I have been reading up on the paint/body threads and feel like i have a unique problem / question. I am new on the forum and got my first vette (98 vert) about a year ago after having camaros all my life. The other day i mis-judged coming into the garage on the blind side and the stucco from the house scrapped the side of the door and ground down the door molding by about a half inch, with various scrapes and a couple of small cracks down the side of the car. Now here is my real issue, i only have 15G in the car to begin with ,and I hope to keep it a few more years and upgrade to a better vette. I had just gotten new tires and was informed that i had a bent rim even though I had no steering wheel shudder until my new tires were mounted. Wheels were next on my list followed by re-covering the seats.Of course now my next thing to do will be to fix the body damage.Because I have way more time than money along with the cost per return factor I am considering 1 : do the work myself. 2: only clean up and paint the side i wipped out. I hope i dont offend anyone because I do realize that this is not something you would do with a collector car. But my car I feel does not fit into this status with 100,000 plus miles.Hope i have made some sense enough to get some advice as to where to start? Any advice on how to start and finish will be greatly appreciated. Stalker 1958

 

Pics of the damage would help

 

If you can't buff it out you are going to have to do glass work to repair it. Do lots of talking with those that know glass work and reading before you attempt the repair yourself. Glass work is not hard you just have to know what you are doing and be safe.

Tony

 

AZ thanks for the quick response, the problem is we are headed to the airport first thing //// supposed to be in the sack right now. When I get back in mid-Jan I'll post up some before pics! I am a woodworker and I think I can handle doing the work ,I just dont know what the tricks and the latest and greatest products are. I am willing to spend some money to get a few specialty tools to help out. I want to work on all my stuff anyway when I retire. Thanks

 

Thanks Tony! You guys are awesome.

 

btt

 

okay today i bought a da air sander , started with 120grit (only on the worst spot) then 220 -320 -400 then hand sanded w/ wet 600 grit. the thing is, i only feathered the 4 problem areas , passenger side mirror ,door , rear fender area front right spoiler area and a small spot on the rear bumper that was pre existing. i have these areas looking good. but would like any tips anyone is willing to give . i just kind of winged it to get this far. how far do i need to bust down the original finish before preping to paint? or what grit should i use ? 600 or finer? i will hire someone to tape it off and spray it. as far as the final sanding to bust up the clear coat i dont mind doing this because i have more time than money. thanks for any input.stalker1958

 

really need pictures... but if your done with fixing the damage, and have the edges smooth, depending on the condion of the paint you can go 400 grit, without geting into issues.. just take your time, keep the sander away from sharp edges, wheel lip ect, you can get those areas by hand. let the sander do the work no need to press down on it..do not stay in one spot to long sanding, keep the sander moving, the better you do this the easier it will be to block it even when it's primed..
theres so much more, but hopefully I given you enough that you can sleep at night..

 

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