Quarter panel repair

[MS3johanna]

EDIT: Long story short, here's the before and after pictures of my whole 18 month adventure into body work. Read on for all the details.



So this happened when I left my car on the street a few months back:


Yup. I think a truck backed into it or something. The building I was in front of didn't capture anything on their surveillance cameras and I had absolutely nothing to go off of for an insurance claim. I didn't want to claim it under collision since I'm still accident-free and my collision deductible is $500, and they wouldn't likely have filed it under my comprehensive. I figure for the price of bondo and primer, I may as well try and fix this myself (with instruction/assistance from my father) and see how mediocre I can make it look. I always have the option to take it to a shop later if I miraculously fall into a large sum of expendable income. I may have it professionally painted either way. I replaced the still functional tail light with a new one I ordered from Mazda Motorsports Development within a month. I love that racer discount!


I also sanded and primed it, and painted it with some black metallic nail polish as a temporary fix so that it wouldn't rust before it got warm enough to work on it. So it's looked like this for the last 5 months:

primed; painted with nail polish.

So this is the story of my first attempt at body work for your entertainment and/or consideration. If you know how to do body work, feel free to tell me how wrong I was, but whatever I post here is already done so it won't do much good now!

Yesterday we got started with the real gut-wrenching stuff. For me, this is where paying any amount of money for body work quickly makes itself worth it. It was about as difficult and desirable for me to do as it would be to anesthetize my own theoretical child and perform surgery with kitchen utensils.

Sanding off the paint:


The original body line had been pushed above where it belonged, so we had to move (beat/pull) it back down without creasing the metal. We had to get it low enough that we'd be able to sculpt the original body line back in without the old metal protruding at any point.



Using the slide hammer and mallet simultaneously, we were able to get it close and low enough... Here's what we were able to shape the metal to before applying bondo:



We applied 2 coats of bondo last night and filed it down to an approximation of where it was going to need to be:



This morning we went back out and continued with the filling/shaping when my dad decided that there was a small bit of metal that was going to end up being too high. Using the small end of the mallet, he hit it back in so it would not protrude at later stages. As he was doing this, the metal under the bondo flexed and cracked several inches around the site. We chipped away all the cracked bondo and reapplied another few layers over it- testing for strength and flexion after applying this time. Thankfully it seems much stronger now (otherwise the paint will just crack and eventually chip off if there is any impact with the quarter panel at all).




So we applied bondo. And filed. And sanded. And applied more bondo. And sanded some more.

Hell, even @MATT DAMOND; got in on the action.


When we started getting close to the proper shape, I found a ruler and stenciled where the body line is going to need to be. This is certainly going to be one of the most challenging parts. I'm probably some sort of OCD perfectionist, so I imagine I'll get it pretty close to where it needs to be, even if it takes me 4 months.



Last coat of bondo drying in the sun:


We started wet sanding after the last coat of bondo we applied today:


Then we got tired and hungry, and it was starting to get dark so we left off today with a shape that's not quite there, but it's starting to look promising!


Last thing we did for the night- we applied a thick coat of primer to fill the small gaps, accentuate the peaks/valleys, and to protect it until the next time we can work on it. Tomorrow morning we'll spray it with some cheap Duplicolor metallic black paint to help protect it- just to hold it over until I have a chance to either paint it professionally or pay someone to do it.



Here's what it's going to look like until next time (minus the metallic paint).


While it's 2000x better than it was, the body line needs to be straightened out and given a lot more definition, and we still need to build some height above the tail light. But for a day and a half of work and my first time with body work, I'll take it! For now...

[Micha]

Thats pretty awesome.

Way further in depth than I am willing to try.

[GODspeed7]

You know for a girl, you have incredibly huge balls. Awesome job!


Sent from my iBro 5 using tapatalk, Bro!

[MS3johanna]

Originally Posted by GODspeed7 You know for a girl, you have incredibly huge balls. Awesome job!

Well thank you! I wouldn't have it any other way.

[predapio]

Seriously swinging a large nut sack. Well done.

[GODspeed7]

Originally Posted by MS3johanna Well thank you! I wouldn't have it any other way.

That's the part where you say "yours are pretty huge too" and then awkward conversation ensues....


Sent from my iBro 5 using tapatalk, Bro!

[Jhornbrook]

It looks awesome. You did an incredible job and I think you will be happy with the results when it's painted.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

[SneakySin]

Brohanna does it again!!!

[Tomas]

Nicely done Johanna.
Tell your daddy he's got a sexy beard.

