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Thread: Carl's and Phil's Mk4 Body Work and Paint

  1. #1
    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    Carl's and Phil's Mk4 Body Work and Paint

    EDIT: are you here to decide if you want to do your own body work? Read my thoughts on doing my own body work and paint on this thread.


    My brother and I built a Mk4 Roadster together. Here is our build thread. We started in February 2021. The car was registered in December 2021. Since that time, we have put about 6,000 miles on it. It has been a joy to drive and has exceeded our expectations so far.

    Now that the driving season is over for the year, we figured we would tackle the body work. I know this is a big project, but it is something we want to do. Before deciding if this was something we really wanted to do, I ended up repainting the hood on my Jeep Cherokee. I take the Jeep off road and felt that it was a good test vehicle. I stripped it down to bear metal, smoothed it out with some Rage Gold, and painted it. It turned out nearly perfect. I know the Mk4 is a different beast, but at least I knew I could get a good quality paint job if I take my time and am willing to spend time fixing my mistakes. Here is a picture of my Cherokee hood after it was painted:

    20201112_125357.jpg

    hood.jpg

    hood 2.jpg

    I went to the local body shop and bought supplies. Wow, prices have gone up. I bought a gallon of Rage Gold, a quart of HSRF, a bunch of good quality sand paper, a pad of mixing sheets, etc. They threw in a few dozen rubber spreaders at no charge. I already own some sanding equipment and sanding blocks. Hopefully I don't have to buy those, but mine are moderately rigid so I may need something more flexible. I have seen people mention using pool noodles to sand the curves, maybe I'll use one of those.

    I have 2 weeks off starting on Monday. I hope to be able to start the body work then. I hope to have the body work done by spring so we can paint when it starts warming up.

    First order of business starting next week is to clean 6,000 miles of grime and bugs off the car (don't worry, we have cleaned it recently). Once that is done I'll sand down the parting lines and start shaping those.

    This is a huge undertaking, and I hope it goes well. Wish us luck!!!
    Last edited by hineas; 06-30-2023 at 03:32 PM.
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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  3. #2
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    Carl and Phil-

    Best of luck with your next evolution! I think the Cherokee hood turned out wonderfully and should give you a great deal of confidence as you begin. I will caution, however, that I don't think that hood will fit on the roadster! HAHA

    I hope you post about your progress, as I think there are many of us who would like to follow along over the winter. Again, nice job on that hood!

    Regards,

    Steve

  4. #3
    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WIS89 View Post
    Carl and Phil-

    Best of luck with your next evolution! I think the Cherokee hood turned out wonderfully and should give you a great deal of confidence as you begin. I will caution, however, that I don't think that hood will fit on the roadster! HAHA

    I hope you post about your progress, as I think there are many of us who would like to follow along over the winter. Again, nice job on that hood!

    Regards,

    Steve
    Thanks!

    I will definitely keep this updated. There are a ton of build threads, but the amount of body work threads are less frequent. I am hoping my week next week stays open so I can start sanding (and sanding, and sanding, and sanding). I know that I am going to get well acquainted with the sand paper and respirator....
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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    Nice job on that hood!

    I'm looking forward to your progress updates, too

    Craig C

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    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    A week ago I went on a 300 mile drive. I was cold outside, it got down to 21 degrees. But with the top on, heater, and heated seats I was nice and warm. I did have to stuff a hoodie down along tthe door because we don't have any weather striping on and it let in a lot of cold air. One last drive before starting body work.

    Today, I spent some time getting the body nice and clean. Then I cleaned with a degreaser/dewaxer. I was amazed at how much grime and bugs were in the nooks and crannies of the body.

    It was a warm-ish day (45 F), so I was able to get it done outside. Last week was below freezing, so today felt down right balmy!

    20221205_115309.jpg

    I was amazed at how the degreaser interacted with the uncured gel coat on the partying lines. It left a bunch of white residue. I was able to easily scrape it off.

