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auto body class

I want to learn the "right" way to keep the rust on my 83 CJ-7 under control and looking good, so I signed up for a autbody class through one of the local school districts that run 3 hours a night for 9 weeks. I was expecting half class time, and half shop time, and my goal was to get my badly rusted doors cleaned up, and primed so they would be ready to paint. Then the rest of the jeep can be done over the winter in my own garage once I learn the basics. Well after my first night of class I relaize that this is a 100% hands on class with 5 students ( 2 of whom are repeats and are just there for the tool time ), so there are 3 of us for one teacher. The teacher thinks that I can get the doors fixed up, the corner of the tub cleaned up, the holes in the floors fixed, and the other miscelaneous rust spots taken care of durring the course. Plus I will do my own work outside of class so I can see all of the time consuming part done at home, and he class time can be used for his consulting, and help. Keep in mind that my goal is to have a trail rig that will be driven off-road, used, and eventually scratched and scraped, so I don't need to spend lots of time and money making it look show quality, just to stop the rust, and make it look good again. I run 32" tires now with a minor lift, but later will have a 4" lift with probably a 2" body lift, and will run 33" tires with the option of 35" if I wanted. With that said what cool ideas should I be thinking of as I start this project. I am thinking that this is the perfect time for TJ flares, maybe rocker guards. Anything else I should thing through before I get too far into the paint?

Reply to
Fletcher
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Congratulations on making the effort to do body work right! It's really pretty easy to learn, and just because you aren't looking for 'show quality' work on your trail Jeep doesn't mean that the skills between 'good enough' and 'show quality' are really much different. The biggest difference is how patient you are with your own work and how much time you take for the little details. Doing your lap seams correctly (for example) and being able to make them look 'glass perfect' usually means you've got a good strong joint that won't allow air/water in there to rust again - making for a stronger truck.

If you don't know how to weld yet, spend a LOT of time practicing your technique and get as good as you can on the school's dime. Spend particular attention to gas welding - it's the oldest joining technique used in auto body and getting good at it is a priceless skill. Get familiar with MIG welding as well, both flux-core and 'true' MIG with shielding gas and solid wire. Both are used extensively by the pros for good reason. Arc welding is fine for heavy fabrication and field fixes if it's all you have available, but in body work, it's next to useless. I'm not just touting my favorite type because I only have one. I actually have a Lincoln 225 amp arc, a Century MIG w/ Argon/CO2 gas and an oxy/acy gas outfit. Gas is best & MIG is a VERY close second best for sheet metal - period. Forget TIG welding. It ROCKS for sheet metal, but it's so expensive you almost never learn it without going to tech school full time or learning it on the job.

You'll make up your own mind about flares & such as you learn the skills you'll get in class. Only by being intimately familiar with your Jeep can you make the truly 'right' decisions about what to do with it, and you soon will be. You'll also be able to make better buying decisions in the future on every vehicle you look at with your newfound skills. I'd focus on the basics this time around and if you sign up again like some of your classmates, you can fab up some dandy flares & stuff then. The nice thing about learning body work right is that once you have that skill, you'll realise how cheap & easy it really is to crank out so many things you see for sale for 'BucksDeLuxe' it's just stupid. You'll find yourself just looking for stuff to make if you like doing that kind of thing.

I took auto body for 4 semesters at a tech school when I was still in high school, and I wouldn't trade that knowledge for anything 25 years later. I've never worked in an auto shop of any kind, but I've built about a dozen cars & trucks from the ground up not counting the Willys Wagon I have in about a million pieces right now with big holes cut out of it (rust & damage repair).

Cheers, - Jeff G

67 Kaiser Jeepster Commando 50 Willys 4x4 Station Wagon
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Fletcher wrote:

Reply to
Jeff Gross

Reply to
L.W.(ßill)

That is just the info I was looking for. The instructor said that he can put us on a bench and let us practice weld all we want before we weld on our own cars, and if we get nervous working on our own welds he will take over if we need. I plan on spending a few hours just letting him be my coach while I weld patches into a piece of scrap metal. The other key I picked up on the first night were some of the tools that are used for the basics. I have never regretted buying any tool, and I can see a few tools such as a palm orbital DA sander, an in-line sander, and a kit of assorted hammers and dolly's would go along way and pay for themselves very quickly. Anyone have suggestions for other "starter" tools that I should look for? I think that time spent in class will help to answer that question, but I like to hear from others with home experience.

Reply to
Fletcher

Reply to
Will Honea

For home use, Harbor Freight is the best place for tools to start out. Lots of folks rag on them for a number of reasons (made in China, not Snap-On, etc), but for someone working on their own vehicles they'll last as long as anything 4x the cost if you just maintain them properly. Too many people buy low-buck tools to start, don't take care of them (because they don't know how & air tools of any brand are particularly sensitive to neglect), then convince themselves that high $$$ tools are the only way to go.

If you use an impact wrench 3+ hrs./day - 5 days/week, buy the best you can afford, and having a truck come to your place of employment with nearly unlimited credit isn't bad for someone who uses those tools at work every day for their livelihood. If you use it 10 weekends/year, buy a heavy duty one @ HF and put a couple drops of air tool oil in the air inlet fitting before & after every use and it'll last for years. Same goes for hand tools and body tools are no exception. Put them in a toolbox off the floor and they'll last a lifetime. Lay them on the floor overnight and they'll fail real quick.

Personally, I prefer hand tools for filing and sanding. Power/air tools are OK if you're real experienced, but it takes a real soft touch with an in-line air file to not just grind right through everything you just laid up. Learn on manual procedures and move up to power when you feel you have a good touch and eye for smooth level surfaces, including compound curved surfaces. Nothing looks as good as real hand work.

It can be tempting to let the instructor take over with welding, but don't give in to it. Do it yourself even if it means cutting off a crappy weld to re-do it. You'll see why as you get into it. If you have to have him do something like weld around a corner or inside a curved surface, stick your face right in there (properly protected, of course) to watch exactly what he's doing and don't feel like a dork asking a million 'stupid' questions. You're paying for his time and any decent instructor will be more than happy to explain every boring little thing about how/why he's doing something. Most will use your questions to help everyone else in class as well.

Cheers, - Jeff G

Fletcher wrote:

Reply to
Jeff Gross

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