Bartman Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 I am once again in the process of doing bodywork and paint on my Z. I really want to increase the quality of the body including door and hatch gaps, panel alignment, and sharpening and aligning the body line on S30’s that start from the top of the front fenders and extend all the way to the rear of the car. I want this body line to be well defined, and straight – especially on the rear quarter panels where sometimes they seem to get lost. Can anyone share any tips or techniques of what has worked for them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Take it down to bare metal and see what you actually have. Ideally you would run the panel over a roller to get more definition of that body line but I think you would have to machine a custom pair of rollers to get the break angle right. That would work for the front fenders and door skins. For the rear fenders you would have to dolly the line or cut the fender off and run it through the bead roller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Somewhere, long ago I saw a writeup about this. If I remember correctly, they snapped the body line on the car and traced it with marker, then drew a series of 1" long vertical lines along it and sanded diagonally from above and below the line until the vertical lines had been sanded away to meet the body line. I may not have done a good description of that, but maybe someone can find that writeup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaaJeHaa Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 That line is most certainly dimmed because of earlier bodywork because of a respray. As john suggest, take it down to metal and see how the line is behind everything. If its not clear enough behind all old paint, primer and bondo, then use lead or bondo, and sand it down with a long and wide block starting from the line and away from it on both sides of the line. You wont need a lot of filler material, halv a mm will sharpen the line a lot. This is the tecnique I used since my car didnt have this line visible at all... 2mm of bondo evenly on a straight body.... Why would someone do that?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daryl_db Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 I use masking tape to mark the body line. Once the masking tape is applied sand all the way to the edge of the tape and then remove the tape and apply a new tape line at the bottom on the body line and sand to that edge. This will give you a straight well-defined body line. http://www.how-to-build-hotrods.com/body-lines-straight.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daryl_db Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 (edited) I’m not sure that I would completely strip the paint off the body. I would only do it if there are signs of body damage, body work, or tons of paint. Sand the material on the car. Block everything out then work on the body lines. This will save a lot of time and money. I went to bare metal on my z but there was evidence of poor body work and tons of paint. Spend the money on good sand paper. Don't be cheap. I would strongly recommend using 3m paper. It is the best I have ever used and it lasts a lot longer than anything on the market. Edited August 15, 2012 by daryl_db Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted August 15, 2012 Author Share Posted August 15, 2012 I use masking tape to mark the body line. Once the masking tape is applied sand all the way to the edge of the tape and then remove the tape and apply a new tape line at the bottom on the body line and sand to that edge. This will give you a straight well-defined body line. http://www.how-to-build-hotrods.com/body-lines-straight.html thanks darl_db that's a good link. It's close to the process I'm already trying with a couple extra tips that should help out. I think the one thing that will really help right now is a long piece of flat stock steel or aluminum that will stay straight, but bend along the curve of the body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted August 15, 2012 Author Share Posted August 15, 2012 Take it down to bare metal and see what you actually have. Ideally you would run the panel over a roller to get more definition of that body line but I think you would have to machine a custom pair of rollers to get the break angle right. That would work for the front fenders and door skins. For the rear fenders you would have to dolly the line or cut the fender off and run it through the bead roller. I guess that would be the best route, but a little more work than I was hoping for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaaJeHaa Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 (edited) daryl_db: Thats a trick I should've known when I did my bodywork. Would've shorten the time used a lot! Edited August 16, 2012 by HaaJeHaa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaaJeHaa Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 thanks darl_db that's a good link. It's close to the process I'm already trying with a couple extra tips that should help out. I think the one thing that will really help right now is a long piece of flat stock steel or aluminum that will stay straight, but bend along the curve of the body. Go buy a good sanding block made for the purpose. Will make the job easier and better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted August 20, 2012 Author Share Posted August 20, 2012 I did a better search and actually found I started a thread about this same question years ago! How to Sharpen Body Lines In that thread Savage42 post a great image with the look I'd like to achieve My question is it appears that my body line from the rear wheel opening back slants down, is this normal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 That thread has the one I was thinking of linked in it... I posted it, haha. http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php?showtopic=23729 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted August 23, 2012 Author Share Posted August 23, 2012 No one can help me on my rear quarter body line question? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daryl_db Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 No one can help me on my rear quarter body line question? Post a picture of your body line and I will see if it matches mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted August 23, 2012 Author Share Posted August 23, 2012 Post a picture of your body line and I will see if it matches mine. I still have to essentially 'recreate' it on the rear quarter panels. The line is there behind the rear wheel openings, but not before it. If I extend the line from the door and the line from behind the wheel openings they don't line up. They aren't parallel and would cross each other above the rear wheel opening. So it appears that the body line arcs a little over the rear wheel opening and then is straight again going to the rear of the car. I just need to confirm this is correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daryl_db Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I still have to essentially 'recreate' it on the rear quarter panels. The line is there behind the rear wheel openings, but not before it. If I extend the line from the door and the line from behind the wheel openings they don't line up. They aren't parallel and would cross each other above the rear wheel opening. So it appears that the body line arcs a little over the rear wheel opening and then is straight again going to the rear of the car. I just need to confirm this is correct. I basically had to recreate mine. I made mine straight from the front fender to the rear of the car. From the pictures that I have seen on the net they should be straight all the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted August 23, 2012 Author Share Posted August 23, 2012 ...From the pictures that I have seen on the net they should be straight all the way. I was afraid of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted August 27, 2012 Author Share Posted August 27, 2012 So I resolved the body line issue where I thought it wasn't straight. I just thought it was an issue because of the way the rear of the car tapers in. From some angles it looks like it angles down towards the back, but it does in fact stay horizontal. I made very good progress this weekend and am quite happy with the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daryl_db Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 Looks great. Good job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 Great thread, especially to a bodywork newbie! Thanks for bringing this up Bartman! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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