Rocker be gone

Today I spent the day removing the old rusty rocker and inner structure. First thing we did was weld in some supports to keep the body where its supposed to be. We then started cutting out the large chunks of rusty metal. Once those were out of the way, we carefully removed the rest of the metal where it attaches to the A post and B post. Once all the old stuff was out of the way, we started fitting the new panels. After a little of finagling we got things in and looking pretty good. We still have some fine tuning to do before we bring out the welder but we are very pleased with the progress today.

Here a trim, there a trim

Moving right along on the Acura today. As you can see we got it trimmed out today and sanded it and prepped it for paint on Monday. With a little luck, this one will be back together and heading home next week.

In with the new

After the removal of the old quarter, yesterday was spent fitting the new one. We didnt really have any major problems, we were just trying to get the rear body panel aligned a little better before welding it up. Late yesterday we accomplished that goal but it was too late to weld it. So this morning we started that first thing. We were able to get it fully welded and grind the welds down. We also have our first coat of filler on the seams. We dont use regular body filler on the welded areas because sometimes it can shrink and its not water proof. Instead we use a product called all metal on our first coat of filler over welds. We will finish this off with body filler to ensure a seamless repair. We will then seam all the welded areas just like was done at Acura. We hope to have this one in primer tomorrow and ready to paint on Friday.

Quarter removal

This Acura is in need of a new quarter panel. We sent it to the frame shop last week to get pulled. The quarter was pushed far enough in that it was necessary to pull  it out into shape before removing it. Once back, we can start removing the old panel. All the spot welds were drilled out and old seam sealer was removed. We then used an air hammer to bust the welds loose. Once that was done, we carefully cut the post and rocker where they would be spliced together. We then cut sleeves to go in the sail panel and rockers for strength. Once those were cut we started fitting the new panel. We did get if fitting very nicely but it was too late to start welding. We pick up there tomorrow.

A scrub and rubb

This Solstice came in today to get a couple of small dents repaired. As you can see, there wasnt much to them. We repaired them today ans got them in primer. Tomorrow this one will go in the booth to get painted. The owner has then requested it be buffed and detailed inside and out. This will be in tip top shape by the end of the week.

Back in the saddle

The Mustang from last weeks deer hit was completed and looking good. We replaced the stock hood with this nice piece from Cervini. We painted it black then followed that up with the Gotta Have It Green stripes with flat black side vents. The flat and shiny black really complement each other.

Glassy

You may recognize this car. We painted this car a couple of years ago and added a few “Oh so green” stripes to it per the owners request. Unfortunately, she hit a deer a month or so ago and we had it in to install a new fender and front bumper. Unfortunately, unfortunately, she hit another deer and this time it got the hood. We will be able to repair the front bumper but the hood had to go. The owner knew exactly what she wanted to do about the hood. She picked out this Cervini fiberglass hood for a meaner look. We sanded the hood down and sprayed a few coats of primer on there. We then sanded that all back down and put the hood on to make sure it fit like its supposed to. We were very impressed with how it fit. Only minor adjustments were needed. We also painted the bottom of the hood black today and finished sanding the top side. We will be painting this one tomorrow.

Making it shine

Once the Accord was dry, we slid this Elantra in the booth so it could get all shined up again. While the Accord was being painted, this Elantra was being prepped for it turn. After a coat of sealer and a few coats of base coat, Paul laid down a couple of coats of clear. This car really turned out great. We will get it back together tomorrow then a good bath and its ready to roll again.

According to this..

 We did get the Accord painted today here you can see it in the booth right after it was cleared. It will stay in here for about an hour then we will unmask it and pull it out for fresh air. Tomorrow it goes for an alignment and will be reassembled. If all goes well, it will go home tomorrow as well.

Little too close for comfort

We have this Hyundai in the shop to get the doors and a small dent in the quarter repaired. As you can see we were able to get the dents repaired and in primer today. We will be spraying color on this one tomorrow after we remove the handles and mirror.