ok guys.i started my 2010 winter REbuild a week or so ago..... hers what im workin with . my built 94 civic dx hatch race/street car wich has the original oem red paint .as of now the car is gutted sitting on jack stands. body is sanded to oe primer/bare metal....bay will be shaved aswell. so my Q to you guys is how are you prepping the interrior for a full on color change? my paint supplier says to scotchbrite the int instead of sanding.. wich method is best and most effective? as for shaving the bay.. whats the best way to strip the factory crack sealant/calk and after its stripped do the cracks get fully welded or just tacked ? same with the interrion sealant? .. i need some solid input on this build so i can get the ball rolling.. thanks in advance ...........Dan

 

bump

 

If your gonna repaint the car a different color, paint the entire car! As in inside and out. Pull out all the glass too, it makes everything easier and the paint so much nicer. Scotch brite will work, but it takes longer. Take either 180 or 240 grit sand paper to the interior.

The sealer and stuff in the engine bay can be taken off best with a heat gun and a gasket scraper.

Welding it is really up to you. Its already spot welded, so you dont necessarily need to weld it. Welding it wont make it look as clean unless you or soemone you know can weld really well. Since there's no real problem with rust or flex in the bay, im just gonna use bondo over the seams. It gives you a better way to sculpt it accross the seams.

 

I would highly recommend using scotchbrite pads! I used the red for scuffing the old paint before primer, and then the grey for scuffing the primer. They saved me gobs of money just doing the jambs on my car versus sandpaper. They can flex, whereas sandpaper tends to lose grit when it's flexed a lot.

 

Spawne totally jacked damndan's thread

LOL
and didnt even bother to give steps on how to....

 

lol im talking to him on pm, i get nothing but hate on HT for how to's

 

if they hate then let them hate.
too many people think they know it all anyways.
besides, your project looks to be in order. they cant hate on that

 

NO, i wont hate! i wanted to make this thread for myself and ppl like me who dont "know it all" and wanna learn more about the prep process, so any usefull info is welcome. its been years since i have done any major bodywork so im tryin to get back into the swing of things by hearing everyone elses methods . i would like to hear more feedback about shaving the engine bay!!! how do you guys deal with the sealer in the bay? clear it out and completly weld all the seams?, just tack them every few inches and bondo over them OR just straight Bondo? give me ur input!

 

Ive never done a shaved engine bay before but the process of repainting the whole car is simple, just dont listen to the people on this forum that say sand down to the OEM primer, because that is WRONG, big time. You do your body work areas, bondo/metal glaze, etc, you primer over those areas with a good 2k primer (catalyzed), you wet sand the whole car with 400, then you seal the car. On your plastic pieces (new bumpers, rocker panels, lips, etc) you use BULLDOG adhesion promotor (follow instructions) then you spray.

 

Unless your positive the car has never been repainted, you must sand down to OEM primer. How else would you know if there's been body damage or repairs done previously. The thing you shouldnt do is go down to bare metal, unless you find layers of bondo and rust while your sanding.

 

 

i cant ****in take this, im done posting advice on this forum :rofl: sand down to the factory primer, undo the previous repair :rofl:

 

Its not undoing the previous repair, its finding out what your working with. Obviously if somebody did some sh*tty work in the past, youd want to know about it or repair it the correct way, unless youd like to just cover it back up so it can rust. If your gonna repaint a car and do body work, why would you half *** it? OP can take my advice if he wants. Im not flaming on your post so calm down dude. Im simply giving a for instance and something to look out for. If he is positive that the car has never been repainted, then your method is correct, but if he has any slight doubt, it doesnt hurt to take it down a little farther to make sure there is no half assed body work underneath.

No reason to get all bent out of shape.

 

LOL.......... i totaly agree with what your saying... thats basicaly the way i was taught. the guys that i know almost always take it down to be 100% sure, some ppl dont. TO EACH HIS OWN.. different ppl have different methods of doing bodywork. For my own car, YES i took it down bare! Just because. 100grit chews right through that faded *** 15 year old factory paint like a hot knife through butta. might be a bit more work , so what. as long as the end result looks good who gives a **** what you did to get there! its well worth it in the end .

 

Good luck with the DA!! I hate DA sanders but they work great

 

in for some good info

 

to get the body sealer crap off, just use a heat gun or for faster resutls use a torche...one of those torches that hooks up to a small propane bottle come in handy, along with screwdrivers/gasket scraper/razor blade/whatever.

my engine bay was already painted but the process i took to respray it was scuff the paint with red pads, wet sand with 500, sprayed urethane primer, wet sand with 600, spray base/clear, wet sand with 2000, buff

just keep in mind, whatever the primer looks like will most likely be what the finished product will look like. primer can fill some defects/low spots, but not much, all depends how thick you spray it on.

 

right,.... i will be using the high build primer . i have most of the sealer out just by using various scrapers and sharpened screwdrivers for the real tight spots., . my focus right now is what ima do with the seams! if i should just tack here and there for the extra security/ or just grind the overlap down a lil bit n just bondo over it! im kinda buggin about Flex/cracking if i dont tack..think the factory welds will be good enough?

 

the primer seemed to fill them in on mine and three or four coats of clear and no water will be seeping in them, haha. but as for flex, maybe im wrong, but i dont think that glue was serving as a stiffener...i may be wrong though. didnt seem like the same stuff as the stuff on a chevy or ford, although they say it serves as a stiffener.

 

Be careful if you use a torch, even a small torch with too much heat in one area will warp the metal and look like sh*t.

 

well i tried the torch thing just to c how much easier it would b , i think il stick with the method im using now. takes 2wice as long heating it up and realy isnt helping all that much.

 

all im sayin is the sealant is flexible bondo isnt! im curious to kno if anyones ever had bondo/paint crack in the bayafter ising bondo to fill the overlap/gap. i cant c there being much flex anyhoo

 

There shouldnt be enough flex to crack the bondo in the engine bay.

I also noticed you saying your gonna use high build, which is fine, but youll also want to use a sealing primer. Epoxy primer is your best bet.

 

Now i know why my integra had such shitty *** body work on it when i got it, 4 months of browsing this forum has showed me many things.

 

People that have never done body work, shouldnt attempt it just by looking up info on a website. It wont turn out like it should and it wont last.

Practice and experience makes good boddy work and paint jobs.