Mk4 body work

[h3towel]

Good afternoon all. I just purchased my complete kit and I need some advice with body work. Would you recommend doing the work yourself (if so, are there any good in depth how to videos), or have a professional do it? I'd like to save some money, but I want the car to look perfect in the end. If the general consensus is to have someone else do the work, does anyone know of a good body shop in my area that has experience with the roadster? I live in the tidewater area (south eastern Virginia). Thank you so much in advance for any advice.

[DadofThree]

Body work isn't easy, but some of us have more time than money. Here is a thread that Shannon put together while he did his body work. He did a fantastic job asking questions and taking his time. His car came out extremely nice.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?24274-Srobinsonx2-Bodywork

[GoDadGo]

H3,

If you want it to be perfect, drive your car in RED Gelcoat and shake it down and get in line to have Jeff Kleiner do the final fit and finishing.

Good Luck From The Dark Dart Side!

Steve

[gkp200]

I'm almost done with my kit (before body work) and in the Tidewater area (Chesapeake, VA). I'm using Whitby Motors for body work. They are in Greensboro, NC. Come by and we can discuss and you can see what you are in for.

[GoDadGo]

I'm almost done with my kit (before body work) and in the Tidewater area (Chesapeake, VA). I'm using Whitby Motors for body work. They are in Greensboro, NC. Come by and we can discuss and you can see what you are in for.


.Make sure you get a Signed Hard Completion Date in writing from the folks at Whitby.

While they do beautiful work, the wait time to get your car back will likely be far longer than they state and/or promise.

[Avalanche325]

I did my own bodywork and paint. If you have the right mentality, you will come out with a show-quality paint job. It will be totally dependent on the quality of your workmanship. Be honest with yourself. If you are the kind of person that does "good enough" work, likes to take shortcuts, or doesn't go the extra mile. Leave it to a pro. Pros know when it is good enough, what shortcuts to take, etc. We mere mortals don't so have to go all the way, plus. I am 100% sure that I completely sanded off my last filler coat.
Bodywork is labor intensive. But, I found it to be very enjoyable. Sometimes terrifying, like cutting the fender lips. Materials aren't exactly cheap, and there is quite a bit to buy. All kinds of sandpaper, which needs to be good quality, not Home Depot stuff. Sanding blocks, cleaners, filler, HSRF, glazing putty for pinholes, etc.

FFR has put a couple bodywork videos on Youtube. I haven't watched them, but I am sure that would give you some idea of what you are in for. The old forum has some pretty detailed threads including the exact products that our resident pros use.

I recommend this book - How to Paint Your Show Car (Motorbooks Workshop) by Stefan R. Gesterkamp (Author), Jay Leno (Foreword) . It is not fiberglass specific, but gives great detail on panel gaps (everyone gets this) and panel flow (I have seen cars where this is missed).

As far a Pros, here is my opinion. I would trust our two Jeffs......period. The only other option would be a place that specializes in show cars. Do not go to a collision shop, your car will be fill-in work and take forever.

If you are not doing your own paint, many pros will not paint a car that they did not prep. The prep is everything, including how good or bad the paint looks and if it will stay adhered to the car. They can't guarantee it if they didn't do the work underneath. Check with your painter to see how far, if at all, you should go.

[Mad Dog]

We do have a couple of build videos up on our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWvfrZxPoPnbmHRjXTlVS-CVcPoK4x6lB), and we're working on getting the third video finished. Should have it uploaded tomorrow or the next day. Hope they help!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok9W_Dzao3M
Part 1 of our body work videos with FFR's Tony and John.

[glastron351]

Hey MadDog-Look forward to the next installment of bodywork video. ...am leaning more and more to doing it myself and your videos are providing some inspiration

Thanks!

[GoDadGo]

Dave (aka: Mad Dog),

Please remind the Glass Crew to keep the Mold Parting Lines Clean, Tight & Uniform so that novice builders like myself can have a good starting point.
For the record my body is great; however, a friend of mine has a MK-4 that the body was pretty darn rough by comparison.
#8,515 (My Car) likely has one of the nicest bodies ever done so take a peak at what they all should look like.

Mini D/A Work On Mold Parting Lines:
https://youtu.be/_3sLamdkIFg

6" D/A & Hand Sanding With 12" Dura-Block:
https://youtu.be/meBYeI96_A8

Hopefully the new 25th anniversary molds will remain tight & uniform, if not there is always Sir Jeff-Ski (aka: The Miracle Worker)

Steve

[Jeff Kleiner]

Dave (aka: Mad Dog),

Please remind the Glass Crew to keep the Mold Parting Lines Clean, Tight & Uniform so that novice builders like myself can have a good starting point.
For the record my body is great; however, a friend of mine has a body that was pretty darn rough by comparison.
#8,515 (My Car) likely has one of the nicest bodies ever done so take a peak at what they all should look like.

Steve

You realize that the bodies are produced by a 3rd party vendor, right?

Sometimes you have to deal with misalignment:

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/75282374_2360963994026295_4993749636016504832_n.jp g?_nc_cat=109&_nc_oc=AQmKJaVuEt1l-WVFiJDJSeO-yO8cQd_kIUv8RyrR0bKWeAznWgp_h3MlXXr_Cj6jZpQ&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-1.xx&oh=73f7ead5df609058a87f1914ba9cb0d9&oe=5E5CC6C9

Sometimes voids:

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/75120120_2360961487359879_8912930542274478080_n.jp g?_nc_cat=104&_nc_oc=AQmFX4zb7kRI5hjF13tukRxWqZoTY9SlPcmHGphfGjO Wk7peyhA13doYBBZ7OUYijHI&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-1.xx&oh=ecca5f22a2a8f63e00adcf849b685d87&oe=5E621EF9

Sometimes you get lucky and other times you get both like the one in these pics. Luck of the draw; in the end it's just bodywork ;)

Jeff

[edwardb]

Slightly off topic (sort of...) but Factory Five posted a video flyover of the new building they're putting up next to the existing one. Dave said it was their new molding shop. Appears to be considerably larger than their current space in the existing building. I know they do the smaller stuff (doors, hoods, trunk lids, etc.) in house. Anyone know if this means they'll be bringing the large body molding in house? Maybe there's a chance to better manage the quality.

[GoDadGo]

You realize that the bodies are produced by a 3rd party vendor, right?

Sometimes you have to deal with misalignment:

Sometimes voids:

Sometimes you get lucky and other times you get both like the one in these pics. Luck of the draw; in the end it's just bodywork ;)

Jeff


Pitiful Workmanship!

They need to send bodies like that back to their vendor when they produce stuff like this.
If the vendor had to eat a few bodies, which would really bight them in the cash flow, the quality would certainly improve.
Unacceptable is an understatement from this Former Fiberglass Fellow who turned into Dark Side Banker so many years ago!

Steve

Dave Smith's MK-4 Introduction Video Featuring Tighter Tolerance Molds Made Me Pull The Trigger & Buy A Factory Five!

https://youtu.be/6ckgfkPU8Ss

[Avalanche325]

I thought the bodies were done in house. When did that change?