Beginner body work.

[72satteldog]

I'm about to start prep work on my 72 sattelite, the body is in pretty good shape, does need some small rust repair and some filling here and there. it has been painted once already, but other than the areas that need some work the majority of the car has solid paint . My qustion is, what type of prep work does the the good part of the car reqiure as apposed to the areas that do need sanding and filler work? pictures will be coming also. appreciate any input.

 

[fla 66 cuda]

Congrats on your project and welcome to FBBO my son and i have been rebuilding a 73 charger for the last 21 months we started with a rusted pile of dissasembled car. I had no welding,fabrication,bodywork,painting experiance i watched a lot of tutorials on you tube between that and just doing it using common sence the damn thing has come out pretty good for my lack of knowledge. Started with the first photo and the second was 2 weeks ago in sealer, we just sprayed feather fill today [no photos yet] we just finished an hour ago. You will get other answers here and watching the tutorials you'll be able to complete the task.

 

[747mopar]

Start off with a real good washing "soap and water" then use a wax and oil remover like final prep. I would sand it all with no coarser than 400 grit then apply a guide coat to uncover any hidden flaws. If you've never done this cheap spray paint can be used, pick a color that contrast against the body color like white on a black car. Spray it on really light (if using spray paint you'll likely want to wet sand it because it clogs the paper otherwise) then block sand it all off. As you sand it you'll quickly spot any scratches, low spot etc if they are not deap you may be able to sand them out. Once your happy I spray on a sealer, I like using urethane primers for any filling. Good luck

 

[Propwash]

How old's the paint on the car? What's the quality and the shape that it's in? Paint makes a great base for mediums to stick to, but if you have issues elsewhere or if it's a shotty or beat up paint job to begin with you may be better off stripping it all off. The good side to stripping her down is you know what you got underneath. The bad side, you could open up a can of worms and your couple week body work just became months.

 

[99ss]

My thought is that unless its original paint it needs to come off to see whats underneath.

 

[747mopar]

"If it were mine" I would strip it. Any car that I've ever done that has had previous body work done to it was stripped to bare metal. I've found doors 80% covered with as much as 1/2 thick puddy.

 

[72satteldog]

so, I've been reading some other posts here on stripping and what to use for taking down paint to the metal, witch is what i decided to do. i have no timeline i just want a proper prep job . it has 2 coats of paint and some mud on doors. stripping agent or sanding discs? and what grit to start with. i'm gwtting close to start sanding or stripping. whatta you think guys. much appreciated. 72 satteldog.