Fresh from being stripped,...
Fresh from being stripped, the roadster awaited its final body prep. At this point, the body had been treated to new floors and a trunk pan, as well as any required panel repairs.
While on a recent visit to Jim Lowrey's Auto Restoration nestled way up in Tilton, New Hampshire, we came upon Stuart Peterson's '34 Ford roadster. It had just come back from being stripped after the team at Lowrey's completed panel repairs, along with replacing all the flooring. This was the prefect opportunity to follow along with the bodywork.
Before starting the bodywork, team member Dave Smith secured the body to the chassis and made sure to mock-up the doors and trunk. That said, we followed along with Dave as he started blowing the body clean of any remaining debris left over from the stripper. From there, it was time to give the steel a full chemical wash, one of many to follow as we proceeded, to ensure that the body was free of any contaminants that could possibly adversely interact with the bodywork process. This would especially include skin oils, and Dave highly recommends wearing latex gloves through most of the work to be done.
There are a number of products...
There are a number of products that assist in the final body prep before it hits the paint booth, including Evercoat's Metal 2 Metal, Metal Glaze, Rage Gold premium lightweight filler, particle masks, and an assortment of sand papers.
With the body washed down with PPG DX320 Fast Evaporating Pre-Cleaner, Dave ran his hands across its surface for a thorough examination, feeling for highs and lows, as well as any other inconsistencies in the aged steel, as these areas would need to be addressed with a shrink wheel. To get to that point, Dave followed with 80-grit sandpaper secured to either a sanding board or sanding block to show exactly where the highs and lows were; the highs shine and the lows are dull. The shrink wheel is a unique steel disc with a groove-like pattern that is attached to an electric grinder, which has the ability to rev to 6,000 rpm. When carefully applied to the surface in need of adjustment, it heats up the metal using friction to reestablish the balance of the panel.
You have to be especially patient when using the wheel, moving it in a sweeping motion to get the metal hot, then cooling it down immediately with a cold wet cloth. Always remember not to overheat a panel, as this could cause warpage. For other areas that have minor issues that need to be tended to, a simple hammer and dolly-of which there are many types-can easily address a correction needed in the metal. As with the shrink wheel, this is another way to modify the aged steel, which takes time and finesse that is learned through experience. Dave worked the remainder of the steel with a 50-grit grinding disc to prepare the body for its next step and give it plenty of adhesion for its upcoming skimcoat of lightweight filler.
Finessing a body into its...
Finessing a body into its final stages takes the right tools, some of which are pictured here and include air-driven grinders and DAs, body hammers, dollies, and various types of sanding blocks.
Dave prefers to use Evercoat Rage premium lightweight filler for an application where he will skimcoat the body to be able to level it out and create an even base to eliminate any remaining highs and lows. Once the skimcoat was applied, Dave said there is a "sweet-spot in time" where the filler is perfect to cut. This is based on the amount of hardener used combined with the ambient temperature in the room and humidity. Working with 36-grit paper on either sanding boards of blocks, Dave evened out the panels using an X-pattern to be sure he got a nice, even cut. Once the panels were sufficiently even, he followed with 80-grit to smooth it all out and remove any remaining filler that wasn't needed. It's amazing when looking at the initial application of the filler to a panel, and what small amount actually remains if the initial metalwork was carried out correctly.
The body was ready for one of its first trips to the spray booth, where en route it was again blown clean and prepped with PPG DX320 to remove any surface contaminants. This time, Dave applied a light coating of Spies Hecker Permacron pre-polyester to seal the body surface, followed by an even coating of Spies Hecker Raderal spray polyester, which is a fast-drying high-build primer. This fills any minute areas on the body needing additional filler, as it is quite thick. Once it was cured, Dave blocked the body surface with 180-grit followed by 220-grit to prepare it for its final surface priming. Dave said attention to detail during this step is a must, especially in areas like the firewall, and countless hours were spent sanding the body to perfection as he readied for its final priming stage.
Dave applied the final coating of Spies Hecker Permasolid HS Premium Surfacer primer after a final trip to the spray booth with the body blown clean and again washed free of any contaminants. It's imperative when sanding the final coating of primer that you not break through the surface, as you are only trying to remove any final peel and even out the panels one last time. An assortment of paper grit ranging from 220 to 400, followed by a final cut with 500-grit, got the body as smooth as glass, while again blocking with the previously noted X-pattern to avoid any grooving to the final surface, especially near the beltline and reveals.
A final work-over with red Scotch-Brite ensured that every speck of the body was ready for the final gloss to be applied. When we check in next on this cool roadster, Dave will have it in the booth ready for its final glamour. We bet Stuart can hardly wait!
