A better bimmer
Now that all the bent pieces on this BMW have been massaged into shape, it is time to paint.
The first photo was taken at the end of the day yesterday. It shows a bit of the car in primer, but because we had to wait for the primer to dry we weren’t able to start painting until today.
The second and third photos have the car and bumper in the booth and sprayed with sealer. The sealer seals all the primers and body fillers use before and prepares the surface for paint. It also provide a consistent base color, selected from one of seven shades of gray and determined by the paint color, so that the paint will match from section to section.
The fourth photo shows the car after the base coat has been applied. The base coat is the part of the automotive finish that actually provides the color to the finish. The base coat dries to a near flat finish which is why the paint looks so dull and lifeless in the photograph.
The remainder of the photographs, numbers 5 & 6, show the car after the clear coat has been applied. Clear coat is a tough, thick, coating sprayed over the base coat to provide protection and gloss to the finish. As you can see the clear coat makes a huge difference in how the paint appears, brightening and adding some zing to the previously dull finish.
Now that the car is painted we will let the paint dry thoroughly overnight and we will begin putting it back together tomorrow. Then this bimmer, better than ever, will be ready to go home with its owner.
Pull it out … pull it out … pull it waaaay out
The door for this Civic, damaged in a parking lot mix-up, is a total write-off, but the fender is a different matter. That we can save with the application of a little brute force.
The technique we use, demonstrated in these photographs, is typically called pulling the dent. In the first photo you can see that a stud, the little metal barb that looks like a nail, is welded to the car body where the dent is to be pulled out. The puller, the device seen in the hand, is attached. The ram, which you can see cupped in the right hand, is slid along the length of the shaft until it strikes the anvil. The force of the blow is transferred to the attached stud, pulling the metal out.
By varying the force of the blow and the location and direction of the stud, a body man can tease the sheet metal of a car back into position … or close enough that the final smoothing can be done with body filler. The second photo shows the dent after it has been removed.
The last photo shows me first cutting off, then grinding smooth, the attached stud.
Now that the dent has been pulled we can smooth over any slight deformations left in the bodywork so the damage is completely hidden.
Badda boom
It only takes a second of inattention. Everything is going fine then boom! you’ve backed into another car. Just such an occurrence has happened to this Honda Civic.
As you can see, the right front door is a bit … bent. Fortunately, this isn’t a major repair. We will replace the door, give it a splash of paint, and badda boom, badda bing, the car is good as new.
One bite at a time
We still have a ways to go before this Sentra is ready to be turned over to its owners, but we are making progress. Late last week we painted the inside and underside of the car and trimmed it out. Today we painted the outside.
The first two pictures show the car after the base coat has been applied. The base coat is what gives the car its color. The finish isn’t very attractive right now because the base coat has almost no luster to it at all, drying to the this chalkboard like dullness.
The last two pictures show the different a little clear coat makes. Not only does the clear coat protect the base coat underneath it, it also give the paint more depth and provides the sparkle to the finish.
This car was really messed up when it arrived at the shop and was quite an large undertaking to repair. But as the old saying goes, “How do you eat an elephant?”
“One bite at a time.”
We have just taken another bite out of this elephant.
JMC AutoworX will be closed
JMC AutoworX will be closed Monday, May 28th in observance of Memorial Day. We will reopen Tuesday, May 29th to serve you.
Work begins
Remember this Sentra? No? I’m not surprised … this poor little car was hammered and it has taken this long to put it right on the frame machine. But we have it back now with all the straightening work complete, so work begins on cosmetic portion of the repair.
The first picture shows Jordan grinding smooth all the welds made while putting the structure of the car back together. The welds are perfectly serviceable as they are, but grinding them smooth makes them look a bit better, more like they were when the car was built.
In the second photo I am spraying the new panels with sealer in preparation for painting. Sealer comes in seven shades of gray and each paint color specifies one of these shades. This gives the paint an evenly colored base so the paint doesn’t appear mottled from the different colors of metal. It also give the paint something to grab onto for good adhesion.