    20221205_115359.jpg

    Now that I have the body clean, time to move on to sanding!
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    Parting Line Sanding

    I started sanding today as well. I used 80 grit on a 2" round sander. I worked on the parting lines on the front of the vehicle. I sanded it down until it was a little bit lower than the curve of the fenders. l tried not to go too deep so I didn't have thick body filler in the area.

    I had a few deep voids and I sanded down through most of them. I have a few I'm going to go back and clean up with a dremel because they are deep and I don't want to sand too much fiberglass away.

    I think I only have two voids that were deep enough to require a half dollar size each of HSRF. The rest should be fine with just Rage Gold.

    Do these parting lines look deep enough (or too deep)? Do i need to worry about the tiny air bubbles or can I just cover with some Rage Gold?

    I'm going to go back with my 6" sander and scuff up the gel coat before I put the body filler on.

    20221205_131311.jpg

    20221205_131306.jpg

    20221205_131302.jpg

    The next picture shows my deepest void. I assume I still need to clean it out a little more.

    20221205_124054.jpg
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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  9. #7
    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    I forgot to include my time. I want to keep a running tally of time spent for people considering body work.

    Total Time: 4 hours (including deep body clean)
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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  11. #8
    Not a waxer Jeff Kleiner's Avatar
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    Yes, you need to get a little farther into that deep one to pop it all the way to solid edges. You’ll need to go much wider on all of your lines before filler. By the way, that’s not incurred gelcoat, it’s clay—-and you need to dig it out.

    Carry on!

    Jefg

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    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    Thanks for the input, Jeff! This is my first real foray into this type of work and will take all the suggestions I can get!!!

    Clay makes much more sense. I dug out all clay I could find.

    Here is my plan for the next steps:
    1) I am going to clean out the few voids I have
    2) Pull out my DA and widen the area around the parting lines using 80 grit
    3) block sand the rest of the gel coat with 80 grit.
    4) blow off dust and wipe with degreaser
    5) fill deep voids with HSRF
    6) start shaping parting lines

    I figure that will keep me busy for quite some time! I'll keep positing my work as I make progress.
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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    Senior Member 42Bfast's Avatar
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    Cheering your determination and courage!!

    And, watching intently as I continue to inch toward the day it becomes necessary to decide, paint it myself or go to someone that knows what they are doing.

    For us wide-eyed, nose pressed to the glass, hand wringing observers,… a short minute or 5 video on technique or critical items as you encounter and overcome, would send us all a-twitter. Just saying. Hint- hint.

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    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    I had a few minutes to spare today. I found I had some cheap (Hardbor Freight) 60 grit sanding disks for my DA sander. I threw one on and quicklywidened out the sanding on my parting lines. Then I threw on my the expensive 80 grit disk that I got at the local body shop. I'm blown away at how much nicer the expensive ones are. The 80 grit expensive sand paper cut so much better than the 60.

    With the 80 grit I sanded a little wider to make sure I got the edges of the 60 and smoothed it all out. I then pulled out my 2" sander and ground down the deep void a little better. I have a few more smaller voids to fix, but this was the deepest.

    I only spent about 15 minutes today then cleaned up. The DA sander makes quick work of the parting lines.

    Do I need to worry about the tiny pin holes in the fiberglass? I assume I can put the rage gold over those. I know I'll have pin holes when sanding the rage gold too that I will have to fill.

    Total time spent: 4.15 hours.

    20221206_144732.jpg

    20221206_144656.jpg
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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    Senior Member Blitzboy54's Avatar
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    Welcome back. Really looking forward to following along.
    MK4 #10008 - Ordered 10/06/20, Delivered 03/03/21, First Start 7/22/21, First Go Kart 7/24/21
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  19. #13
    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    It has been a while, but my brother came to town and will be here for a week. I hope to get a lot done.

    Last week I cleaned out the garage so we would have room to work on the body. Also, I wanted to move out the things I didn't want covered with pink dust.

