and I went to town with the block sander.
Passenger side looks pretty good.
Passenger side was laid a touch low in the seam and will need another thin skim but other than some more blocking and a top paste coat I'm pretty satisfied. it came out pretty nice. Hopefully get these done tomorrow and shoot a quick shot of primer on them before I have to go back to work.
Need to pick up a few more sanding blocks and some more grits of sand paper but it's coming along. Finally....
I did this one side at a time as I was slowing it down to make sure I had it all right. Prepped, wiped down, blow off with air, quick wipe with degreaser, mix filler. This time it was standard featherfill.
Even touched up the rear window edge as I have welded up the vinyl top rivet holes there too.
While I waited for this to harden the prerequisite hour I started fitting up the rear quarter patch panel I cut out 2 years ago. Again, I watched TONs of YouTube videos to see different processes and have come up with a game plan.
Step 1 was fitting the outside panel, it's not fully cut to butt weld in yet as I need to replace inner and outer wheelhouse patches, and they will need to be fit with this in place so it all is happy together. And I need to get the bumper off.
This particular panel doesnt have through bolts for the bumper filler so I'll have to tack some in before it's ready for final fit. But the fit is decent, and its gonna work.
This took enough time to harden the filler so out came the DA with 80 grit and I went to town with the block sander.
Passenger side looks pretty good.
Passenger side was laid a touch low in the seam and will need another thin skim but other than some more blocking and a top paste coat I'm pretty satisfied. it came out pretty nice. Hopefully get these done tomorrow and shoot a quick shot of primer on them before I have to go back to work.
Need to pick up a few more sanding blocks and some more grits of sand paper but it's coming along. Finally....
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Looks great. Consider flanging that quarter patch instead of butt-welding it. If you aren't Donovan skill level, you'll end up with far less distortion with a flanged repair. Just my unsolicited $0.02.
I'm thinking about it. I have 3/4 of an inch of overlap in the metal still so I can go that way. I'm a LOT better at welding than bodywork, that has me leaning toward a butt weld but I have some time to think about it. I mean it's only been cut out for 2 years already... lol
Very nice.
Awesome progress!!
Awesome progress!!
Just curious, did you remove your headliner inside before welding the rivot holes? I need to do the exact same thing to my regal and I wasnt sure if I should remove the interior first because of the heat.
thx
I didn't remove the headliner, the rivet holes took about 3 or 4 small tacks to fill, so heat was very minor.
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