Bare metal questions

[jgilliam914]

I bought a rusty 911 a few weeks ago and today I was playing around with removing the paint off of the engine lid. After getting it removed it dawned on me that by sanding down the paint should I be aware of anything the factory might put in the base primer and finish that could not be good to breathe in?
I wore a paper 95N mask but thinking a more substantial one will be used next time.
My plan is trying to avoid using plastic body filler. I will post pictures and maybe even start a new restore thread in the next few weeks

[mreid]

There is always hazardous dust. Wear a respirator for best results unless you are wet sanding. There is nothing wrong with thin coats of filler once you have done everything possible to get the panels straight. High build primer is basically thinned filler. It is only a problem when it is applied too thick or you try to use it to patch a hole or for a structural repair. Used properly, it easily lasts as long as your paint.

[962porsche]

yes like mreid stated there is nothing wrong at all with using body fillers as long as your using them correctly .
you must be a real good metal worker to metal finish a panel . then the tools you will need will cost you 3 or 4 times the cost of your 911 even if was a 10 point show car . just the metal working tools I have in my shop's cost me well over 600K and I have owner them for 20 to 30 years now .
the name lead sled comes from the show cars that would get coated with lead from top to bottom front to back . you would coat the hole panel and then block the hell out of it . today you still do the same basic thing only with spray fillers . i'm working on a friends type 37 Bugatti right now doing just that . 3 coats of spray filler and block then 3 coats of filler primer 285-60 and block that then into the booth for color .
it took over one day just to block the spray filler on the tail panels .
you did not state what year or color the car is but there could be lead in the paint . you should cover your self with a paint suit and get a good dust mask we use the 3m 6000 masks . you also should not in any way track any dust into your house . remove your clothes and wash before you leave your shop area . there is noth much in this business that will not kill you in one way or another . even wet sanding you should wear gloves as your pours of the skin open from being wet you will also get crap right into your blood stream . the same goes for solvents like pre paint cleaners .

[jgilliam914]

1970 911 T originally Signal Orange
I am just getting into it. I started by looking at the door gaps and saw that they didn't match from one side to the other. I started finding a lot of plastic filler on the right side, which narrowed the gap. I am going to chemically strip the paint soon and see how much is or how little is going to stay original. I have read many of the restoration threads for the last several months, and feel that this will either be a labor of love or a money pit or both!
I know I will be asking tons of questions. I have restored my 914 in the past year and this project fell into my lap when I wasn't really looking. I am a capable welder so I feel that this isn't above my capabilities yet!

[962porsche]

on 911's the gap from the door to the QTR panel is not the same from the top of the door to the bottom of the door and that is the way it should be . the gap gets tighter as it goes down .

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by 962porsche

just the metal working tools I have in my shop's cost me well over 600K and I have owner them for 20 to 30 years now .

I guess there's more to it then them pointy hammers.

[jgilliam914]

I am going to replace the right side quarter panel. There is just way too much filler to keep it. I am leaning to restoration designs offering. What is the best way of getting the old panel off? My biggest concern is the quarter window and rear tail light area.

[yel911]

What is the best way of getting the old panel off?

First thing I would do is to get the panel first, then see where you need to cut. You might want to source sheetmetal from the forum, people usually cut cars apart beyond what you will need. When buying from a manufacturer, they use factory seams.

[jgilliam914]

Using the factory seams is not a problem. I am trying to use the least amount of filler as possible. I would prefer new vs used with any amount of dents scratches or 40 plus years of weathering and rust

[962porsche]

most of the time it's just not worth buy used panels .
what you can't buy aftermarket Porsche will still offer so it's not like you can't buy new metal .
then with used you have a the cutting and clean up of the part before you install it on your car .
for me hardly worth all the work to do that .

[vmn007]

Hey guys,

I am doing my restoration now, and took the entire car to bare metal. I think it is the best way to do it. Take a look!!

[Rohanm02]

Vmn007.

I'm about to do the same. What year is yours. Pre galvanised? What process did you use. Chemical, mechanically? How did you get the door jams so clean? Looks like you could see your face in it.

[962porsche]

he said on another posting he used a heat gun and razor blade . not the way it should be done at all !
all the reasons why have been covered a 100 times on other posting .
but it's just a quick way to totally screw up your cars sheet metal .

I see many people seam to ask about the galvanized coating on the cars .
if you strip the car it's gone there is no saving it and that's fine the galvanized coating is still all in between the seams and inner panels and you would be replacing it with a E-primer on the outer panel were you stripped the finish so that is no lose to it being missing on the cars main outer panels .