    We stopped at Harbor Freight and got some wheel dollies so we could move the car into the center of the garage, it was really nice.

    One last look at the car all shiny and red. This is the last time it will look this way for quite a while...

    20230128_142624.jpg

    We started off by taking off the hardware so we can start sanding. I forgot how big of a pain the driver side windshield frame is! It took me about 30 minutes to get that off and I had to use two extensions separated by a u-joint connector. This was my setup to get the bolts out of the windshield mount.

    20230128_153804.jpg


    We left the hood and trunk latches on until we get those panels aligned.

    Once most of the hardware was off, I showed my brother how to do the cross hatch pattern. We used pool noodles cut about 18" long for our sanding block. They worked really well. We sanded the entire body today. I also worked with my 1.5" sander and my 5" DA sander to knock down the parting lines. There were a few voids in the rear that were big, but over all they weren't bad. The line near the windshield is fairly off set. I sanded down the high side a decent amount, but it will take a bit of body filler to get it to look right.

    We spent about 5 hours working today. We sanded about 95% of the body with 80 grit. This is just our first pass. I wanted to get everything sanded so I can start putting body filler along the parting lines.

    Here is the car at the end of the day.

    20230128_203223.jpg

    There are a few deep voids we have to fill. The deepest is behind the driver door.

    20230128_203230.jpg

    Total time today: 5 hours with 2 people, so 10 man hours.

    Total time up to this point: 14 hours.
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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  21. #14
    Senior Member Mike.Bray's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hineas View Post
    I forgot how big of a pain the driver side windshield frame is! It took me about 30 minutes to get that off and I had to use two extensions separated by a u-joint connector. This was my setup to get the bolts out of the windshield mount.

    20230128_153804.jpg
    I wasn't man enough to do the windshield the Factory Five way so I bought these great little widgets from Forte.

    My build thread https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...Roadster-Build

    Thread on Stainless Steel AN brake lines.

    Thread on fasteners and torque wrenches.

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  23. #15
    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    I really should look into that modification! Those bolts were a big pain.
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    Yesterday we put in about 6 hours (12 man hours) on the car.

    We started off mixing up some HSRF (high strength repair filler). We decided to get the long fiberglass stand type, since the body shop recommended it for extra strength. We are going to have to build up the door edge because the gap is about 1/4" in places, and I wanted better reinforcement for the edge of the door.

    We had 4 deep voids along the parting lines. I took a dremel and finished grinding them out. It was amazing at how the voids kept going. The largest was about 2" in diameter. We mixed the HSRF and filled the voids. I have read that it can be a pain to sand, so we filled it just barely below level with the body. The HSRF is harder to sand than the Rage Gold, but it didn't take much since we didn't fill the void to above the top.

    20230129_101029.jpg

    Next, we mixed up some Rage Gold and put it along the parting lines. For us, mixing a blob about 4" in diameter was about the right amount. That way the filler wasn't setting before we finished applying it.

    We found that we could put filler over all the parting lines before we started sanding. By the time we finished laying the filler, the area we started at would be ready to sand. Then we would sand half the car, clean that half, then put more filler where we sanded. Then we would sand the other half while the filler was curing on the first half. This allowed us to work in circles around the car.

    We also tried to bend the spatula so it fit the curve nicely. When i figured that out, the application of the Rage Gold went much quicker.

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]178986[/ATTACH

    We made sure that the edges of the filler were feathered nicely. I frequently closed my eyes and ran my hands across the area to feel any low or high areas. I would sand the highs and then allow the filler to fill the low on my next pass.

    Using a pool noodle cut in about 18" length was perfect for block sanding. The curves make a ridged block worthless.

    We ended up doing about 2 full passes with the Rage Gold. This got us and 80% of the way there. On the third pass we did most of the parting lines but some areas didn't need it. The fourth pass was just touch up to areas that were flat or low. I think there are a few small sections that need a slight amount of filler but the parting lines are almost finished.

