Auto Body Repair Without The Auto Body Price

by MARK WILLIAMS

It was a warm summer night; the first time your dad let you use his hot new 57 Chevy to take Betty Sue, your new girlfriend to the drive in. You were so cool with the slicked back hair, t-shirt and Blue jeans. There you were driving around town showing off to your friends and impressing your new girl in that hot car that screamed power, up and down the road. Finally you pull into the drive in, you are ready to ��watch the movie�� and�� Well, you know the rest of the story.

Fast-forward 50 years. Wouldn��t it be great to still have that 57 Chevy that you grew up driving? Unfortunately you can��t afford the one that has been completely restored by the local body shop. Your only hope is to restore that old car yourself. Amateur auto body can fun and rewarding, but also a lot of work. Most of these projects take professional auto body shops several hundred hours to accomplish, double that for the do-it yourself auto body man or woman. The following tips should help get you fast on your way to restoring that old broken down car to a classic gem.

First you need to set a budget and come up with a game plan on how where to start. The best thing to do is make an inventory of what is good on the car that can be saved and reused and what has to be replaced. Once you have that done you can go on line to find the parts you need or find a car parts supplier that specializes in your vehicle. Check out the parts and see just how much all those parts are going to cost. If you need any sheet metal parts those are the first things that you should order. If you are not sure if you are going to need them, hold off a little until you get farther along. Don��t order everything you need up front, which just generates a large investment of parts taking up space in your garage.

Next, it��s time to get your hands dirty. It��s typically best to take the car completely apart marking all the fasteners and where you took them from by putting them in a separate zip lock sandwich bag. When you do this make a note of any broken or missing parts. You should also remove the complete interior and store it someplace so as to not damage it and keep it out of your way. If the glass is good take that out as well and store it in a safe place, replacing auto glass can be expensive. If you are unsure of the best way to remove all the glass, call a local auto glass company to remove it, they can also reinstall it when you are ready

Now that you have disassembled most of the car, it��s time to strip the finish. This can be done mechanically, with liquid or having it professionally done with acid dipping or media and or sand blasting. Once that is done it should be immediately epoxy coated before you do any bodywork. By this time you should know for sure if any sheet metal parts are needed. Continue doing any rust repair and removing any dents in the surface. When done with a panel or section make sure that you prime those areas so you prevent your body filler from taking any moisture from the air which could lead to rusting or paint failure. Once all the body work has been completed and primed it would be a good time to make sure you have the rest of your parts. Sometimes parts are not readily available or get back ordered. You may get them in a week or less or it could take months. Now is the time you hope you have a good back and broad shoulders because this is the step where it either makes or breaks the restoration. What I am talking about is the arduous task of block sanding the complete car and re priming it. This step is often overlooked and very important to the overall finish after it has been painted. Primers are less expensive than your paint and clear coats, because of this it��s very cost effective to make sure all flaws are corrected before going on to the next stage. Finally, prep it for paint and start refinishing per the recommendations of the paint manufacturer that you are using. All paints today are catalyzed and very toxic; therefore it is very important to make sure you have a well-ventilated or clean shop to spray in. If you do not have a place like this, put safety first and consult your local professional auto body shop.

After all the paintwork is done, you should at least wet sand any dirt, runs or imperfections out of the finish. You do not have to final polish at this point because you will be working over a lot of this when you reinstall all the trim and parts. When everything is back together you can finally do a final polish and wax to the finish to achieve that classic car look. Only then can you proudly drive and show the car off to your friends and family. Oh, and don��t forget Betty Sue!

Please remember that the small details are what make the final job look professional, complete and what car enthusiast��s look for.

Mark Williams, the owner of Williams Auto Body Shop in Green Bay, WI spends his extra time restoring classic cars, check out his website to see restorations that he has done. Williams Auto Body Shop