Believe it or not, I've been doing body work for almost 2 years now.. The thing is, I haven't really done it outside of a professional shop.. There will be no room for my project car in the shop this year so I'd like to take it home and store it in my basement while I wrok on it from time to time..

Now, I understand that bondo, icing and what not react different in different temperatures.. My basement is not isolated and gets fairly cold when it's cold outside..

So my question is, how exactly would I go about doing body work in this weather? Would it be a good idea, or does the build have to be put off for another year?

 

get a heat lamp... or use the faster drying hardener. to help the bondo cure faster.

but nonetheless, bondo dries by a thermonuclear reaction. where the chemicals meet each other and cross link and react to build heat and dry. so no matter the weather, it will cure and harden. it just might take longer when its cold outside.... but definitely if its cold to the point where the air is misty/or moist that may be a concern.

 

Usually as long as your not below 40 degrees it will just take the body filler longer to harden but it still will eventually harden within the hour, i use a tad more hardener for colder temps, it is a chemical reaction that hardens the filler but temp and humidity play alot on the dry time as well. Im sure you can relate to those humid 90 degree days where it hardens halfway through you spreading it on your panel. Thus it is the oposite in colder temps, i would lay the sections you need and then leave it sit for a little while and scrape your nail against it to see how it is setting up. you will be fine.

 

Yeah, that's basically what I'm worried about. I'm aware of how bondo/hardener dries, but it's the moister in the air and what not.. I wasn't sure how the bondo would react on laying it on freezing cold metal.. What would happen with the misty air?

True true.. Only thing I guess I wouldn't do is add more hardener.. The longer it takes the harden, the softer the bodywork will be in the long run.. This is why mixing the proper amount of hardener is critical.. Too little hardener and it won't ever harden, too much hardener and it'll go hard too quick and won't be quality work.. All in all, in colder temperatures, I would much rather sacrifice the amount of time it takes to complete the task than I would the quality of the body work.. I understand that you said you would add a tad more, so I'm sure you know what I mean, just throwing it out there

 

Get a heat lamp like gorilla said, or even get a space heater. A kerosene heater would work as long as you're not painting near it (obviously you're not in a basement), and a good electric heater will work better. I saw a nice looking floor standing electric 'radiator style' heater for large rooms at Walmart yesterday for $70... that would be more than enough for a slightly larger than car sized room. It will give you nice consistent heat for a long time.

Buy some thick clear plastic sheeting from Walmart and hang it from the ceiling to chop a work area section out of the basement so that the heater has an easier time keeping it warm. Start it up a while before working down there and it will get the metal to a more reasonable temp. Keep your supplies upstairs somewhere warm and you'll have no trouble working with them when you bring them down into the heated work area.

I worked like this for a while in a garage at a friend's house last winter. It was just side work and he wanted to keep the car there for the body work so that he could pull the motor at the same time. The garage was a large 3 car attached to the house. We kept the materials just inside the house in the 'mud room'/laundry area where it was warm. We dropped a clear plastic sheet from the ceiling because it was useless to heat the unused section of the garage... and it has the added benefit of keeping the dust in one spot. Inside our little work area room in the barely insulated garage it was a consistent 75 degrees when it was in the 20s outside. No reason to work half assed in the cold when you can easily warm it up.

 

space heater.

 

my basement is pretty big, could fit prob about 8-10 hatches in it.. problem is fitting them in around the beams that hold my house up lol

 

I've been doing body work here at my house for about 2 years now with no major problems. When it's really cold outside, I don't work, but when the sun is out, I'll be out there working pretty much all day. When I'm painting something in my garage, I have a Kerosene heater I leave on while painting. It's definitely a good investment to get one of these and you can usually find them on craigslist for fairly cheap. You can use Kerosene or Diesel with them.

 

the salamander!! haha.. ye, been keeping my eye out for em. i guess harbor freight has some nice cheap ones, just tryin to find the right one

 

what would you guys recommend as far as a heater goes? I dont wanna get a salamander, but too expensive for me.. i went and got some thick shower curtains to hang up and regulate dust/heat.. but now i need to figure out heat..

also, i think i may go get an air compressor for myself this christmas, what do y'all think?
sears has a 33 gallon 2hp one for $299
http://www.sears.com/ue/tool/110109_...or%20Chart.pdf

i'd like to stick with sears considering i have a $250 sears/craftsman gift card

 

Get something like this http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lasko-Cycl...eater/12568625

just go to Walmart or similar and look at space heaters. That's all you need.

The compressor will work fine, just try to get a 1/2" ID air hose. If you can't get one a 3/8" ID will work fine, it will probably just choke the tool a bit. Either way you'll end up waiting for the compressor to catch up once in a while.

 

Having the biggest air compressor good but i would look at the SCFM too not just the HP.. The price that you looking seem be o.k for samll minor job... No hater on anyone buying heat for the basement or garage but don't waste money on those things. Why not just wait when the weather get really warm. I know it far from now but it get there soon. Seriously..Just my opinion..

 

i'll look into that, thanks dc2
ken, i dont have a problem with waiting to do the body work, except i kinda want it done for spring and i want my hatch for a dd again.. if i dont do anything over the winter, ill feel like nothing was accomplished.. a could use a heater in my house anyway, and an air compressor will be a good investment, im sure

 

a buddy offered me his 60 gallon, 6hp air compressor.. it's mostly new, not a lot of hours, a few brand new parts.. he's willing to sell it for $350.. what do you think? i know 60 gallons is a little overkills since im the only one using it, but for $350 i dont really wanna pass it up, especially since its only $50 more for double the size and tripe the hp.. plus i could keep my $250 craftsman gift card and go on a spree at sears haha... what do you guys think?

p.s. i wiggled the hatch into the basement, she looks good in there

 

60 gal and 6 Hp air compressor don't seen to be that bad, but do you have the outlet power? What kind of Air compressor is it? The price seen to be o.k but a bit cheap for that big equipment. The craftsman air compressor only good for small duty work not heavy as automotives..

 

don't think i do have the outlet power.. it'd have to run on 220v wouldn't it?
i'm not sure of the make, im thinking craftsman tho.. it is cheap for what it is, cuz he's a good friend of mine, how would a craftsman air compressor only be good for small duty work if they make different sizes?

 

Yes the bigger the aircompressor the bigger the outlet plug you would need. This's were the electrician man have to come and make connection for that. Not hating on Craftsman but i fine it over-rated. BIG aircompreesor and lower scfm. Paying for it names..

 

so i went and bought the air compressor.. 6 gallon, 6 1/2 hp.. new motor, new pully and new bov..

the power cord that is coming off it was set up so that it can be directly wired into my electric box into a 40a fuse, so everything turned out pretty good.. my basement isnt as cold as i thought it was, i won't ned an expensive heater, just a simple one to heat one panel at a time