    Over all, I'm impressed with the body. Most of the parting lines lines up really well. The front fenders lines up great, the front area in front of the hood was flat, behind the cockpit was neatly perfect (that took 1 pass of body filler to fix). The only area that didn't line up well was under the windshield. That took several passes and we still need to extend the filler out.

    The hardest part to sand and to get right were the back fenders just behind the door and the areas around the headlights. I had to use a 6" cut pool noodle for those areas.

    Overall, I'm pleased with the parting lines. There are still some areas that need tweaking, but it went well and is confidence building.

    20230129_164300.jpg

    20230129_164318.jpg

    We took a break from the parting lines and started gapping the hood. We are setting the gap at 3/16". We are using paint sticks that are 3/16" to hold the gap and it is perfect. Needless to say, setting the gap was a nice change from block sanding for 6 hours!!!

    We only got the top of the hood gap set, but it looks so much better. The hood was rubbing at that point, so having a gap makes a world of difference.

    20230129_164422.jpg

    Let me know what you think. I hope we went wife enough on the body filler, but I'm not sure. It feels right when I run my hand over it and it looks right when I sight down along the curves so I think it was the right amount...

    Total time up to this point: 26 hours

    Total time includes removing all the hardware, deep cleaning the car, etc.
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  26. #17
    Not a waxer Jeff Kleiner's Avatar
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    After 15+ years and scores of windshield installations I have learned a few things that help make it pretty simple. If you tap the windshield side posts you don’t have to deal with a nut. Driver’s side simply drop the fuse panel and you can get to the bolts with a 3/8 ratchet and deep socket—-no need for extensions and universals. If you have an air ratchet it’s even easier! Passenger side is easy to reach from over the fender HOWEVER if the area is loaded full of heater and wiper motor you have full access from the RF wheel well with the tire and splash panel removed. Whatever you do don’t forget to shim as needed between the side posts and chassis!

    Jeff

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    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    Thanks Jeff. I didn't remove the fuse box and that was mistake. I'll definitely remove the fuse box for windshield installation! Passenger side took me about 2 minutes.

    Soon I'm going to start talking the doors. I have seen different techniques to build up the driver's door so it matches the rest of the body. I have used your suggestions on getting it close, but the top front doesn't line up at all. Same with the bottom, but it isn't at bad. Do you just build up the difference with Rage Gold? Do I use HSRF for a better base? I also will sand down the body some too help.

    I have seen somebody else that split the inner and outer layers of the door and put spacers between to raise the top edge as well. What are you recommendations?
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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  29. #19
    Not a waxer Jeff Kleiner's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hineas View Post
    Thanks Jeff. I didn't remove the fuse box and that was mistake. I'll definitely remove the fuse box for windshield installation! Passenger side took me about 2 minutes.

    Soon I'm going to start talking the doors. I have seen different techniques to build up the driver's door so it matches the rest of the body. I have used your suggestions on getting it close, but the top front doesn't line up at all. Same with the bottom, but it isn't at bad. Do you just build up the difference with Rage Gold? Do I use HSRF for a better base? I also will sand down the body some too help.

    I have seen somebody else that split the inner and outer layers of the door and put spacers between to raise the top edge as well. What are you recommendations?
    The doors are where the time and money is. Some things you need to know...we have two things going on. On one hand we're trying to match the door to the body but on the other we are matching the body to the door. On both sides of the car the body takes a dive into the gap at the front of the doors. You'll also find that the radius where the body curves downward at the front of the doors is not the same as the radius on the doors. The doors don't make a smooth transition to the cowl at the front on either side and the top of the doors do not match the cowl.

    Body and hinge adjustment is a big part of it and involves a lot of back & forth, up & down and in & out to get both the doors and body into the best position before you ever break out the filler and then more of the same as you work on shaping, mudding and sanding to get the shapes to match and the body sides in a nice flat plane. I've never split a door; it can all be done with adjustments and just good old bodywork. In the early days we sometimes filled the lower front of the doors but with careful adjustment and positioning that isn't necessary.

