How Many of You Do Your Own Bodywork?

[admin]

I think all of us at one time in our lives, as kids with a new driver's license and an old VW probably tried some form of bodywork to make our cars look a little better.  As we got older some of us paid others to work on our VW's, and others continued to work on our own cars.

I've been lucky.  As a teacher, I go through periods where I can have a lot of free time.  I've always marveled at those that could take an ugly duckling and make it a beautiful show car.  In the past, I've done some prep work before and then turned it over to a body shop to shoot the paint. 

On my last project, I had a great friend (known as "Hey Wilson" on this forum) help me out by mentoring me through the process of refinishing a car.  This time I saw the project the whole way through!  It is NOT easy!  It takes a ton of time and a lot of patience!  If you would like to see my experience learning the process, CLICK HERE.

[fouled-plug]

hello there scott
cool site  thanx for the hook up, im a painting contractor by trade my dad was one as well and a type 3 guy
i paint stuctures mainly,but over the years ive done a lot of boats,glasswork is a real talent,i also love working on old
cars/bikes ,metal body work and welding parts together is my biggest chalenge yet,
i look forward to sharing my 68convert project here

Ivan quintana

[admin]

Ivan,
     WELCOME!  
Feel free to start posting up your questions about your convertible and I or "HeyWilson" will be able to assist you.  God knows he taught me just about everything I know when it comes to doing bodywork!

Scott Faivre

[YankeeBug]

I helped sand down a buddy's Nova in High School.  Does that count? 
I think that car stayed in primer for 4 years after that and then I lost touch with the guy.

Andre

[admin]

I'm in a bitter fight with time!

I need to finish a couple of side projects so that I can get back to my convertible.  One is a client's web design project, the next is a fabrication project for my boss (principle at my school), and then there's the constant implement of work that needs to be done on here.  I'm really hoping that I can get ALL of it wrapped up before I have to take off for the holidays.

This would leave me a clean slate to get crackin' on my convertible in January!   That poor baby has been sitting for over 2 years now... since my move to the new house!  It all hasn't been a waste though...  I built the Hooptie in 14 of those months!

Scott Faivre

[Jeff Barnes]

Body work is not a hobby!  But is fun to try. I primed my new fenders and painted them and it came out great! but to paint the whole car was a different story. I did not add a fan for ventulation and the paint mist settled on the car. I resanded the car and off it went to a pro. I have pictures of the painting materials i used. It will be on my website  soon.ftp://

[admin]

Cool Jeff!  Be sure to update your profile to include your website, so that we can check it out!

I agree that bodywork is not a hobby....   IT'S AN ADDICTION! 

I can't wait to get back on my convertible!  I was very lucky and was able to pull from my buddy's 32+ years experience painting cars.  He helped me design the booth in my garage.  We had good air flow and no problems with over spray.  I just wish I would have changed the plastic before the final spray.  I had few pieces of dust settle down into the paint.  A few I could rub out, 2 others are there just to add character! 

Scott Faivre

[kevercarolus]

   gr8 site       i love it
its true carpainting is not hobby, better be done by pro.
i'm a pro. all round car painter here in holland.
its my job i do bodywork repair , sanding (al dry sanding only)
and painting - primer (goundcoat) , - 1leaer 2components coats ,
- waterbase coating, clearcoating .
i use at this moment dupont paints .
i spray it in a spray cabine  and i use a spray-overall.