Getting new body shells right.

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Fiend

Active Member
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88
I haven't seen many threads on this and thought I'd share the results of my trial and error experiences in case it's useful for other newbies searching forums...

Painting:
1. LET THE PAINT DRY COMPLETELY (e.g. a couple of hours) BEFORE DOING ANY PHYSICAL WORK ON THE SHELL.
2. See 1.
3. Seriously, it will really bugger up otherwise. The polycarbonate sprays can be touch dry in a few minutes but will rub away if handled vigorously.
4. Shake the spray paints really well before using and test them on spare material to judge how the paint goes on.
5. Apply in thin light coats - thicker coats can run and streak.
6. Keep looking at the outline of the final body shape to avoid wasting spray on superfluous material.
7. The painted shell will look translucent if held up against bright light, don't worry too much about this and don't try to get a fully opaque coverage - it will look quite opaque over the car. 4-6 light coats will probably be enough.
8. The first couple of coats will determine the colour and effects so be extra careful with those. Further coats will reinforce / deepen colours.

Cutting out shell:
1. Score carefully along the final body shape, using a very sharp blade so that less pressure is needed. Doing this before painting reduces the possibility of damaging paint, doing it after painting makes the score line easier to see.
2. Drill a tiny hole at each sharp corner of the final body shape, and then poke the blade through the hole along the scored area, this should start a cut.
3. Also cut directly down and then out from those drilled holes to divide the shell waste into easily removed sections.
4. Keep scoring carefully and it should be possible to peel the waste away along the score line - this is a lot easier than trying to fully cut through.

Holes for body mounts:
1. Score with a sharp scalpel first so drill bit doesn't skid off surface.
2. Drill a pilot hole with a small bit, then full hole with a larger bit.
3. Possibly best to leave full hole until shell is fully cut out, to get exact mounting right.
4. Can reinforce hole areas by gluing on extra plastic (I used a cut off from around the shell, glued to the inside with plastic weld), but only use a thin plastic to ensure the body mount lugs will protrude enough for pins to go in.

Decals:
1. These aren't an exact fit to the molded area on the shell so just do the best you can.
2. The white masking decals that go inside the windows need carefully smoothing down with a cloth, any tiny holes will let spray paint in.
3. Keep those masking decals in place while you put the outer window stickers on, they're a good guideline.
 
Cheers. The reinforcement of the body mount holes is working really well, no cracks or play around them. Got one crack forming at a wheel arch so will duct tape it (I think it's gorilla tape in the US that was recommended?)
 

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