    Before you start fitting the doors get the body secured to it's initial position---ahead of the doors push the rockers all the way in, on the passenger side push the rocker almost all the way in in front of the rear wheel and on the driver's side pull it out about 1/2" in front of the rear wheel. After scuffing everything and getting the body initially positioned I start by creating the roll where the inside and outside of the door meets at the top. Grind the ridge off and spread HSRF in the valley. After it cures I put down Rage Gold along the full length and use a section of rubber hose, about 2" diameter and 3-4" long cupped in my palm and pulled from back to front. After the first round of filler initial shaping gets done with 40 grit. I'm often a visual learner and subscribe to the picture is worth a thousand words school so I'll add some while trying to describe a bit of the process.



    When installing the door on the driver's side put a fat 3/8" washer (approximately .080-.090 thick) on the lower front stud between the hinge and door. When you crank down on the 4 bolts this puts a nice spring into the door frame which improves it's fit. No such shim is needed on the passenger side. As I said earlier you're going to play with hinge adjustments---in a little at the top, out a little at the bottom, then up, then down then in some more, then back out, then raise the front of the door then lower the back---it goes on and on and on like this!!!! Along with this you'll probably loosen your fasteners and bring the body's rockers in or out to better meet the lower edge of the door. Lots and lots of give and take and also lots of compromise because usually if you improve the fit one area it worsens another!

    Once you're satisfied with the fit and the mud starts flowing the areas that consistently need attention are the tops of the doors and cowl, first to get them to meet at the top and also to create a flowing curve where the top of the door wraps around to the cowl above the dash. The other is to match the body to the doors' radius at the top front where the surfaces roll from horizontal to vertical. Here are a few pics that should give you an idea of what I'm talking about. Some of these are from different cars but really, they all wind up looking just about the same because they all have the same issues.







    The goal is to make all of the contours and shapes flow so that in the end we wind up with curves that match and flat surfaces that create nice reflections that don't look like a fun house mirror!



    Feel free to fire away if you've got questions.

    Jeff

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  31. #20
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    Thanks Jeff!

    You are a real treasure in this forum -- helpful, with perspective and humility

    Craig C

  32. #21
    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    Gaps

    Thank you, Jeff! Tomorrow I am going to spend some time on the driver side door using your tips.

    I have read multiple of your posts explaining how to get it aligned, and I think I'm starting to wrap my head around it. We will see how it goes tomorrow.

    I spent several hours on the doors when I first hung them. I think I am close, but I need to tweak it a little more.

    The passenger door is almost perfect. The top front corner by the windshield needs some mud, but that is about it.

    Today I worked on setting the gaps on the hood, trunk, and passenger door. I got some rubber bumpers to raise the hood a bit and it is almost perfect now. However, the passenger corner near the windshield is a bit high but everything else is level. I'll have to play with it some more.

    Here is the hood after sanding the gap to 3/16". Ignore the passenger side, it is actually the right gap but I didn't blow off the dust before the picture so it doesn't look as crisp.

    20230130_190444.jpg

    20230129_164422.jpg

    The passenger door went quick. The bottom of the door was already at 3/16" from the factory. Sadly, some parts of the bottom edge are close to 1/4". I might have to build that edge up a bit, we will see. In the picture of the passenger door you can see that the top front corner needs to be built up, but everything else lines up amazingly well.

    20230130_190452.jpg

    Next I moved onto the trunk. Jeff's modification of the rear body mount made it easy getting the rear trunk edge to line up. I had to sand a ton off of each edge because the trunk lid was rubbing on all 4 sides. But now the trunk open and closes like butter!

    20230130_212441.jpg

    I only spent about 3-4 hours on the car today, but I feel like I got a lot accomplished. Tomorrow I will work on tweaking the driver's door. If time permits I'll set the gap and start mudding the doors.

