Front fender repair

[sdoan]

This last weekend my brother did some nice metal work to the folded in front fender of the sunroof car.

The front corner was folded in on itself - inverted! - and I thought the metal might tear if I tried to pull it out:



He used the big pliers:


And he used the little hammers:


And it ended up looking pretty good:


I painted on some epoxy primer but still have to spray some color on it:


Anyone know how to get the terrible wax stains off the bumpers???

[blade]

i have found dish sope and a lot of hard scrubing works.

[ARCHINSTL]

The bro did well!
When I painted my bumpers - I used 600 grit wet -type sandpaper to remove the 20+ years of oxidation; it also took off some wax stains from the PO. It left the bumpers as smooth as glass - I was tempted to just leave it and not paint. I used ordinary water with just a drop of dish detergent for the medium and made a small sanding block from a piece of wood.
Tom M.

[takza]

I've got a cheap set of body work dollies and hammers, but don't know how to use them.

[jetswim]

I'm curious as to how the fender got bent like that in the first place

[offroadohio]

Looks like he did a good job. I have a similar dent in my fender but its all rust so when I tried that it tore a whole chunk off.

[sdoan]

I have no idea how that dent occurred - run into a board sticking out from a stack of lumber? It took out the side marker light (it looks like it's been replaced) and the plastic chrome headlight surround. And thanks for the compliments to my Brother's work. He has real talent and patience, his body work has won judged concourse events but it's a hobby for him at this point.

[dcn]

I recommend Meguiar's Trim Detailer to get rid of the wax stains on the bumper.

For example, witness my bumper that's so shiny it REFLECTS SUN:


I should have cleaned the tread of my tire, it's disgustingly dirty looking in this shot.


Probably any bumper blackener goop will work though.

[Petros]

looks good to me, where did you get those wheels?

[ARCHINSTL]

I usually feel pretty good about Goldie until dcn comes along...

Tom M.

[dcn]

Thanks Tom!

If you were asking about my wheels Petros, they're just regular Tercel SR5 wheels that I stripped the paint off of and polished a bunch. I like them, my Dad tried to convince me they'd look good done that way but I didn't end up doing it till I had the car for 2 years or so.

[takza]

I see a smudge or two on the tread of the tire.

[sdoan]

Wow, DCN your car looks great.

BTW I like your car and train pictures too.

[dcn]

Thanks sdoan! Dunno why I like trains, planes I just do.

The Tercel's been laid up at my parents' place for a week and a half or so, Dad's been patching the floor a bit with his new welder, I had a leak SOMEWHERE that was letting water come down into the foot well for a long time. I've had no carpet for almost a year. Boo! I think/hope we tracked it down to a poorly fitting rubber insert in the firewall, but time will tell.

[Petros]

check your gromets in the firewall, and the heater fresh air inlet, and the windsheild seal. Mine leaks at the top edge of the windshield. Previous owner had it replaced. I took all the trim off, cleaned the sealant and fill the gap all the way around the glass with new sealant, but I still have a slight drip when the rain is heavy.