Automotive Bodywork & Rust Repair

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(as of Dec 05, 2024 09:24:56 UTC – Details)

There comes a time when just about every car on the road will need some form of rust or body repair. Quite often, if the car is a daily driver for running errands, repairs are never made, and the car eventually ends up in junkyard heaven. For our beloved collector cars, hot rods, and muscle cars, dents, dings, and rust are not an option, and neither is the scrap heap. And for just about any restoration project, the bodywork is by far the most expensive part of the process.

In Automotive Bodywork and Rust Repair, veteran restorer Matt Joseph shows you the ins and out of tackling both simple and difficult rust and metalwork projects. This book teaches you how to select the proper tools for the job, common-sense approaches to the task ahead of you, preparing and cleaning sheet metal, section fabrications and repair patches, welding options such as gas and electric, forming, fitting and smoothing, cutting metal, final metal finishing including filling and sanding, the secrets of lead filling, making panels fit properly, and more. Also included is a comprehensive resource guide.

Whether you decide you want to tackle a full restoration project, or just want to save money by doing minor repairs yourself, Automotive Bodywork and Rust Repair is the book to get you through it.

From the Publisher

In Automotive Bodywork and Rust Repair, veteran restorer Matt Joseph shows you the ins and outs of tackling both simple and difficult rust and metalwork projects. This book teaches you how to select the proper tools for the job, common-sense approaches to the task ahead of you, preparing and cleaning sheetmetal, section fabrications and repair patches, welding options such as gas and electric, forming, fitting and smoothing, cutting metal, final metal finishing including filling and sanding, the secrets of lead filling, making panels fit properly, and more. Also included is a comprehensive resource guide. Whether you decide you want to tackle a full restoration project, or just want to save money by doing minor repairs yourself, Automotive Bodywork and Rust Repair is the book to get you through it.

Tools & Equipment

While various machines can speed autobody metal repair and forming operations, the good old hammer and dolly are still the basis for much of this work. Learn to use them properly, and you will have two great friends for life.

Cleaning Sheetmetal

Twisted wire cup brushes, like this one, are good for digging into rust pits in sheetmetal. It is important to change them often because their wires bend and their ends dull quickly.

Blasting

With considerable patience, abrasive blasting works well to clean sheet metal thoroughly. You have to be careful to work slowly, or you will warp the metal. Media-rich air/abrasive mixtures, low numerical blast angles, low blast pressures, and long nozzle-to-target distances help to prevent distortion.

Cutting

Plasma arc cutters cut very quickly, but lack the accuracy of mechanical methods of cutting metal. They work well on curved surfaces, and leave weldable edges. Despite the intense heat that they generate, they cause little distortion in metal because their cutting heat is contained very locally.

Autobody Steel

After a panel is stamped, it may still need detail work. Employees in this 1975 GM plant are shown performing some of that work. (Photo supplied by General Motors Corp.)

Metal Finishing

The final procedure in metal finishing is to disc polish the metal with 50-, 60-, or 80-grit abrasives. This gives it a sheen that makes it easy to spot dimensional deviations. I always dull that finish with a DA orbital sander, for better paint adhesion.

Welding

In the last 35 years, MIG welding has revolutionized how we join autobody metal. It is fast and efficient, and it provides good quality joints. Oh, that little screwdriver between the fingers of the welder’s left hand; read on, and find out why he keeps it there.

Filling

Looking from the panel’s back toward its front, you can see the completed repair of a decklid’s left-hinge mounting relief area. For demonstration purposes, the left side of the repair area was filled with body solder material and the right side was filled with plastic filler.

Before You Paint

This isn’t a final panel check, but the technique is the same. By feeling through a rag or tissue, much of the friction of your moist, oily skin is eliminated. That allows you to feel minute imperfections that your eyes might not catch.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ CarTech; 9/15/12 edition (October 5, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1932494979
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1932494976
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.38 x 11 inches