    Sadly my brother was too busy with work today so he couldn't help much. He did help me adjust the rubber bumpers for the hood so it was flush and helped sand the gap on the hood. It is really nice to share the sanding with somebody else!

    Total time up to this point: 30 hours
    Last edited by hineas; 01-31-2023 at 01:58 AM.
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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  34. #22
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    It might've been mentioned already in another post...apologies in advance.

    Do you use regular ol' fender washers for the rear body mounts? Any rubber gasket between the washers?

    Craig C

  35. #23
    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    When we fit the driver's door initially I spent several hours tweaking it to get it close to the right position. The only part I couldn't get in an acceptable position was the top front corner.

    Before I start messing with the door again, I wanted to ask if I need to raise the door or if I just deal with it because the other 3 corners are in a great position?

    20230131_093624.jpg

    I assume this is too low and I need to try to raise it.
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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  36. #24
    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cc2Arider View Post
    It might've been mentioned already in another post...apologies in advance.

    Do you use regular ol' fender washers for the rear body mounts? Any rubber gasket between the washers?

    Craig C


    I don't know what other people did, but I used rubber washers between the body and the fender washer.
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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  38. #25
    Not a waxer Jeff Kleiner's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hineas View Post
    When we fit the driver's door initially I spent several hours tweaking it to get it close to the right position. The only part I couldn't get in an acceptable position was the top front corner.

    Before I start messing with the door again, I wanted to ask if I need to raise the door or if I just deal with it because the other 3 corners are in a great position?
    Too low. Bring it up so the top of the 90 degree break over curve is at the same height—-as I said in an earlier reply the radius won’t match but you want to start with the horizontal surfaces the same. When you raise the front to get this area closer the rear of the door will be too high. Keep the upper front door bolt snug and loosen the other three then bump the rear edge of the door down (pivoting it around that upper top door stud) to meet the body. After all of this the front “triangle” of the door still won’t meet the cowl but you will address that when you start putting on the filler. Told ya’ that there’s lots of give and take

    Jeff

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  40. #26
    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    That is exactly what I needed. Thanks!

    I'm on my way out to the car to apply what I have learned.
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  41. #27
    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    Those tips were perfect, Jeff. Thank you so much.

    I spent about an hour on the door. Now the curve of the body lines up with the curve of the door. All 4 corners of the door either line up or are less than 1/16" to lining up. I am so happy with how the door is set now. Thank you!

    The only part that will require any real filler is the top triangle where it meets the rolled edge at the dash.

    Here is the before picture:
    20230131_093624.jpg

    Here are the after pictures:

    20230131_153112.jpg

    20230131_152313.jpg

    20230131_152333.jpg
    Last edited by hineas; 01-31-2023 at 05:31 PM.
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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  42. #28
    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    I'm working on trimming the lip around the fenders. On the front, can I trim off the corner at the bottom that is behind the tire? I have the elephant ears installed up front and this is a just a ridge that is going to catch mud...

    This is the corner I'm talking about:

    20230131_170623.jpg
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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  43. #29
    Not a waxer Jeff Kleiner's Avatar
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    Looking good on the position. If you look rearward from ahead of the door you’ll probably see the radius mismatch…



    And when looking down from above it should be apparent how the body dives inward towards the door opening…



    Here is how I trim back the lower return at the rear of the wheel opening.



    I also clean up the wonky, squiggly line between the front of the wheel opening over to the oil cooler scoop.



    Carry on

    Jeff



    C2083A26-61DF-4AC9-BC81-219C21D48F77.jpeg

    2956E5AA-50DE-412E-ABA5-2643F3DCE5A0.jpg

    C7E8828F-C6C1-41CB-8F07-11AE59E17D62.jpg

    39E911EB-6926-45EE-9796-D6AA731D93F4.jpg

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  45. #30

    Steve >> aka: GoDadGo
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    You've got the best guy giving you the best advice you could possibly get.

