Do I strip all body filler off?

78-911SC · 01-10-2015, 04:03 PM

I have most of the car stripped now except I'm not sure if I take all the body filler off. It appears that at sometime in the cars life it had a new rear quarter panel installed. Do I take the body filler off and see whats under it or do I just prime over it. The same holds true for the deck lid.

962porsche · 01-10-2015, 04:53 PM

remove all of it !
get a 4.5" black stripper disc . they have them at home depot for your electric grinder .
it will go right thru the filler and not dig up the metal like a grinding disc will .

78-911SC · 01-10-2015, 05:17 PM

Will do. Thanks for all your guidance.

78-911SC · 03:05 PM

Here's the results of the cleaning the body filler off the panels. I don't think there are any issues with the rear quarter panel but I could be wrong. The deck lid on the other hand has some deep dents that were filled with body filler because there was no access to pound them out. If I can't find a way to remove the dents I guess I'll be forced to do the same. Sorry the orientation of the pictures are side ways and I can't correct.

962porsche · 01-12-2015, 04:39 AM

personally I would not just fill any dents !
go buy a stud weld gun .
harbor freight has a low cost one for about 100 bucks .
some years ago I bought one for the fun of it just to see how it worked . it's ok not great but for some thing like what you got it will be fine .
you could always just sell the thing after you use it if you don't have any other projects to do .

jjeffries · jjeffries's Garage

I found a nice name brand stud welder on local CL for,$100. Very handy! Nicer then HF item. Best of luck, John

78-911SC · 01-13-2015, 01:00 PM

Thanks John I'll keep my eye out for one until I need to have it. If I can't find one I can get one at HF for about $75.00 with discounts.

Smoker324 · 01-15-2015, 06:11 AM

I have to agree with 962. Strip the filler, use the gun, work the metal, lose lots of filler.

I am restoring a 944 for the fun of it and after some paint removal I found lots of body filler in spots -- up to 1/2 inch in places. Lazy body man I guess.

I got the HF gun and found it to be very helpful. Used the hammers to bring it back as close as my amateur hands could and then applied what amounted to only a skim coat of filler to make it smooth. A time consuming job -- but oddly satisfying at the end of the day.

Dan C.

Ferrino · Ferrino's Garage

What's going on in this picture? Did they just lap the quarter onto the body and spot-weld it in place? Is that common? I've read that some people bond metal flares/quarters onto the metal body - I guess they would do the same?

78-911SC · 01-15-2015, 08:13 PM

Ferrino the orientation is wrong. Turn 1/4 turn clockwise. The entire quarter panel was replaced at one time and I believe thats the way they did it when replacing the entire quarter. 962 may be able to confirm that. Smoker I'm hoping that I can pick one up at HF this weekend. Here are some picks of some of the car in prim.

Maybe someone can answer if the correct color for the front panel is sliver. The trunk is silver with the wheel wells and engine compartment being black. As you can see it's silver but just not sure if that's correct.

962porsche · 01-16-2015, 05:04 AM

spot welds on the QTR Is not really the best way to do it .
when we replace QTR's we butt weld the two mating panels together .
this way 99.9% of the time we don't have to use body filler on the sail panel . we go easy welding to not get distortion in the metal then grind and metal finish the area . if we do have to use a body filler it's only a very tight coat .
the problem with the over lap is you will have to use filler to get rid of the seam .
in the photo is the type of repair a collision shop would do as it's faster and easier to just over lap and use filler . I would also bet there is no metal protection on the back side of the repair on the sail panel .
to repair the over lap would be kind of a headache job !

yes the trunk and front body panel should be body color but as been talked about many times in the past they did not pay any attention to make it look all pretty as they did to the outer surfaces of the car . so you would see some areas that the color would be a little light with areas they missed .

78-911SC · 01-18-2015, 04:28 PM

I think the sail panel was replaced many years ago. It's definitely above my pay scale to try and correct. I tried the stud gun approach on the deck lid and not real happy with the results. May have located a replacement but just in case am I able the peal the skin off if I drill out the stud welds? It looks like I can peal back the edges and than drill out the welds. The repair would be so much easier.

962porsche · 01-19-2015, 03:15 AM

your holding the trigger on the gun to long welding to studs on .
just a quick hit on the trigger ! it should take very little heat to weld the studs on .

962porsche · 01-19-2015, 05:54 AM

this is what the studs should look like when welded onto a panel .
no heat buildup to warp the panel giving you even more to repair and have to deal with .

when you remove the studs get the cutters under the mushroom looking head and cut and twist at the same time the stud should cut cleanly off [img]

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads24/IMG_18761421679222.jpg[/img]

this is what it should look like when you remove the stud . one very small heat spot from the stud and that's all .

962porsche · 01-19-2015, 05:56 AM

the other photo did not seam to post . this is what it should look like when the stud is removed .

78-911SC · 01-19-2015, 06:42 AM

962 thanks for the help. I will try again. The reason I held the trigger longer was when I used the puller it just pulled them off the panel after the first or second pull or wouldn't even stick to panel at all. I thought I had good contact all around the circle hence the reason for the longer hold. Even cleaned the surface again thinking that might be a issue. There were two sizes of studs for which I use the larger diameter. Should I have used the smaller?

962porsche · 01-19-2015, 07:32 AM

yes use the small studs/draw pins .
with sheet metal that gage you would want to use a 2.0MM stud a 2.5 would also be good but a little big once your up to 3mm studs you have to hold the trigger for a long time to get enough heat to weld the stud/pin to the panel .
if you don't have 2mm studs you should get them . autobodytoolmart.com should have them or your area jobber will .
some times you have to hit the end of the stud with a piece of 220 paper to get a better weld.
also do not grind the panel with 36 grit use a clean stripper disc .

78-911SC · 01-19-2015, 08:13 AM

Thanks 962 it came with 3mm and 2mm. Will try the 2mm.

78-911SC · 01-19-2015, 05:43 PM

962 used the 2mm and what a difference. Still not perfect but a far cry from where it was. Will spend some more time on it tomorrow. Hope to get it so I only have to use a skim coat. Thanks for the help.

962porsche · 01-20-2015, 03:55 AM

if you have a piece of the same gage metal to use so you can play around with it before you start working on the panel it's self that maybe a good idea .
be sure all the surfaces are clean and also the tip of the gun with the pins/studs too .
even my high dollar gun does not weld the pins well if any thing is dirty at all .