Thread: Prepping a 79 ford for paint, bondo cure time?

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hey guys,

talked to my uncle and he might come back as early as next week, so I need to get his truck in and get it painted (other thread about whether that was a good deal). now I need to know two things,

on badges, emblems etc. how do those come off? just pry them off carefully? I noticed the FORD on the hood one of those letters is loose, I don't want to have every badge and emblem loose afterwards.

second question, I need to do a bit of bondo work on the back, which I have never done before, is there a cure time? if I do the bondo sunday or monday would it be paintable tuesday?

real quick, difference between bondo and filler and what application?

Thanks.

Red

Bondo (filler) cures fairly fast . When you mix use about a inch of hardner to about a cup or so of filler . If you use to much hardner depending on temp it will get hard before you can spread it . Also make sure you mix it well with a spreader . You can shoot over bondo same day once primer is dry and prepped .

Emblems take a good look some use a barrel clip that they push into . These clips and like most of this style dont like being reused since they are like a thin spring steel . If your carefull and dont get hasty you may be allright .

Safety bondo is a chemical so dont get alot on you . When its curing it will generate alot of heat .

Think he read and went to shop LOL wish i had that energy .

Tip:, get 2 different colors of hardener, so you can apply them to read the lows, and highs of the work area.
Today 02:15 AM


Great tip ive allways used the red easier to see when mixed have to trust the hand for the rest .

The filler cures quickly, I do like to give the primer awhile to cure... If anything is going to lift, crack, or shrink I'd rather it did it with the primer and not the paint....

Not all are barrel clipped , some have studs and have a nut threaded on the back , might take a look on the back side and see before trying to pry them off

Most new cars are using that double sided tape .

Filler cure - that depends on the amount of catalyst used, the ambient temperature and the humidity. Too much catalyst - a gooey mess that will take days, too little, same thing. You can also use a polyester high fill primer (Everfil) for the little dings and depressions

'79 Ford emblems and trim are all mechanically held in place - no 2 side tape - that is, at least on the one I had.

Primer - 2K will cure in 30 minutes to overnight - again, this can be weather related. Epoxy - overnight, regardless. I suggest that the acrylic lacquer base primers never be used unless you are using acrylic lacquer or an older single stage enamel as it is NOT much of a protectant from weather. If you are going to bare metal - then for sure, epoxy is the best primer.

Thanks guys. I went looking in the shop, knowing I had bought something, but it might not be the right thing. I have bondo brand fiberglass resin, I think I got the wrong thing!! this was a while back and was for something else, at the time I thought bondo was the product, not knowing it was the manufacturer.

So I need to go to the store, problem is tomorrow, when I am planning on doing this, it is going to be 90 degrees!!! I bet get up early and work fast.

I think my ding might be a bit deeper than 1/4", denny is that bad? I can take a pic later (going to car show in 10 with my wife and kids).

what grits sandpaper do I need? I can get a block around the shop here. also, the guy at the paint place had said to use 36grit on my d8 to rough the area up first, is that right?

I'll take pics and post them of what I do. minor ding to you guys so won't be big deal, but what the heck, practice is practice.

Thanks a lot for the help. I'm already clearing bench space to take the tools out of his box. I wanted to use my friends tractor to lift it out (the bucket with straps to the box) but he loaned it to a friend, I have to empty the entire box to make it light enough to pull out. be interesting trying to get all the stuff back in there.

Originally Posted by Dago Red

Thanks guys. I went looking in the shop, knowing I had bought something, but it might not be the right thing. I have bondo brand fiberglass resin, I think I got the wrong thing!! this was a while back and was for something else, at the time I thought bondo was the product, not knowing it was the manufacturer.

So I need to go to the store, problem is tomorrow, when I am planning on doing this, it is going to be 90 degrees!!! I bet get up early and work fast.

I think my ding might be a bit deeper than 1/4", denny is that bad? I can take a pic later (going to car show in 10 with my wife and kids).

what grits sandpaper do I need? I can get a block around the shop here. also, the guy at the paint place had said to use 36grit on my d8 to rough the area up first, is that right?

I'll take pics and post them of what I do. minor ding to you guys so won't be big deal, but what the heck, practice is practice.

Thanks a lot for the help. I'm already clearing bench space to take the tools out of his box. I wanted to use my friends tractor to lift it out (the bucket with straps to the box) but he loaned it to a friend, I have to empty the entire box to make it light enough to pull out. be interesting trying to get all the stuff back in there.

Man you are asking a lot - to become a bodyman overnight. We can help, but the skills take a while.