    Here are some Sir Jeffski approved videos when my pal Sammy and I did my car.
    Just understand that my door solution was NOT approved by Jeff but it worked nicely.
    Shown below is the work we did using Jeff's advice and extreme knowledge of these cars:

    https://youtu.be/_3sLamdkIFg

    https://youtu.be/meBYeI96_A8

    https://youtu.be/6QXWP5H8mT0

    https://youtu.be/6UK6K2jcwTU

    https://youtu.be/po1Bb2_XDDk

    https://youtu.be/FVMCA4_UZHU

    https://youtu.be/9WEe6-wdNtA


    Good Luck, Happy Smoothing, Filling, Sanding, Gapping & Painting!
    Last edited by GoDadGo; 02-01-2023 at 12:32 PM.

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  47. #31
    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    Thanks Jeff! Like so many others have said before me, you are definitely increasing the quality of our body work.

    GoDadGo, I have watched your videos several times. They are great!
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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  48. #32
    Senior Member Lidodrip's Avatar
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    Thanks for taking the time to document this process, this is extremely helpful (and timely for my build). Also, thank you to Jeff Kleiner and GoDadGo for their guidance and insight - makes this process much more enjoyable.

    James
    Mk4 Roadster #9974 - Picked Up 1/2021. Complete kit, Gen 2 Ford Coyote / TKX, IRS. Completed 9/2023

  49. #33
    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lidodrip View Post
    Thanks for taking the time to document this process, this is extremely helpful (and timely for my build). Also, thank you to Jeff Kleiner and GoDadGo for their guidance and insight - makes this process much more enjoyable.

    James
    Absolutely! I'm glad it is helpful!
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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  50. #34
    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    I didn't post yesterday on everything we accomplished. I did post that I got the door alignment where it was acceptable to me. The doors even open and close better too!

    I ended up doing the adjustments with the door closed and latched. Then I reached in and loosened the bolts just enough that I could tweak the position with medium force. I was able to do a little adjustment on each section and kept working my way around the door until everything lined up fairly well. Then I tightened the hinge and door studs.

    I also used a washer under the lower front stud between the door and the hinge as Jeff recommended. I had three washers of different thickness and I ended up using one a little thinner than Jeff suggested. The thicker ones kicked out the bottom rear corner of the door too much.

    I did run into one issue on the door. I am not sure what happened when we installed the doors the first time, but we destroyed the threads on one of the studs on the door. When I was removing the acorn nut it was completely bound. I had to use an impact wrench to get it off. When I got it off the threads were completely destroyed!

    20230131_142319.jpg

    I think what happened was that the acorn nut was bottomed out and we (probably me) torqued it too far a year ago. Luckily only the last few threads were gone and the rest were still good. I was able to find a nut that fit perfectly on the undamaged threads.

    After I got the doors positioned I moved on to trimming the lip on the fender. I left about 1/4" past the rolled edge. I ended up using a dremel with a grinding wheel because that is what I had available. It is hard getting a straight cut with a dremel, so I ended up leaving a bit extra and block sanded it down so it was straight. The other issue was that my eye protection would get completely covered in dust every 6" of cutting and I would have to stop to clean my eye protection.

    The fenders look so much better now they are trimmed and sanded. I still need to trim the corner behind the front tires, but that should be simple and quick.

    20230131_170617.jpg

    Today we moved on to some touch up work. We spent quite a bit of time feeling every single curve. We found several spots that were ever so slightly low or high. We did more sanding. We did a few more layers of Rage Gold. Then we sanded some more. Then another layer of mud. Then more sanding.

    Did i mention that we sanded some more? I'm amazed there is any car left after all the sanding!!!

    We also played with a laser leveler and moved the laser line along the curves. The laser line showed the curves nicely and also showed where we had flat spots or uneven spots. I did find, however, that running our hands (with nitrile gloves to keep oils off the body) over the body was more sensitive and reliable than the laser.