[manila]

Good job! I wouldn't have the balls to do this to my car

[MS3johanna]

Cheap, quick, temporary spray can paint job to hold me over until we get to go with round #2 . Obviously I'll need to wet sand the edges off the job once its settled. Hopefully we'll get back to it within the next month though...
Again, not anywhere near perfect, but it's SO much better than it was before. I'm quite pleased with the progress.

[JTMS3]

Awesome work, I have a couple door dings you can tackle next.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

[MS3johanna]

Originally Posted by JTMS3 Awesome work, I have a couple door dings you can tackle next.

You and me both brotha! I have a paintless dent repair kit. Maybe we can break it out at the next meet... I have a pretty nasty one on my passenger side door

[xfeejayx]

Originally Posted by MS3johanna You and me both brotha! I have a paintless dent repair kit. Maybe we can break it out at the next meet... I have a pretty nasty one on my passenger side door

You mean your have your brother's PDR kit.












BTW, AAron wants his kit back.

[MS3johanna]

Originally Posted by xfeejayx You mean your have your brother's PDR kit. BTW, AAron wants his kit back.

Ah yes. Notice, I did not specify that it was MY PDR kit. Just A PDR kit. I thought delving into the origin of said PDR kit was probably more detail than required in the thread.
And no he doesn't. He wants me to get real good at it so I can pull the dings out of his Miata. That was the arrangement!

[Travis]

great work Johanna! for the record next time, if there is a next time, try to borrow a stud welder. its basically just like the slide hammer you used but you don't have to drill holes. makes it a lot easier when your trying to reshape body lines like that. also if you ever need any bondo or any tools etc, i have plenty of everything from the RX7 body work project.

[xfeejayx]

Originally Posted by MS3johanna Ah yes. Notice, I did not specify that it was MY PDR kit. Just A PDR kit. I thought delving into the origin of said PDR kit was probably more detail than required in the thread. And no he doesn't. He wants me to get real good at it so I can pull the dings out of his Miata. That was the arrangement!

I only stated what he asked me to state. Me thinks I should leave his comments off of here, it's kinda like a square peg round hole


I like the arrangement though, cuz then you can pull the dings out of my car too

[predapio]

Originally Posted by xfeejayx I only stated what he asked me to state. Me thinks I should leave his comments off of here, it's kinda like a square peg round hole I like the arrangement though, cuz then you can pull the dings out of my car too

Holy shit, Farhan's still around? Thought INS got to you after the Boston thingy.

[MS3johanna]

Originally Posted by xfeejayx I only stated what he asked me to state. Me thinks I should leave his comments off of here, it's kinda like a square peg round hole I like the arrangement though, cuz then you can pull the dings out of my car too

Tell him he's welcome to comment on whatever he wants when he trades the miata for a speed6!

[xfeejayx]

Originally Posted by predapio Holy shit, Farhan's still around? Thought INS got to you after the Boston thingy.

Holy shit, Steve's still around?

1) Thought he would have turned into dust already after breaking 200 yrs old

2) Thought the Feds would have gotten him for his pedapio behavior

3) Thought ....I dunno, something with bed bugs taking over or getting eaten by them

Hi Steve. I'm back nigga

Originally Posted by MS3johanna Tell him he's welcome to comment on whatever he wants when he trades the miata for a speed6!

I learned my lesson, you two have your convos directly. Plus, if he gets an MS6, he'll tell me all the things I'm doing wrong with mine, and I'd rather just be blind to those things.

[Cirruslydakota]

Looks great! If theres anything automotive that scares the hell out of me its body work because I suck at it. My jeep has a rusting rear wheel well arch that needs to be cut out and replaces but theres three pieces of metal sandwiched and spot welded there so its in the worst spot possible. I really need to tackle that soon. For work on the speed I did a complete clay bar, cut, polish, and wax on it a few weeks ago. Looks a million times better but now I know exactly where all the dings and scratches are.

[SeeMeGovan]

Wow dude, ya'll really went to town on this. You seriously did a great job for what it's worth. It's cool to get to practice things like this but honestly I would have just claimed it on my insurance. When somebody runs into your car when it's parked and it's not a moving collision, it's covered by comprehensive. That's what it's for. Unless you had a $1000 deductible or something I'd say you probably put more time and effort into this fix than it's worth, however.

But seriously, having done a bunch of bondo/sanding/bondo/sanding/bondo/sanding/etc/etc when I was in school, I commend your efforts!

