So I have gotten my hotrod to a point where it runs and drives flawless... Dependable.. now its time to get onto body work... Now I know many people who have the funds to do it in 1 fail swoop.. I know others who have done it piece by piece... now the question is.. Do I just keep driving and try to save $ to get more done at one time?... or do it old skool ways where you do a bit at a time. and then try to put the car in primer or some kind of cheap paint till the day you push for the real deal paint job? Most of the body work I will be doing. BUT there is one part that I have to have a friend who has more tools and space do. Don't have all those cool body forming tools to re make beltlines and rolls... And wish I had the space for those tools. Right now the finish is RUST... And I'm ready to start moving toward phase 2 of sprucing it up. My first thought is to do a little bit at a time.. and what I do try to just prime that spot and have a car with leprosy for a while... but the OCD kicks in and Ill want to just shoot it all one color and just strip back the areas that will be re worked in the future. How has everyone gone about doing yours while still driving it and saving up $ for that day? I know how to paint, have done a few jobs myself before. But the ammt. of body work is the killer to do all at once. I like driving the car too much I guess.. I see so many guys here strip the car down to nothing again, and go at the process full tilt but takes a year or more to finish.. I just don't like putting one down for that long.
Do it a little at a time, epoxy primer what you finish. You can do a lot if you work on it every day or at least every weekend. And it's fell swoop. Fell-an old word, meaning fierce, or savage. Swoop-having to do with the attack of a bird of prey. You are trying to avoid a failed swoop of body work.
OK bud this is totally backyard advice, do it a little at a time then be down for a couple of weeks right at the end. When I was coming up primer cars were not too common, I could name a couple but they were not too common. Cars that were a patch work of old paint and primer spots were very common. Patch a fender, then maybe later nose and deck it or remove some fender tags, repair a rocker panel. When all the major body work was done it went in the barn or where ever and got scuffed primered and painted.
You answered your own question. "I like driving the car too much I guess.. I see so many guys here strip the car down to nothing again, and go at the process full tilt but takes a year or more to finish.. I just don't like putting one down for that long." If it's the only car you have to drive and use I would drive and do as much as you can as time and money allows, I've seen many cars blown apart for complete one time redos that end up down a long time and never finished.
agree with above about working on it while driving it. but, at some point will need to strip it down and paint everything. if you have all of the parts, materials, etc ready to go then will not take a year - may take a month.
Last night I started by doing a lower door patch.. 1 step of many but its the things that need to be done.. So Im going to take the advice... patch here and there... and put some primer on it for the time being... and keep moving forward...
I've done both ways....it works better to do the "bit at a time" if you did quite a bit the work on the main body ahead of time, so you have a solid foundation to build on. But you'll get there....and you can drive the car and keep inspired while you're plugging away at it...
The Jalopy Journal
