QUICK TECH...Metal finishing

[Tinbender]

I haven't had much time lately. Been swamped with projects & work. So rather than a full on "how to" I thought I'd post the speed version.

Step one. Guide coat and sand the fender to locate the damage.(fender has been media blasted)

[Tinbender]

Step 2

Sand the inside to locate the high areas (were on the inside so the highs are really the lows on the outside)

Gently, VERY gently, start working these spots out. I used a blunt pick hammer for most of the work.

[Tinbender]

Step 3
Turn the fender back over, and make a few passes with the metal file.

[Tinbender]

step 4
repete the process several times. Go slow. Guide coat and block both sides as nessesary.

[Tinbender]

Done deal, took less than 45 min.

[Tinbender]

Sand with 120, ready for prime. Give it a try, it's not as hard as it looks.

[Tinbender]

These are the tools I used. Mostly the pick hammers, the lead dolly (center) and the 6 tpi file (on the right)

[ESnacky6]

just curious...

when you use the file, is it actually removing much metal..?
or just kinda scraping it to 'see' where you are..??

Looks good man...!! -Snacks...

[Tinbender]

It's doing both. You have to be careful when your picking the metal up. Go real slow.

[REVEREND JAKE]

I like the tech. I love to metal finish stuff. I usually use a "slapper" file to metal finish and DA after that. Where do you buy your files??? None of the tool trucks stock much of any body equipment around here.

Good, and quick, post.
Rev. Jake Toocool

[Deuce Rails]

Great post!

Wouldn't anyone rather have that than bondo?

--Matt

[manyolcars]

[ QUOTE ]
Great post!

Wouldn't anyone rather have that than bondo?

--Matt

[/ QUOTE ] I believe it is often faster to straighten the metal than it is to use bondo

[Roothawg]

So where do you start working the dent? From the center or the outside edges?

[JimC]

So where do you start working the dent? From the center or the outside edges?

That is exactly my question.
Having been suckered into one of Roothawg/s cast off projects, there are a few small areas to work.

[Tinbender]

Manyolcars is right. This is faster than filler.I have maybe 45 min into this area of the fender.(including the time I spent messing with the camera.) You don't just save the filler time, it will block out faster in prime too.

These dents were small,so there wasn't alot of complicated metal work. I started from the back side,and gently bumped out the dents with the face of a hammer. I struck each area at the deepest part. (The highest area, as I was working from the inside of the panel). I lightly supported the front side with a lead dolly. The lead works great.It lets the metal move without the stretching you get with steel dollies. Then I turned the fender over,and made a few light passes with the file. I used a 6 TPI (tooth per inch) That's really aggressive. If your just learning, you might want to start with an 8 or 10. I didn't have any bad high spots, if I did, I would have bumped them back down then.

Next,I turned the fender over again,and guide coated the back side. A few passes with 120 grit showes the places that are still low,as shinny spots(were on the back side,so lows show as highs) On the larger dent,I used a blunt pick,in a spiral pattern from the outside to the center. Most of the rest were small enough to just pick out from the center. The most important thing is to go slow. If you go to far,and move the metal back and forth too much, it it will stretch and get complicated. Do as many "cycles" of bumping / fileing as it takes. I think it took 4 or 5 to get this done. Practice on some junk parts first. Your bound to wear a few holes in the panels during the learning curve. Also start with really small dents. It can get frustrating if your to far over your head.
Someone asked about files.I get all my Martin stuff from an industral supply called Applied Tech.