[MS3johanna]

Originally Posted by SeeMeGovan Wow dude, ya'll really went to town on this. You seriously did a great job for what it's worth. It's cool to get to practice things like this but honestly I would have just claimed it on my insurance. When somebody runs into your car when it's parked and it's not a moving collision, it's covered by comprehensive. That's what it's for. Unless you had a $1000 deductible or something I'd say you probably put more time and effort into this fix than it's worth, however. But seriously, having done a bunch of bondo/sanding/bondo/sanding/bondo/sanding/etc/etc when I was in school, I commend your efforts!

Thank you!
Unfortunately my insurance agent said that if another vehicle hit it, whether I was parked or moving, it's counted as collision ($500 deductible), not comprehensive ($0 deductible). Total BS. Especially since I have a perfect driving record. I spent 6 months debating what to do, and this just made the most sense because someone else will likely fuck it up again in no time while I'm living in the city.
I'm glad you think it's coming along well though!

[SeeMeGovan]

Originally Posted by MS3johanna Thank you! Unfortunately my insurance agent said that if another vehicle hit it, whether I was parked or moving, it's counted as collision ($500 deductible), not comprehensive ($0 deductible). Total BS. Especially since I have a perfect driving record. I spent 6 months debating what to do, and this just made the most sense because someone else will likely fuck it up again in no time while I'm living in the city. I'm glad you think it's coming along well though!

Who's your insurance through? That's 100% bullshit. I live in seattle and I've seen a bunch of friends get hit-and-runned and they all claimed it under comprehensive. Maybe you should have said somebody hit you with a tire iron lol.

[Tomas]

Originally Posted by MS3johanna Thank you! Unfortunately my insurance agent said that if another vehicle hit it, whether I was parked or moving, it's counted as collision ($500 deductible), not comprehensive ($0 deductible). Total BS. Especially since I have a perfect driving record. I spent 6 months debating what to do, and this just made the most sense because someone else will likely fuck it up again in no time while I'm living in the city. I'm glad you think it's coming along well though!

Originally Posted by SeeMeGovan Who's your insurance through? That's 100% bullshit. I live in seattle and I've seen a bunch of friends get hit-and-runned and they all claimed it under comprehensive. Maybe you should have said somebody hit you with a tire iron lol.

@chimmike; is an insurance type sherlock holmes. Just sexier. May he'll comment on this since I am also interested to know how the term collision is properly applied.

[Chimmike]

Per my insurance policy language:

Comprehensive coverage exclused "collision with another object" or "overturn".
Collision with another object does not necessitate that your vehicle is moving. Collision is collision is collision, or "Collision is the covered auto's collision with another object".

Comprehensive coverage is usually termed as "Other than collision", which would include fire, theft, flood, things of that nature.

Anyway, this line of business is one of love and hate. One day you'll LOVE the policy language because it covers you, the next you'll HATE it because it doesn't go your way. Such is life.

I have an insured (whom I think was misled by the agent) who thinks we should cover something even though the definition of what he was doing is clearly defined as an exclusion on the policy. Furthermore, if we were to pay the loss, it would make all of his liability coverage premiums for the past 6 years a total wash. We're in the business of making money like any other entity, and our policies are a calculated risk. We pay when we have to, but when exclusions arise, sorry. that's how the policy is written, and that's how the policy is approved by the State.

[MS3johanna]

Originally Posted by SeeMeGovan Who's your insurance through? That's 100% bullshit. I live in seattle and I've seen a bunch of friends get hit-and-runned and they all claimed it under comprehensive. Maybe you should have said somebody hit you with a tire iron lol.

I wasn't around so for all I know, somebody did hit me with a tire iron. In the end though, it's whatever State Farm (<<my insurance company) decides to claim it as, and as @chimmike; so honestly said, they are in the business of making money (thank you for your input, btw). I decided it wasn't worth it to submit the claim and have it go on my record when they would most likely end up calling it collision anyway. It's definitely BS, but I'm trying to make the best of it and I'm just working with what I've got. And it's kind of a nice break to be fixing something on my car other than bushings and suspension components for once, haha!

