Plastic Repair

[SmokeyBear]

You ask if I KNOW this won't work, YES I know it won't. I did body work for a living for 10 years. In that time I did a lot of fenderbenders where the customer wanted a quickie fix job because insurance wouldn't cover or he didn't meet the deductable. I tried everything you can imagine, superglue, pvc glue, industrial contact cement. Short of plastic welding(using a soldering gun and filler) the 3m stuff does the best. I even grafted two rear '90 grand am bumpers together to make one rear bumper for a miniwinnie.

[SmokeyBear]

oops I meant abs not pvc.

[qman]

Glad to hear I'm talking to a body guy. Did you actually try to do the ABS cement fix?

What dumb a** owner would pay a body guy his hourly rate but not want the right materials. That makes me laugh.

Alright then, if you've tried the ABS fix and it didn't work then Scotch Weld it is. Thanks Smokey

[qman]

Let me ask you some more then. I'm also replacing the header panel, passenger side front fender, and hood. I'm gonna "jamb" paint the fender and hood and then take it over to a shop. The paint guy gave me a couple of scotch pads to rough up the jambs on the used fenders I salvaged and he suggested I go get some rattle cans of paint at Wal mart that are close to the blue of my car. Then he said he'd overspray the jams a little. How well will this work? I ask cause I didn't think scotch pads would be good enough to rough up with but he's a paint guy, not me. Now I have you to ask. I noticed you said you used 400 grit to prep. How should I prep for jamb paint on the fender and hood?

What grit should I sand the header panel with also? It's black fiberglass painted white and I'd like it black again. I thought about stripping off the paint with paint stripper but am worried it may undo the fiberglass. The original header panel is black but all shattered.

If you're wondering why I'm going through all this hassle, my 14 year old boy and I always watch Overhaulin and he really likes watching Foose do his thing. He's also one of them kids who loves to draw and he's good at it. He's very creative and smarter than hell so I want to nurture that creativity. He and I tore apart the front end, salvaged parts, and are gonna do all we can to put it back together. I painted my bicycle when I was a kid and it was the envy of the hood. That's all I know about painting but I'd have my boy and I paint the Taurus parts if I thought I knew what I was doing. And my boy would absolutely have a blast. Anything you could add would be appreciated.

[SmokeyBear]

Let me ask you some more then. I'm also replacing the header panel, passenger side front fender, and hood. I'm gonna "jamb" paint the fender and hood and then take it over to a shop. The paint guy gave me a couple of scotch pads to rough up the jambs on the used fenders I salvaged and he suggested I go get some rattle cans of paint at Wal mart that are close to the blue of my car. Then he said he'd overspray the jams a little. How well will this work? I ask cause I didn't think scotch pads would be good enough to rough up with but he's a paint guy, not me. Now I have you to ask. I noticed you said you used 400 grit to prep. How should I prep for jamb paint on the fender and hood?

What grit should I sand the header panel with also? It's black fiberglass painted white and I'd like it black again. I thought about stripping off the paint with paint stripper but am worried it may undo the fiberglass. The original header panel is black but all shattered.

If you're wondering why I'm going through all this hassle, my 14 year old boy and I always watch Overhaulin and he really likes watching Foose do his thing. He's also one of them kids who loves to draw and he's good at it. He's very creative and smarter than hell so I want to nurture that creativity. He and I tore apart the front end, salvaged parts, and are gonna do all we can to put it back together. I painted my bicycle when I was a kid and it was the envy of the hood. That's all I know about painting but I'd have my boy and I paint the Taurus parts if I thought I knew what I was doing. And my boy would absolutely have a blast. Anything you could add would be appreciated.

I quoted you so I could see all of your questions.


1. fender's and hood. The scotchbrite pads are fine, they leave approximately the same bite as a 400 grit paper, the reason the scotchbrite is better for the jams is it contours the the small nooks and crannies better than paper would so you get all of them and you don't have your paint peel off from not having good adhesion.

2. The header panel. Use 400 grit on a sanding block for the biggest part of it. DO NOT try to stip the paint off of a fiberglass piece ESPECIALLY if you know it already has cracks Don't worry about the previous coats of paint if there is no damage to them. If there is no present damage to the fiberglass, all you have to do is ready the surface for paint by getting it sanded and/or scuffed (you can get to the tight corners with the scotchbrite pads too) If it has spider cracks, lightly sand it, spray it with a good primer/surfacer, scuff again and use a skim coat of body putty to ensure the cracks don't resurface in your paint. After sanding that smooth re-primer and scuff and it's ready for paint.

I know exacty what you mean about your son, I have a 10 year old who want's to be the next Foose or Barry White. We are redoing my 70 as we speak. I'm glad to help out so if you have any other q's feel free to ask.

[binder56jd]

i mentioned baling wire filler for use with oxy/acy in another thread awhile back and you should'a heard the hoots- it works-jd

you would be surprised at the # of people that want "this" but only want to pay "that" but still want it to be better that "this"

[qman]

Thanks a ton. My original header panel is shattered but the one I salvaged is perfect, just ugly.

Another question. On Overhaulin the other night they "wet sanded" the car after it was painted. What is that all about?

[fordman]

you wet sand so that you can do a second coat usally. it helps get all the bumps from dust that may have gotten into the paint while the paint was drying.

[SmokeyBear]

Thanks a ton. My original header panel is shattered but the one I salvaged is perfect, just ugly.

Another question. On Overhaulin the other night they "wet sanded" the car after it was painted. What is that all about?

After a car is painted the paint never lays down perfectly flat. There is what you call an "orange peel" effect over the entire surface from being sprayed on. To get a show car finish you wetsand with 1500 grit then 2000 grit to get the surface perfectly flat. Then you buff it out using progressively less aggressive compounds to bring back a glass like shine.

Wetsanding otherwise is used before paint on your primer coat to keep your sandpaper from clogging up (use a few drops of diswashing liquid to help even more). You'll use the sandpaper that says "wet" on the back, it's usually black in color, regular sandpaper would just fall apart.