After the sealer is sprayed, I trimmed out the car. Trimming out a car is painting in all the nooks and crannies that you can’t reach once the car is put together. I wasn’t painting the entire car at this time so that is why you still see the black of the new panels in places. Later, after more of the car is assembled, these black areas will be sealed and painted … which is why the over-spray you see doesn’t matter … the panels are going to be painted that color later anyway.
Pictures four and five show some body filler in places where welds need to be smoothed away and hidden. The filler was still a bit green when these pictures were taken so it hasn’t been sanded smooth yet. We will get to that tomorrow.
Picture six shows the inside of the trunk area. This floor was completely mangled in the crash and a new one has been installed. We painted it the same color as the original floor so that after the repair it would look the same as it did before the crash.
Picture seven shows the painting process underway. This car was seriously messed up in the collision, so we are having to take extra pains to protect the interior while we paint the inside of the car. It would have been easier just to have left the factory rust preventive on the replacement panels inside the car, after all, they would be covered by the interior trim, but that isn’t how we do things at JMC AutoworX. When we repair a car we return it as near as possible to its pre-crash condition.
Picture eight shows that we also painted the underside of the car in the same factory color so that just like the inside, the repair looks as near factory as we can possibly make it.
This little car was just about as messed up as any wrecked vehicle I have repaired. But with today’s precision frame alignment machines a car can be brought back to like new operational condition. Then it is up to the paint and body men to make it look as good as it works.
Got it covered
Yesterday we finished the car, but we were still waiting to get the battery box cleared and installed in the car. Today we did.
The battery box was done in the same style as the custom intake cover that was already in the car. I didn’t do the intake cover, but who ever did the work did a great job.
Between the blacked out rear panel and the covers in the engine bay, this Mustang has both ends covered.
Zee repairz … zay beginz
We started work on the Bimmer today. I started by getting the inside of the trunk lid painted and Mike did yeoman’s duty on getting the bumper repaired and sanded.
The car had to have a new trunk lid, but we were able to save the bumper cover by repairing the few scuffs and gouges it received and sanding the whole thing smooth.
At JMC AutoworX we will never sacrifice the quality of the repair, but when we are able we will reuse or repair a part instead of buying a new one if it will save the customer a few coins.
Classic black
Yesterday we completed the repairs on this Mustang, but weren’t quite finished painting the car. Today we added another simple, custom touch to the car to make it stand out from other Mustangs of the same year. All it took was a touch of classic black.
The first two photos show the car remasked and ready to paint. The areas you see are going to receive a coating of semi-flat black to complement the tinted taillights and dress up the back end a bit.
Photographs three and four show the car after the black has been applied, and five and six show the parts after they have been unmasked so you can see the effect.
Picture seven shows the guys, Jordan on the left and Mike on the right, putting the car back together. I don’t know what Mike is doing in this photo, but whatever it is, apparently he approves.
The last three photos, numbers 8, 9 & 10, show the completed car. When the owner first told me that he wanted his car blacked out in this manner I thought it a bit odd … painting the tail panel black was a common feature on Chevrolet Big Block cars … but a good idea is a good idea.
And after seeing the effect on this Mustang, I realized it was a good idea indeed.
Painted pony
After smoothing up the bumper and filling in the small dent, this pony car was ready to paint. So we got right to it this morning.
The first two photos show the bumper and quarter panel after the base coat is applied. The base coat always dries to this near flat finish. But that’s ok, because as you can see in the next three photos, numbers three, four and five, adding the clear coat makes that dull, lifeless finish come to life. It is the clear coat that is the magic of the two stage paint system, providing not only protection to the paint underneath, but the zing and pow to the finish to boot.
The last three photos are of the custom battery cover going into the car. Not content to have just a stock, black, plastic cover as provide by Ford, the owner of this car has a beautifully crafted metal one.
As nice as it was to look at in bare metal, we kicked it up a notch by painting it to match and complement the colors of the car. Yesterday we paint the cover gray, today we masked them off and added the red. You know, the battery cover looks pretty good right now, but tomorrow, after I clear it, it will look even better.
It is funny … I repaint the nearly half this car and nobody will even notice anything has been done to it. But the minute the hood goes up people are going to notice that battery box and go, “Now that’s cool.”
And that is just exactly the way I like it.