[SeeMeGovan]

Originally Posted by chimmike Per my insurance policy language: Comprehensive coverage exclused "collision with another object" or "overturn". Collision with another object does not necessitate that your vehicle is moving. Collision is collision is collision, or "Collision is the covered auto's collision with another object". Comprehensive coverage is usually termed as "Other than collision", which would include fire, theft, flood, things of that nature. Anyway, this line of business is one of love and hate. One day you'll LOVE the policy language because it covers you, the next you'll HATE it because it doesn't go your way. Such is life. I have an insured (whom I think was misled by the agent) who thinks we should cover something even though the definition of what he was doing is clearly defined as an exclusion on the policy. Furthermore, if we were to pay the loss, it would make all of his liability coverage premiums for the past 6 years a total wash. We're in the business of making money like any other entity, and our policies are a calculated risk. We pay when we have to, but when exclusions arise, sorry. that's how the policy is written, and that's how the policy is approved by the State.

I'm not trying to play devil's advocate here but I know people (including my parents) who have basically told their insurance company "fix this because I pay you to or I'm going to cancel my policy and move carriers."

My dad got in some bogus accident where some asshole merged into him and did minor damage but it was clearly the other guy's fault, then he tried to sue my dad's company because he was claiming all sorts of ridiculous injuries. USAA called my dad and said that the guy was not willing to settle outside of court and that my dad should look into getting a lawyer. He said "No, I'm not getting a lawyer. YOU need to figure out how to settle with this guy because I pay you to take care of shit like this." That was the end of it, they took care of it.

I know you don't want to piss off your insurance company but remember they work for you, not the other way around.

[Cirruslydakota]

Oh don't worry, knowing these cars you'll be back on those parts very soon.

[Chimmike]

Originally Posted by SeeMeGovan I'm not trying to play devil's advocate here but I know people (including my parents) who have basically told their insurance company "fix this because I pay you to or I'm going to cancel my policy and move carriers." My dad got in some bogus accident where some asshole merged into him and did minor damage but it was clearly the other guy's fault, then he tried to sue my dad's company because he was claiming all sorts of ridiculous injuries. USAA called my dad and said that the guy was not willing to settle outside of court and that my dad should look into getting a lawyer. He said "No, I'm not getting a lawyer. YOU need to figure out how to settle with this guy because I pay you to take care of shit like this." That was the end of it, they took care of it. I know you don't want to piss off your insurance company but remember they work for you, not the other way around.

lol. In the grand scheme, your $600 premium every 6 months really doesn't mean shit to a big personal lines carrier like allstate, state farm, or progressive.

When USAA warned your dad about the other party, they did it to protect him because there was a chance that the case could potentially have to settle for more than his limits. What they did was keep your dad informed so that he couldn't go back later if USAA had to settle for more than the limits, the other party go after him, and him not know what was going on and sue USAA.

Make no bones about it, your dad telling them to figure it out didn't 'solve' shit, or 'tell them what's up'. I get threats every day from people "I'ma get a lawyer and sue you" or "you better pay this or I'll have your job". Doesn't mean shit to an adjuster.........and if anything pisses them off and forces them to put your shit at the BOTTOM of the to-do pile.

Your insurance carrier works for you.....within the confines of what the policy and the law allows. And there are a LOT of laws that can totally fuck up an insurance carrier and we are constantly having to watch our own asses as adjusters because of shithead lawyers who know loopholes and like to sue and waste taxpayer money in the courts.

[SeeMeGovan]

Threadjacked.

Crappatalking on my big-ass phone.

[Cryptic]

Holy shat, this is awesome! I may do this to my car this summer, beats paying 2500+ for my door scruffs!

Edit: Thanks for the detailed write up and process. Will be looking back.

[CosmicArkie]

Saw this thread when it was first made and debated making a comment, butt, what the hell.

The methodology is circa 1980. Yeah, been a long time since the punch a hole and stick in a screw/slidehammer era. Basically, what you have done is damaged the e-coat every time you punched a hole and are now looking forward to rust at each and every location. Particularly those of you in the northern climes. And to compound the problem, the moisture thrown up in the wheelwells will be absorbed by the bondo, causing it to loosen and fall off.

As was mentioned, a stud gun is the more appropriate method of pulling. Along with replacing the protective coating.

JMHO

YMMV

[MS3johanna]

Originally Posted by CosmicArkie Saw this thread when it was first made and debated making a comment, butt, what the hell. The methodology is circa 1980. Yeah, been a long time since the punch a hole and stick in a screw/slidehammer era. Basically, what you have done is damaged the e-coat every time you punched a hole and are now looking forward to rust at each and every location. Particularly those of you in the northern climes. And to compound the problem, the moisture thrown up in the wheelwells will be absorbed by the bondo, causing it to loosen and fall off. As was mentioned, a stud gun is the more appropriate method of pulling. Along with replacing the protective coating. JMHO YMMV

Actually, probably more like circa late 1960s-1970s. That's when my dad learned to do this. And he appreciates the stud welder feedback. If we/he ever have to do this again, we'll go with that route. As you said- what's done is done and I'll be watching for those things, but still hoping for the best. I guess we'll see how it goes.
Thanks for the warnings and feedback! This is my first time at it, so I appreciate being able to learn from this experience so it goes better next time!

