Body Finishing Tips by Street Rod Painter: Click here

Protecting the underside from stones - [JG] "I just applied Gator guard II (from Eastwood) to the wheel wells of FFR2833. I used a brush and roller and it turned out very good. I made a "reverse body buck" to hold the body upside down. I also used the material on the underside of the hood and trunk lid fiberglass surfaces. The Gator Guard is a two-part epoxy product."

Prepping The Body

[AL] "First, wash the body in shoe polish remover. This gets ride of the icky stuff called mold, or is it mold wax. Anyway, second, get a roll of wire. Preferably small gauge. Then wrap the whole body in it. Note, you must wrap lengthwise. This is to expose access to the seams. Then, with a Makita or air disc, grind those seams out. You must do all the seams at once, so the filler is one piece and has no weak spots (hence the reason for the wire wrap, helps keep the body together).

OK, OK seriously.... this is direct from the boat man:

West System Epoxy

Body prep...............

Go to West Marine. 1 gal wax and mold release remover....at least 20
sheets of 100 grit paper.....1 qt 105 west system epoxy and pt. 205
hardener also use 407 or 410 fairing filler to thicken epoxy....plastic
mixing containers and paper mixing cups with cc measurements on
sides....ask salesmen for help.

Wash body with wax remover 2 times. carefully grind seams with 4 in
Makita down about a 1/16th. Inch wide strip. Hand sand the whole thing
with 100 grit, use new dry sponge to help sand curves. Mix epoxy and
practice on one seam ex. top of fender. Plastic squeege very thin first fill.
Sand and do again fairing each time you sand.

Get a sanding file and 100 grit paper at auto paint store for final prep
before primering. It's really easy work. A few hours here and there and
you will have it.

Detail work at cutouts and wheel radiuses will pay off after paint job.
Most painters only want to spray paint so the more detail you do will pay
off. What good is a $3000 paint job without the prep work done first.

I spent about 30 hours doing all the prep. It paid off ...satisfying. I used 2
gls of 2 part black primer and then completely assembled car. Took body
back off, used long file to sand primer absolutely fair. Primered again'
sanded with 320 then gave it to the painter. The work is a no brainer.
Work one area till you are satisfied then move on."

[GL] "Because of the separate mold parts bolted together, even though the body is laid up in one piece, you will get shrinkage and picturing if the seems aren't prepped properly. Grind the seems about 1/8" below the surface and fill with a high grade epoxy such as West Systems. Then grind epoxy to the shape wanted and use a skim coat of body filler to finish it off."

[BB] "any newly made fiberglass body, you should "age" it. This is as simple as letting it bake in the sun for a few days. You would be amazed at how many pinholes show up and how much a body will distort. It doesn't distort a lot, but if you had it painted and then brought that newly painted (especially dark colors) beauty to a car show in July/August, you could be in for a surprise. Then you would notice the pinholes and the distortion. It doesn't always happen, but why take the chance."

[DG] "One more tip for the novice (and pro) after you work on a section of the body,get a can of spray paint that is the opposite color of your body and lightly srpay the area after you finish it,the next day take your block sander and block it wet with some 320 grit (or near that)you will then see the low spots as they will still have the paint on them and then you know what needs work and what doesn't. Also when you are finished all your body work spray the whole body before final sanding, that way when you sand off the paint you know where you have sanded and where you missed. This is a fool proof way of checking yourself and making sure you don't miss anything."

[A] "My paint & body guy(s) said that this was the best way to handle the flash/seams

Grind a V into the seam area, then extend out from there. Then lay a 2-3" wide strip of fiberglass over all of the seems. You are essentially rebuilding the flash/seam area with the same thing the body is made from (they used the correct resin for my body - And some are different.

Once the glass has set, work it like you would any high in a fiberglass body.

My body guy swears by this method, and the shop guarantees that should I ever have a problem, they will repair and repaint as many times as it takes to make it right (and I have this in writing) - I'm pretty sure they wouldn't make this statement unless they were 100% sure that the seams are not coming back.

Also, as side note, the pinholes that were found in the body were dealt with by using resin, NOT body filler or feather fill. The reasoning was that shrinkage can occur, and the repair would be visible. The pinholes were opened up, then widened at the top, then filled with resin. Then finished like normal.

The rest of the body work was done with products like feather fill, but only in areas that had small lows. Anything that exceeded the acceptable limit (to the body guy) was filled with resin FIRST, then worked."

[M] "I've done fiberglass work in the past and would have ground them out and used Polyester filler (Ever Coat makes a Vette panel filler too) and primed them, but after getting the video I think Roger Stine does a better job.