 Dave Smith got the ball rolling...  Dave Smith got the ball rolling by wiping down the freshly stripped body with PPG DX320 Fast Evaporating Pre-Cleaner, while wearing latex gloves, to remove any surface contaminants from the body. |  Dave used 80-grit sandpaper...  Dave used 80-grit sandpaper and a blocking board on a selected area to determine any highs and lows on the metal surface. |  Working on the cowl area with...  Working on the cowl area with 80-grit paper, you can actually start to see the bright highs and dark lows on the panel. |
 A shrink wheel was used to...  A shrink wheel was used to help bring the proper balance back to the panel. This close-up shows just how aggressive the face of the wheel is. |  This area of the cowl was...  This area of the cowl was in need of metal shrinking, as evidenced by the highs and lows on the panel, and Dave worked the area with fine precision to be sure the metal did not get overheated. |  Due to the amount of extreme...  Due to the amount of extreme heat generated by the shrink wheel, it's imperative to have a wet cloth at hand to cool the area quickly once you have stopped working it. |
 The completed area shows that...  The completed area shows that it's almost impossible to see where the panel had been repaired and that the metal is now almost in perfect balance. |  Dave chose his air-driven...  Dave chose his air-driven grinding wheel topped with a 50-grit disc to work the remaining area of the panel to ready it for the next step. This gave the metal plenty of bite as he prepared it for a light skimcoating of filler. |  Dave worked his hands across...  Dave worked his hands across the surface many times to get the proper feel on the body panel and to determine if there were any areas in need of fine tuning with a hammer and dolly. This step takes plenty of time and patience to get it just right. |
 Having found an area in need...  Having found an area in need of adjustment, Dave selected one of his many different body hammers to rework the area along with a dolly. |  From inside the rear quarter-panel,...  From inside the rear quarter-panel, we can see just how Dave positions the dolly for the adjustment to the metal in this particular case. There are numerous dollies and hammers that can be used in various combinations to obtain differing results. |  Once he finished working the...  Once he finished working the rear quarter-panel with the shrink wheel, and the hammer and dolly, Dave used his air-driven grinder topped with 50-grit paper to continue preparing the panel for its next step. |
 Sometimes, a tight surface...  Sometimes, a tight surface area requires a tool designed to work within its parameters like this small disc grinder, which allowed Dave to equally prepare the metal's surface with a 50-grit disc. |  Dave applied a thin coating...  Dave applied a thin coating of Evercoat's Rage Gold premium lightweight body filler to the surface of the properly prepared quarter-panel. This filled in any remaining lows that may have remained in the panel. |  Dave worked the freshly applied...  Dave worked the freshly applied filler, which had sufficiently cured, with 36-grit on a long board, and he was careful to change directions using a crisscross pattern to get a nice, even cut. |
 Immediately after he finished...  Immediately after he finished with the 36-grit, Dave followed up with blocking the entire panel with 80-grit to smooth it all out and remove any remaining fill that was not needed. |  A final look at the quarter-panel...  A final look at the quarter-panel illustrates just how little fill remains on the surface area. There is only a hint of the initial skim left that was actually needed to get the panel close to perfection. |  Products from Spies Hecker...  Products from Spies Hecker were used to bring the body to the next level when it entered the spray booth. Included here are both the pre-polyester coat and final polyester coat products with their respective hardeners and reducers. |
 Once in the spray booth, the...  Once in the spray booth, the body was pre-washed with PPG DX320 Fast Evaporating Pre-Cleaner using white paper towels in order to remove any surface contaminants, including skin oils. |  With the body cleaned and...  With the body cleaned and prepped, Dave put on his suit and respirator and began to lay down a light coating of Spies Hecker Permacron pre-polyester (tinted red) to seal the surface. |  Dave followed with an even...  Dave followed with an even coat of Spies Hecker Raderal spray polyester, which is a fast-drying high-build primer (tinted beige) to prepare the body for its next step. |
 With the body coated in spray...  With the body coated in spray polyester, Dave began blocking the surface with 180-grit to be followed by 220-grit to prepare it for its final surface priming. |  Lots of attention was paid...  Lots of attention was paid to surface areas, especially those that take extremely tedious amounts of time like the firewall. |  The team at Lowrey's used...  The team at Lowrey's used Spies Hecker Permasolid HS Premium Surfacer primer and hardener to bring the body to its final stage before it got its gloss. |
 Blown clean and treated to...  Blown clean and treated to a prewash once again, the body was ready for its coating of Spies Hecker Permasolid HS Premium Surfacer primer (tinted dark gray). |  Getting the body to its final...  Getting the body to its final prep stage, Dave used a combination of sandpapers, including 220-, 400-, and 500-grit, followed by red Scotch-Brite pads, all while wearing latex gloves to help keep the surface free of contaminants. |  Dave began final-cutting the...  Dave began final-cutting the surface primer using a long sanding block on the rear quarter-panel topped with 220-grit paper. He did so using an X-pattern to ensure an even surface while avoiding any surface grooving. |
 |  Once the body was cut with...  Once the body was cut with 220-grit paper, Dave followed up with 400-grit and a final cut with 500-grit. It's at this time that the body surface should start to show its readiness for final paint. |  With the body's final sanding...  With the body's final sanding completed, Dave again worked his way around it with red Scotch-Brite to be sure everything was perfect in every crevice. |
 All that hard work paid off,...  All that hard work paid off, as the final surface came out nice. Stay tuned, as the next installment will cover the roadster as it gets its new luster. | | |