[CosmicArkie]

Originally Posted by MS3johanna Actually, probably more like circa late 1960s-1970s. That's when my dad learned to do this. And he appreciates the stud welder feedback. If we/he ever have to do this again, we'll go with that route. As you said- what's done is done and I'll be watching for those things, but still hoping for the best. I guess we'll see how it goes. Thanks for the warnings and feedback! This is my first time at it, so I appreciate being able to learn from this experience so it goes better next time!

You might wait until you're reasonably sure everything is as hot and dry as it can get this summer. The apply something like Rustmort (which is a rust converter) to the wheel well area from underneath. Then heavily seal it with some undercoating. Keep your fingers crossed that no rocks/debris punch through to bare metal.

[MS3johanna]

UPDATE: Round #2 .

My dad and I finally had a chance to build some needed thickness on the body putty yesterday. Unfortunately this meant messing with the line that was already pretty darn good. The first application didn't go very well. It was very hot and humid out and the bondo was curing unexpectedly fast (even when we mixed less hardener into it).

How NOT to apply bondo:


We sanded away at that until it was smoother, and everything that was going to chip off had done so, and then applied another layer. That one went a bit better so my dad started re-sculpting the shape and body line with the belt sander while I went to other side of my car to try and pull a small door ding I've been meaning to get to for some time now.

After several attempts and a 0% success rate, I gave up on the door ding and went back to look at the progress on the body line. Unfortunately, while the line was there, it was much less defined than it had previously been, and was bordering on being too narrow again. I guess it turns out that having a second set of eyes (more importantly- from a different angle) while shaping the body is somewhat of a necessity for anyone who doesn't do this every day. Despite the approaching dusk, he thankfully agreed to help me apply and shape one more coat of body putty.

With my coaching, the shaping of that layer went much better! We didn't have as much time for micro-adjustments as we did the first time, but this time I still have a decent amount of extra depth to take off for further sculpting. That means I can now go out and wet-sand it on my own time (I still street-park it) without having to borrow a garage or power sander. I'm looking forward to being able to make progress on it much more efficiently now. After I get the bondo is shaped relatively perfectly, I'll move onto applying glazing and spot putty to fill all those little chunks/holes/imperfections, and then [real, multi-stage] paint!

Here's where it's at now. A few things that are better, and a few worse than before, but a lot more promising overall!

[MS3johanna]

Round #5 ?

I might just have it. Maybe. If all the bondo keeps holding.

I've run into a few problems along these last few passes, and have created a few for myself, driven by the OCD perfectionist in me. Learning when to say when is always the toughest struggle with these things. Anyway, after having to chip away more bondo again (twice), and re-create the line (again), I might just call it a wrap. Or rather, ready to be wrapped. I'm vinyl wrapping the whole car when I'm happy with the bondo work, to avoid any mismatched paint situation. After what I just did, I don't think I'll have too much trouble getting the wrap to look good. I'll link to a new thread once it's started/complete.

Anyway, here's some pics:

To get the body line right, I took measurements from the good side, up from the outermost point where the bumper connects to the fender/ vs. the distance back from the door of each measurement. I then mirrored these onto the bondo and taped if off about 1/4" about that line, so the sanding I did would allow the line to form naturally.



I was quite a ways off:


More Sanding.



I used this stuff to fill in all the little divets and imperfections as I neared completion.


OH. And this sanding block made ALL the difference in getting the upper, concave portion of the curve to be completely smooth and flowing! It was nearly impossible to do with a flat sanding block.


And finally, 4 days of bondoing, sanding, primering, sanding, bondoing, sanding, and primering later, I arrived here:









BEFORE/AFTER:


All in all, I'd say it's respectable.

VINYL WRAP TO COME!!!

[Cirruslydakota]

Good job. Its more than what I would have done. I hate body work. Fuuuuuuuck bodywork, I'll farm that shit out.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk

[SeeMeGovan]

Looks like pride at this point but you're killing it.

Sent from my big-ass phone.

[MS3johanna]

Halfway there! Of course I'll be back with more pics of the finished product.

Here's my thread about it