Bondo isn't the brand of choice for most body shops and well versed amateurs. The current and most recommended is Everfill Rage Gold. It's a bit pricey, but well worth the extra few bucks. Then you will need a glaze, and there are two generally recommended. One is called (UGC) Icing and the other is (Everfill) Metal Glaze

Sandpaper - that can be a real long story. Grinding a ding before filler - 24 to 60 grit discs, then sheets of 60 - 320 to finish it with a block. Final sand the rest of the body - 220 to 800 depending on what kind of paint. I have used up to 1000 before a metallic BC/CC. You need sanding blocks - and a '79 Ford P/U has lots of long straight metal so you will need a 4", an 11" and a 17" to ensure that you don't have gouges and valleys. Good wet and dry sandpaper is also a necessity. I prefer Norton, but 3M and Mirka are also fine but more expensive. Cheap Harbor Freight or Lowe's is crap - it loads up or breaks down too fast

I have to ask you this - are you sure that you aren't getting in over your head - especially timewise. A repaint with proper prep will take weeks of very hard work - regardless of what you've seen on those stupid TV car dramas. You could end up with a major mess on your hands - and yes, I know that MAACO or similar might do an OK job at some locations (sorry, Bill ) but.........

For fillers, about all I'll use anymore is Evercoat. There top of the line fillers are great, but even the low end of the product line is good stuff. Rage and Rage Gold both sand very nice!

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

For fillers, about all I'll use anymore is Evercoat. There top of the line fillers are great, but even the low end of the product line is good stuff. Rage and Rage Gold both sand very nice!

Have you tried their Light yet? I've heard some good things about that as well. I only use the Gold now - sands super nice - and if you don't stir too hard and get air in the mix, very few pinholes

Originally Posted by IC2

Have you tried their Light yet? I've heard some good things about that as well. I only use the Gold now - sands super nice - and if you don't stir too hard and get air in the mix, very few pinholes

Yup, use a lot of it... a few more pinholes then gold, but still a good filler

I'm just working on a couple of things on this, he keeps talking about just getting a quicky paint job on it to improve its looks, in fact I don't think he'd even bother taking off the mirrors and everything. he said he'd just have them tape everything up and shoot it. I'll go a bit further just because I think it might make a small difference, and might as well practice on the work horse than on something nice.

I'll make a list of these things in the morning and see what I can find on a sunday, might have to wait to monday if I need to go to a real paint/body store. You guys have been great help, I really appreciate it.

I'll tell you what, listening to Dave talk about how much work it is to prep the whole body I think I am going to talk to my uncle about us outsourcing all the body work on the hotrod (other than metal replacement of course) cause it doesn't sound fun. I really appreciate you body guys more now, I could never cut it.

by the way, got all the badges and turn signals off, gonna take the brake lights off right there at the shop when I drop it off. spent another couple hours trying to make more space so I have somewhere to put the bumpers and the grill. My garage is way to frickin' small!!!

Red

Red,

Any shop that paints will do the taping, how well and whether they use fine line and lifting tape is the key to keeping the overspray off the trim and weather stripping on the truck.Of course before you bring it down to them, you should stop at a self wash that uses a high pressure wand and make sure you spray all the nicks and crannies to remove any dirt behind the window moldings and up in the wheel wells, as contamination is caused by not cleaning the vehicle first and having dirt and dust fly out from these area, even when masked off properly. As for prep of the body and filling the ding with plastic body filler, first make sure to prep the ding by sanding all the old paint off of it before filling it in. Use a spatula of a filler board to put the filler on as smooth as possible and as light as possible to fill in the ding. If you have to, after initial sanding you can always add more (less is more in this case and mindset) to build it up slowly. As stated above, drying time depends on temperature and humidity conditions, but figure on 20-30 minutes above 65 degrees, if you like, leave it for an hour just to play it safe and it will most certainly be dry by then (if you remembered the hardner that is). Prepping the rest of the body, if you are using a MAACO in your area, get there $99.95 "Value Prep" service, as that will remove the majority of the chips and scratches in your old paint. From experience, if you choose to do that part yourself you WILL use far more than the $99.95 just in materials to do it properly. Finally, sanding wise, you want to start with 180 grit, then move up to 220 grit (to remove the sanding scratches that the 180 leaves), then finish it off with 320 grit (to remove the sanding scratches that the 220 leaves). The single stage enamel or urethane paints will go over the 320 grit sanding marks and you will never see them. If opting for a base/clear paint job you would work your way up through the 400, 600, 800, 1,000, and even sometimes 2,000 grit sand papers for a true mirror like shine (again for base/clear only)......Any other questions in regards to this, just let me know, as my shop paints between 16-38 cars a week and I have yet to have a complaint about the quality of the finished product to date (I am a bit more anal than your typical MAACO owner about what leaves the shop though).


Bill S.

Thanks very much, I am getting the prep package at the place I am taking it, color glow instead of maaco, just because the guys I got on the phone, the local Maaco guy wasn't friendly, the other guy was. also told me when I talked to him that I could come by after prep and taping to check it before they sprayed it.

I have a 3000psi pressure washer here at the house, is that too high to clean it with if I give enough distance between the wand and the truck?

You guys are great help, thank God I found this forum.

Red

Red,

I use no more than 1,800psi for cleaning, but the 3K should not hurt anything if you stand back a little bit. Just make sure to blast the trim around the windows, cowl and inner fenders of the engine compartment, anyplace where leaves and dirt could accumulate.

Bill S.