The West Systems epoxy is not cheap but it works like a champ. Be sure to get the pumps they save a lot of waste. I filled mine twice and used the Ever Coat Polyester putty for the final fill. I can't say I agree with laying the strip of fiberglass in the area that is ground out. What you grind out is gelcoat not matt. The West epoxy with the 410 filler should be as strong as the gelcoat from FFR."

West Systems Shopping List:

[Cemi] "105 Epoxy Resin Part 1 Group Size A (32oz)
205 Fast Hardener Part 2 Group Size A (7oz)
Group Size A metered pumps (you need these)
410 Micorlight Fairing Filler (thickener)"

[Scott] "west system is 989-684-7286. or www.westsystem.com"

Question: [SM] "Does anyone have any tips for taping when painting the body on the frame????
I want the stripes to line up perfect and can't see any way to do it unless it is painted all together."

Comments:

[MC] "Guys I hate to sound dumb but, I haven't figured this one out yet. My hood mounts to the hinge on the body and it is a set position with the body on or off the frame. The trunk lid has hinges and does the same. I can measure the center of the nose and the center of the trunk. Pop the line and lay the stripes out on the car with the body off the frame. (I plan on painting the stripes first.)

Somebody tell me what (problem) I'm missing here?"

[FK] "My hood hinges off of the frame which makes it independent from the body. I would put the body on the frame, line everything up, then paint.
My car (#1507) is in the bodyshop right now, and the body will be painted on the frame.
I think most of it depends on who is painting it."

[SB] "Are you saying that you did not secure the 5" x 6" plate to the 3/4" tube above the radiator as well as to the lip of the body? If so, I seriously question the structural integrity of the hinge. That's a lot of weigh t(plus the force of the shocks) to be held by the body alone! A downward bend must be made in the plate so it will mate with the horizontal tube. FFR's directions may not have mentioned this, but if I remember correctly their instruction sheet left A LOT to be desired. Take a look at someone else's and see if yours is done the same.

I painted my body on the chassis and masking was preety simple. Use plastic sheeting (all bodyshops use it now) to enclose the engine bay, trunk area, interior, wheel wells, etc. Std paper and tape for the radiator, oil cooler, lights, etc. will work fine.
If you paint it off the frame, I would think you could secure the hood and trunk in place with duct tape from underneath while painting to insure alignment of the stripes. Good luck with whichever way you choose."

[MC] "Yep, I attached the mount to the 3/4" tube over the radiator. My idea was to leave the mount on the body to align the hood and tape it off. (No stress is applied with the hood in place, closed. It's easy to push the pin back through and walla! It's right back where it should be.) Naturally I'll remove the hinge from the body before painting.

And the seams are almost done!

My opinion to paint with the body on or off? OFF. You can spray the insides of the doors, hood and trunk with the body off much better and not have to worry about overspray. Also, I never wet sanded or buffed a car (or guitar) that I didn't sling compound all over the Damn place and have to clean it up."

[GY] "I got a car cover made for painting, it's a large piece plastic made so paint will stick to it and not flake off.
I covered the chassis with the cover, then put the body on over the plastic. We painted the first color with the hood and trunk off. Then put them on to mask then off, removed them and painted the second color.
When we were done we tore the plastic off and didn't have to risk any scratches."

[RT] "I painted mine with the body on the gocart, I hung the doors, the trunk and the hood.
After the paint dried I placed the trunk and hood in place and masked the stripes, then pulled the trunk and hood off and painted the stripes"

[RD] "The part you might be missing is that the body on the frame may (WILL) have a different "twist" than the body on the buck. You want to mount, with all fastening points, doors, glass, etc. the body and layout the stripes. Then remove for paint. I have seen a car painted off the frame with buck-based stripe layout. From a short distance away you could see the stripe running off to one side in the rear."

Primer Info:

Question: [MC] "Compiling all the paint information (in my mind) I've read here over the last several months I started to consider using PPP instead of Dupont.

Talking to both suppliers in town the PPD dealer is new. (They've sold RM for years already but added PPG.) So far the PPG dealer is not knowledgeable about his new line. I've used Dupont for years and have some on the shelf in the shop now. I've never had any major complaints about Dupont. It seems that more people have used PPG here. (I ran a search to see what "Streetrodpainter" had been using, what I found was Feather Fill and Dupont instead of the PPG.)

I'm just about ready to shoot the primer. Many people have used Feather Fill and I decided I would too. I checked both suppliers today and neither dealer sells Feather Fill. The Dupont dealer said the "stuff" goes bad on the shelf and they were taking a big hit on having to throw away cases every month. He suggested Dupont Vari-Prime. It's s urethane primer (sealer/filler). The cost of a gallon of this stuff w/activator is $227.00. (DAMN). PPG sells an Omni 182 urethane primer (sealer/filler) for $87.00 for a gallon. This puts me in a dilemma. I hate to pay $200.00+ for just the primer. Know? I was temped to stick with Dupont but right now I'm at a loss on what to do.