    I also spent some time on the louver cutouts. We had the factory cutouts, but the curve at the corners was uneven and bumpy and the lines were wavy. I was able to use a straight, thin sanding block with 80 grit paper to fix the lines. Now the lines are straight and the corners are smooth. I also took some 80 grit and ran it along the edge so it has a slight radius and isn't sharp. I have done this to every edge on the fiberglass

    Next we turned our attention to the doors once again. We sanded down the ridge on the inner, upper edge. Then we filled and built up the entire edge with HSRF. Then I used a round edge (essentially a pipe cut in half lengthwise) and created a nice radius along the edge with Rage Gold. After sanding it down we now have a great starting point for the rolled edge. We need another layer of filler because it isn't even yet, but it looks so much better with the round edge.

    20230201_214246.jpg

    Tomorrow we plan on finishing the rolled edge on the door, then start building up the front upper corner and edges of the doors that don't perfectly line up. If time permits, we will also work on the cutouts for the pipes because those lines are nowhere near to straight.

    Total time up to this point: 36 hours

    Total amount of dust created: immeasurable
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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  52. #35

    Steve >> aka: GoDadGo
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lidodrip View Post
    Thanks for taking the time to document this process, this is extremely helpful (and timely for my build). Also, thank you to Jeff Kleiner and GoDadGo for their guidance and insight - makes this process much more enjoyable.

    James
    Jeff Is The Man, Heck He's A Treasure!
    He even helped me with some other issues when I got stuck during my build.

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  54. #36
    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    Agreed!!!
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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  56. #37
    Senior Member hineas's Avatar
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    Today we cleaned up the side pipes openings. We ended up widening the passenger side a little because the back edge was almost touching the pipes. We then straightened up the cuts we made last year to make the holes look finished. That was a quick job, less than 30 minutes.

    Next we started filling up the doors. We did a few more layers on the rolled upper edge. We also started building up the front corner where it meets the rolled edge above the dash. We did several layers to build it up. The driver's side is built up the right amount but the passenger needs a tiny bit more.

    That corner is tough to sand properly. There are several curves that all come together at that spot and so it is hard to get the curves just right. We worked on mudding and sanding the doors for about 2 hours each. I did the passenger side and my brother did the driver's side.

    The passenger door is almost done. All the edges line up perfectly now except the top corner by the dash. We should finish that up tomorrow.

    20230202_223455.jpg

    The driver's door still needs some mud along the bottom front and bottom rear corners.

    20230202_223543.jpg

    Once we get the doors done, the only big project remaining is the hood scoop. We also have a few edges to still clean up and some minor touch up. Then we will sand everything down to the recommended grit prior to Feather Fill.

    Sadly, the hood scoop was accidentally left at my brother's house 300 miles away so that will have to wait.

    Total time: 41 hours
    Mk4 Roadster with BluePrint 347 with Holley EFI and solid axle rear end.
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  58. #38

    Steve >> aka: GoDadGo
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    Hey Freddy, How Does The Car Look?

    ...........https://youtu.be/k0AuipqPqsU


    .....Happy Filling, Smoothing & Sanding!

  59. #39
    Not a waxer Jeff Kleiner's Avatar
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    Coming together!

    Let me know if you’d like some hood scoop tips (besides not to leave it 300 miles away )

    Jeff

  60. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Kleiner View Post
    Looking good on the position. If you look rearward from ahead of the door you’ll probably see the radius mismatch…



    And when looking down from above it should be apparent how the body dives inward towards the door opening…



    Here is how I trim back the lower return at the rear of the wheel opening.



    I also clean up the wonky, squiggly line between the front of the wheel opening over to the oil cooler scoop.



    Carry on

    Jeff



    C2083A26-61DF-4AC9-BC81-219C21D48F77.jpeg

    2956E5AA-50DE-412E-ABA5-2643F3DCE5A0.jpg

    C7E8828F-C6C1-41CB-8F07-11AE59E17D62.jpg

    39E911EB-6926-45EE-9796-D6AA731D93F4.jpg
    "hey, i know that car..."

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