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A couple of body work questions.

Posted by TeamEvil

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A couple of body work questions. #1
TeamEvil / / Gone, /, Kiribati	Posted: March 23, 2012 05:44PM Registered: 1 year ago Posts: 1,443

Just started working on the front clip, TONS of surface rust, a bit of rot, and a damaged/dented nose. The top surface of the cowl and most of the mid-side areas have very large, very deep pits in the sheet metal, I was wondering what some of you folks recommend to filled them? The technique and materials used?

Also, towards the middle of the of the clip the metal seems to be thin. Thin enough that I can push on it and it "pops" in and out again, almost 'oil canning" in a way. Is this normal on the MGA or has the metal possibly been rusted away to a thinner gauge?

Wondering. Could use some help.

Thanks,

TC

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Re: A couple of body work questions. #2
HL Miller Henry Miller Chair City, NC, USA	Posted: March 23, 2012 06:00PM Registered: 1 year ago Posts: 811

For the pits, a couple of options pop to mind - a filler with aluminium, like allmetal or alumifill has good moisture resistance, easy to spread, works well. A polyester putty spreads and sands easily. For smaller pits over a larger area, a sprayable polyester like slicksand can do a decent job.

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Re: A couple of body work questions. #3
jclars John Larsen Lynden, WA, USA 1958 MG MGA 1500 Coupe 1965 MG MGB 1970 MG MGB	Posted: March 24, 2012 10:08PM Registered: 5 years ago Posts: 2,293

I also had a lot of surface rust on mine, although pits were to a much smaller degree. I used a rust converter like RustMort, following instructions and then polyester putty.

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Re: A couple of body work questions. #4
Marcus T Orting, Wa, USA	Posted: March 25, 2012 02:10AM Registered: 1 year ago Posts: 39

In reply to # 2021552 by jclars I also had a lot of surface rust on mine, although pits were to a much smaller degree. I used a rust converter like RustMort, following instructions and then polyester putty.

I am working on my panels and that is what I am doing. My pits are at the edges of the wings where they bolt onto the tub. I am using Mar Hyde rust converter (I tried Loctite but I like Mar Hyde better) and I like the the Dolphin brand filler too.

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Re: A couple of body work questions. #5
Jonathan-AZ Jonathan Baney Mesa, Arizona, USA 1962 MG MGA MkII	Posted: March 25, 2012 10:24AM Registered: 3 years ago Posts: 261

I blasted the entire body and filled most pits with a skim coat of rage gold filler. Once I'm done with the major dings that I couldn't hammer out, I'm going to hit the exterior pieces with Evercoat's SuperBuild, a sprayable poly filler/primer/surfacer. It's supposed to be like slicksand but easier to sand. The brochure says it should build up to 8 mils per coat and you're supposed to hit it with 3 wet coats, then block, so those pits and any waviness should disappear.

*Note, I use all of the right buzzwords in the above message but I have never used an air gun before, so we'll see what happens. smiling bouncing smiley

I do love the rage gold though, sands so well and is very forgiving to make up for my lack of skillz.

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Re: A couple of body work questions. #6
TeamEvil / / Gone, /, Kiribati	Posted: March 25, 2012 04:58PM Registered: 1 year ago Posts: 1,443

Thanks gang, I'll do as most of you have. Sounds easy, and ought to work out. The pits sort of scared me, somehow I thought that I was gong to have to melt lead or aluminum into them, maybe use a waxed paddle or something. Nice to learn that modern materials will do the job well.

TC

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Re: A couple of body work questions. #7
jclars John Larsen Lynden, WA, USA 1958 MG MGA 1500 Coupe 1965 MG MGB 1970 MG MGB	Posted: March 25, 2012 10:53PM Registered: 5 years ago Posts: 2,293

Wow Jon, I was impressed. You must have been studying the topic during your down time! You made me recall that I used the filled polyester primer as well. So,I second that approach for the pits and rough surfaces.

I did two coats x2 and it smoothed the surface nicely after blocking. When they say wet coat, though, they mean wet coat. But dont be shocked if the first try comes out like lizard skin. It sands down pretty easily. (Leslie can probably finish it easy on a weekend.) Also be aware that some of the high build polyesters arent meant for direct application to bare metal and so you would need to spray epoxy or other compatable primer first.

John L.

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