My Custom Autobody work thread

[kidcrash603]

Looks good!
you should have the e-brake handle painted to match

Haha! You haven't owned a cobalt long, have you?

If you paint the ebrake handle, it's scratched and chipping after 1 use. It rubs in several places when you put it up and down.

It looks better in person, thanks for the compliments!

[Ballistic Motorsports]

Looks great

[KeiserX13]

Haha! You haven't owned a cobalt long, have you?

If you paint the ebrake handle, it's scratched and chipping after 1 use. It rubs in several places when you put it up and down.

It looks better in person, thanks for the compliments!

not even a year LOL and i have noticed it rubs lol
and i was thinking after i posted that the black gives it some contrast and also matches the shift boot

[kidcrash603]

Ok,

The car is all back together and besides a good interior cleaning and detailing, it's pretty much where I want it to be for this summer.

Most of you don't know, but I apprenticed at a restoration shop for over a year. I learned a lot about paint, bodywork, and prepping.... so I had an idea of the troubles Scott might face with my door panels. My door panels were originally half-assed cleaned with soap and water, not scuffed at all, they were poorly masked, and spray painted with Krylon Fusion for plastic. Then they were cleared with Krylon Clear. All of this was done outside on a piece of plywood laying in the grass on a semi-windy day. Then, after almost 2 years of driving with them, they were dirty, scuffed, chipped, and in some places, peeling.

After getting the panels off the car, it was very clear that the only way to get the lines I wanted and to properly clean up the oversprayed areas was to dissasemble the door panels. The transition from the black top to yellow panel was originally poorly taped, so the line was jagged, and there was yellow overspray on the grey faux leather door inserts. There was also yellow overspray inside the door pockets, but that was mostly out of sight.

The door panels are 4 major pieces, plus a foam insert, plastic spacer, and sound batting. The panels aren't really designed to come apart. Each piece is basically riveted together, but what they have is plastic pegs that stick up from the door panel, and there are holes around the edges of the door pocket, leather insert, and top peice, that go over the pegs. Once everything is in place, the back of the pegs was melted at the factory to "rivet" everything in place. The only way to get those pieces apart was to cut each one of those rivets.

Here is a pic of the door panel with just the leather insert removed. You can see what's left of the pegs around the hole. You can also see the light gray piece that holds the top of the door panel on, with the pegs intact.


Here's the holes that fit over those pegs, and you can see the yellow issues on the insert and door top too.



Obviously, all of this was much more work than Scott had initially anticipated, but he took it in stride and dug right in. Of course, once they were apart, they still needed to be cleaned, scuffed, primed, painted, and cleared. And if that wasn't enough... we needed to figure out how to put them back together again!

When everything was done and ready, I went over and helped Scott put them back together. There was literally NO WAY they could be re-assembled by one person. It was really a 3 person job but with careful planning and lots of clamps, we got everything back together. The adhesive product Scott's supplier had recommended for the plastic was supposed to have a 2-3 minute flash time where you can work with it before it firms up. In reality we had about 45 seconds. Thankfully we found that out on a small door pocket, so it let us plan properly for the bigger pieces.

Another thing I learned while working in a restoration shop was that when it comes to paint, you get what you pay for. For something "high wear" like these door panels, I didn't want to skimp. Scott gave me a few different options for brands of paint and we went with high quality (and more expensive) paint and clear.

The bill for my supplies was $350. That included yellow and silver paint, hardener, reducer, clear coat, and the plastic adhesive we needed to reassemble the doors. I could have gone a cheaper route with the paint brand but I think I made the right choice.

For labor, Scott under-quoted me, which was apparent once we dug into the door panels. We both knew he didn't think it was going to take as much time as it did. When it came time to settle up, he stuck to his quote, knowing he was shorting himself. I put a little more in on my end to cover almost another 2 hours of labor, but even that will be short of his actual time.

Overall I can't say enough good things about Scott or his work. While my door panels do have some blemishes in the paint, they were completely expected because of all the crap that was on the door already. Because the panels are textured, and plastic, you can't get all the old paint off, and you can't use stripper or it will melt the panel. However, those blemishes are buried under 6 + coats of clear, and although you can see them up close, from 3 feet away all you see is OMG YELLOW.....

GO SEE SCOTT for your paint work!

[frosho]

Would you mind sharing what kind of adhesive you used on the door panels?

[Th3Juggernaut]

good deal

[kidcrash603]

Would you mind sharing what kind of adhesive you used on the door panels?

Matt,

It's a 3M Semi-Rigid Plastic Repair Epoxy. It comes in a 2 part tube with special nozzle tips that mix the 2 parts inside the nozzle. You need a special 3M gun to pump it out.

[frosho]

Thanks! I'm gathering ideas to repair a damaged canter cap. Might give that stuff a try...