I would Greatly Appreciate someone's experienced opinion on what primer and paint to use. (Otherwise I need to hit some of the local body shops and fish them for what to use.) Naturally it will be a Base/Clear coat with stripes."

Comments:

[DD] "Omni is made by PPG and have found nothing wrong with their primers. If you are going to basecoat clearcoat you should use a urethane primer. These are usually sold as a package with the quart of activator/reducer costing near what the primer itself does. A gallon will be more than what you need but 2 quarts would be pushing it. I don't like the Omni basecoat and would definitely recommend PPG's best. I've shot the Omni clear on numerous cars with good results; but when it came time to shoot the Cobra
I used their best clear. (25 years painting experience)"

[MC] "Wade used Dupnot URO Filler/Primer and Streetrodpainter says 3240S Dupont (or PPG K-36)."

[gy] "We used PPG K200 filler/primer and DP90 primer.
We used a quart of K200 on the seams. And a gallon of DP 90."

[SRP] "If you can't find feather fill, look into k-36 by ppg. k200 will shrink, unless you have a few weeks to let it set up before blocking. I ran away from ppg when I heard of URO-fil by dupont. it is no longer available in Cal due to the tree huggers, as is k200 OR k36. you may still be able to get the k36 by ppg or Uro by dupont out where you are. Variprime is NOT a filler primer. it is an etch primer for bare metal used prior to filler primers. I know from experience that both PPG and Dupont each have their own problems. but if you are used to using one product and it works, stick with it. If you do find a polyester filler primer such as k36 or feather fill,and plan on using a bc/cc paint, be sure to seal it with a urethane prior to topcoating as polyesters occasionally will have rough spots that you won't see even after sanding. if you shoot directly over it, you will kick yourself for the rough spots that you will see through the clear. if you can find Uro-fill, it works great, no need to seal. just sand it out to 600 for metallics and pearls, 400 for solids."

[au] "Most of the NAPA Stores in my area sell automotive paint and reasonable prices. A gallon of paint runs less than $75 and the primer is much less. I would check with a NAPA store in your area."

[MC] "Have you bought any paint lately?

Call'em and post the price here for a gallon of urethane, sandable sealer including the activator and reducer. (PPG or Dupont upper line.) I don't think I'm getting ripped but this stuff is as high as Camel Cock (or the P-word)."

[WL] "I have used PPG in the past with good results on backyard projects. On the Cobra, I got another guy to spray the paint for me. He likes DuPont products. I went with the (expensive) URO primer / filler. For topcoat, I used DuPont ChromaBase base coat, with DuPont Glamour clear coat. I am happy with the results so far."

Hood Hinge

Question: [BK] "Question for all of you who have successfully tackled the hood hinge. After a hole bunch of adjusting and re-adjusting, I think I have my hood lined up where I want it. I have one nagging problem - the Drivers side corner (by the windshield) is raised above where it should sit. this is even after I adjust (okay - bend!) the metal plate (where the hood lock goes thru) so that it is as flat as it can be. The only solution that I can see at this point is to trim the metal plates on each side so that the fiberglass rests on the hood opening lip rather than the metal hood hoop resting on the lip. Anybody see any problem with this? any better ideas???"

Comments:

[MC] "You're on the right track. Remove the plate from the hood and bend it more than you need to go. (I used SS button heads that Wayne suggested 8-32's.) My passengers side did the same thing."

[AL} "I've used a heat gun on the corners of my hood to curve them down with success. But don't overheat or try and move it too much after each heat application."

Finishing The Hood Ideas:

[JP] "Fill-sand-fill-sand........."

[rt] "fill, sand, fill, sand, and then fill and sand some more."

[RO] "The cheap and easy fix is to spray to underside of the hood, and the non aluminum part of the trunk, with the spray on bedliner stuff. It is available in a can and is not expensive. On the plus side is is virtually bulletproof for chemicals and fuels and other stuff that might come from under the hood."

[sb] "I finished the underside of my hood and trunklid as well, and they look as good as the topside. Sure it's a lot of extra filling and sanding, but well worth it. Personally, I would avoid the undercoating in a can crap like the plague. Do it right and leave the tar on the road where it belongs."

[s] "I finished mine with west system epoxy. mixed up the epoxy without filler and brushed on a thin coat. then painted it, gives it a nice smooth surface that is easy to clean."

[wade] "On FFR #2084K, I decided on a compromise. First, I used Steve Shaffer's idea to get the underside of the hood in decent, but not perfect shape. Then I mixed up some paint in the same red as intended for the exterior, but added an additive to make the finish look flat. The results are not exactly show quality, but better than the bedliner I think."

- click to enlarge -

Go back to the FFR FAQ