Helpful Hints
Mar 23, 2015 21:40:47 GMT -5
Post by 81pumagtc on Mar 23, 2015 21:40:47 GMT -5
Well, I am having fun with the Fiat 124 Coupe.
I am having the car painted, and the person who is doing the paint is used to restoring Ferraris, Jaguars, and cars WAY WAY more exotic than my Fiat.
One of the cars Jon has done, a Lamborghini Mura, is now owned by Jay Leno!
To help keep the cost down, I am doing lots of trained monkey work on the Fiat.
(Basically, that means that pretty much everything I am doing could be done by a trained monkey...)
Anyway, I have learned a lot in the last couple of weeks, and some of it might be interesting to the GoodVolks.
First, if you have to do any bodywork, invest in a Black and Decker Mouse detail sander. This is an small, orbital detail sander that uses a triangular pad the sandpaper attaches to using Velcro. It's a detail sander that can sand to the very edge, and is fantastic for detail sanding...hence the name, detail sander. The Black and Decker heavy-duty blue paper works fantastic, and is about $5.50 for 5 sheets.
The Mouse is about $33.00, and can be used for much more than detail sanding. If you have to do any bodywork at all, get one. You will not be sorry about the purchase. You can get them anywhere...Meijer's, Home Depot, etc.
3M makes good sandpaper. They make a better sandpaper, the professional series, that is supposed to last 15 times longer than the regular 3M sandpaper, for just a little bit more. It's well worth the additional cost.
However, 3M makes an ultra-flexible sandpaper, that is even better than the professional grade sandpaper, that last 25 times longer than the regular 3M sandpaper. It's on a flexible plastic, and of course, it is slightly more than than the professional grade sandpaper. It is totally worth the extra money. It seems to stay sharp forever, and does seem to last about twice the amount of time that the professional grade sandpaper seems to last. The only issue seems to be that you only get two sheets that are split in two per carton. Still, they are worth it. This sandpaper cost about $6.00 per carton, but well worth it. Even better, they make a roll of it available for about $13.00 that is a much better deal. Home Depot sells it, but only in the grades of 80, 100, 150. and 220 grits. The larger rolls are only available in 100, 150, and 220 grit.
Jon Hammond (the guy doing the Fiat) does not use Bondo in anything that he does. He only uses lead, which is a really old fashioned way of doing things. There are lots of reasons for it, but apparently, Bondo is made up of the adhesive used to bind the material that is used to provide the filler, which is basically talc. Think something like Baby Powder. He showed me how regular Bondo absorbs water, and all sort of bad things that can appear a few years after the repair.
All is not lost, however. There is a Bondo like material that uses powdered aluminum to replace the talc material in regular Bondo. It is apparently much more stable, and does not absorb water. It is more expensive than Bondo, but will last much, much longer. I don't have the name, but if anyone want it, I will be happy to get it for you. Seems like really good stuff. I have seen him use is on an MGA Twin-Cam coupe he is restoring for a museum, and it does have it's uses to clean up the bottoms of doors, etc. where it is too expensive to use lead, but you still want the repair to be permanent.
Cool stuff.
Now, back to the trained monkey stuff...
Dave Riedle
I am having the car painted, and the person who is doing the paint is used to restoring Ferraris, Jaguars, and cars WAY WAY more exotic than my Fiat.
One of the cars Jon has done, a Lamborghini Mura, is now owned by Jay Leno!
To help keep the cost down, I am doing lots of trained monkey work on the Fiat.
(Basically, that means that pretty much everything I am doing could be done by a trained monkey...)
Anyway, I have learned a lot in the last couple of weeks, and some of it might be interesting to the GoodVolks.
First, if you have to do any bodywork, invest in a Black and Decker Mouse detail sander. This is an small, orbital detail sander that uses a triangular pad the sandpaper attaches to using Velcro. It's a detail sander that can sand to the very edge, and is fantastic for detail sanding...hence the name, detail sander. The Black and Decker heavy-duty blue paper works fantastic, and is about $5.50 for 5 sheets.
The Mouse is about $33.00, and can be used for much more than detail sanding. If you have to do any bodywork at all, get one. You will not be sorry about the purchase. You can get them anywhere...Meijer's, Home Depot, etc.
3M makes good sandpaper. They make a better sandpaper, the professional series, that is supposed to last 15 times longer than the regular 3M sandpaper, for just a little bit more. It's well worth the additional cost.
However, 3M makes an ultra-flexible sandpaper, that is even better than the professional grade sandpaper, that last 25 times longer than the regular 3M sandpaper. It's on a flexible plastic, and of course, it is slightly more than than the professional grade sandpaper. It is totally worth the extra money. It seems to stay sharp forever, and does seem to last about twice the amount of time that the professional grade sandpaper seems to last. The only issue seems to be that you only get two sheets that are split in two per carton. Still, they are worth it. This sandpaper cost about $6.00 per carton, but well worth it. Even better, they make a roll of it available for about $13.00 that is a much better deal. Home Depot sells it, but only in the grades of 80, 100, 150. and 220 grits. The larger rolls are only available in 100, 150, and 220 grit.
Jon Hammond (the guy doing the Fiat) does not use Bondo in anything that he does. He only uses lead, which is a really old fashioned way of doing things. There are lots of reasons for it, but apparently, Bondo is made up of the adhesive used to bind the material that is used to provide the filler, which is basically talc. Think something like Baby Powder. He showed me how regular Bondo absorbs water, and all sort of bad things that can appear a few years after the repair.
All is not lost, however. There is a Bondo like material that uses powdered aluminum to replace the talc material in regular Bondo. It is apparently much more stable, and does not absorb water. It is more expensive than Bondo, but will last much, much longer. I don't have the name, but if anyone want it, I will be happy to get it for you. Seems like really good stuff. I have seen him use is on an MGA Twin-Cam coupe he is restoring for a museum, and it does have it's uses to clean up the bottoms of doors, etc. where it is too expensive to use lead, but you still want the repair to be permanent.
Cool stuff.
Now, back to the trained monkey stuff...
Dave Riedle
