Since the 1980s the automotive manufacturers have been painting cars with two stage, base coat/clear coat systems. That may not seem all that long ago to some of us older guys, but these cars are now 30 years old and entering prime project car territory. Because drivetrain technology had hit its stride by then, cars like 5.0 Mustangs are still running and driving just fine. But many cars from the 80s and 90s have clear coat paint that is just peeling and flaking off in chunks. Some cars, like the Plymouth Neon, seemed to have paint and clear coat failing before they were even off lease.
Tech Articles
How to repair a damaged Aluminum Alloy Wheel
In this part of the country (Mid-Atlantic) cars, wheels especially take a beating during the winter. Slippery roads, corrosive salt on the roads, and potholes that could swallow a small child wreak havoc on your automobile. The cost to replace a damaged aluminum wheel can be VERY costly. In the classic car world wheels may be obsolete and impossible to replace if you have a damaged wheel. I decided to tackle repairing a badly damaged aluminum aftermarket wheel I have had stashed away for years.
How to make a Body Panel From Scratch- Rear Quarter Panel Fabrication
If you want to get better at anything you need to practice and push yourself to try things a little out of your skill/comfort level. Metal Shaping is 100% one of those things that you need to practice and work to get better at, even if it means wrecking a […]
Smoothing the Back End- Frenched Taillights on Pile House.
I will admit that I tend to over think things when I am building a custom car and sometimes I mock something up and I don’t like it or decide I need to tweak the original idea. A while back I decided on a set of ’62 Oldsmobile 88 taillights for the back of the truck. I liked the lens shape and chrome trim on them, but the bezel had peaked ends that made it tough to sink them into a relatively flat panel. For the sake of getting “something” in the rollpan I temporarily made brackets to slide them into the panel. At first I was “ok” with how they looked, but the further I got with building the tailgate on the backend I knew in the back of my head I needed to revisit how they were sitting.
How to Build Motorcycle Gas Tank Sides with Ron Covell
This year he showed how to make a motorcycle gas tank side with a voluptuous compound curved shape using some of the most basic metal shaping tools. In this demonstration he shows how to make the left side of the tank.
Removing Rusty Floor Pans (Hands On Cars E.03)
Episode Summary: Using a rotisserie, an Eastwood MIG 175 welder, replacement stampings from National Part Depot and a BFH Kevin gets to work replacing the floorpans on the Zed Sled 1978 Chevy Camaro. After stripping the body shell inside and out, it’s apparent the floors are in much worse shape […]
How To Spray your first Wild Kustom Paintjob- Custom Lined, Candy and Flaked Skateboard Deck
Flake, Pearl, Candy, Lace, and all things flashy are what full blown Kustom Paintjobs are all about. If you want to flex your painting skills and standout with your paint job you’ll need to learn the process of custom taping, spaying candy, flake, and pearl. We decided to let Eastwood Tech Mike L. paint a skateboard to show you the basic steps to achieving a wild paint job like the pros do.
Upgrading your forced induction system- Installing V-Band Clamps
Evolution is the way of the world in all aspects and your car projects will evolve as you tinker with them or build new projects. Turbo charging or supercharging an engine is fairly simple and can be done inexpensively, but there’s a few places where skimping can cause headaches. Leaking boost flex hoses and clamps are the bane of existence with many DIY turbo setups. A good way to correct this issue is by replacing the silicone or rubber hose connections with V-Band clamps.
Beginners Metal Shaping Project- Making a panel blister.
Metal shaping is one of those things that seems like black magic to beginners. There really is a science behind the process that takes quite some time to learn and understand. The quickest and easiest way to understand how metal shaping works on the granular level is by comparing it to pizza dough. The more you stretch it out, the thinner it gets and the excess material has to go somewhere (in the pizza’s case its the rolled up crust) and the more you shrink the metal the thicker it gets and again it has to “go somewhere”. I decided to demonstrate a great beginner project for gaining experience in metal shaping by making a panel blister out of a 12″x12″x12″ piece of 5053 .035 aluminum. This process is great to help you understand the process and is pretty straight forward.