Two Hours of Body Work

I had about two hours to work on the Mustang between getting home, taking care of some business around the house and getting to mens group.Of course the primary thing I'm still focusing on is body work so that I can get this car painted before it gets too cold. Being in southern California, it never really gets too cold, but I'd rather paint the car in decently warm weather. I did some work on the passenger's side fender which had a few areas that still needed some fixing.

Passenger's Side Fender

My primary goal today was to work on the running board area that usually sits out of view underneath the rocker panel on the passenger's side. I had previously knocked out the rivets and welded over the holes, but hadn't gotten much further than that. Today I used a grinding wheel to grind down the welds to be slightly recessed before skinning them with a coat of metal etching body filler. The brand is Evercoat and it is called Z-Grip. It mixed very smooth and had a blue/green shade unlike Bondo which has a pinkish tint.

Evercoat Z-Grip Body Filler on Running Board

After using the filler I used some 180 grit sandpaper and a thick square piece of rubber to block the area. The rubber is firm enough to stay flat, but flexible enough to sand areas like running board which isn't exactly flat. Once it was smooth I put a light coat of metal etching primer along the bottom.

Running Board with Metal Etching Primer

That was about all I had time for today. When my dad got home he started working more on the roof except this time he was sanding the driver's side which is also in need of some work. He is the real body man on this job since he comes with the experience and knowledge to get the job done right. I've been relying on him to steer me in the right direction throughout this entire project.

He dropped off the front windshield molding at the chrome/stainless steel shop the other day so that they can straighten out the dents and polish it to a mirror like finish. If it turns out as great as the stainless steel they polished around the wing window, it'll look great. I should also be getting my tires in the next week or so and I'll be tempted to mount them on the car although that time might be better spent wrapping up the body work.