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Body work newbie

HawK5

HawK5

1/2 ton status
 Premium
Joined
Mar 13, 2022
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Location
Snohomish WA
Hey Guys,
My Jimmy got into a tree on the rear quarter while wheeling a slick steep narrow trail. My goal is to get it in flat desert tan so I just spray touch ups as needed since it’s an off road vehicle. I’m not trying to get it in shiny paint, I just don’t want it to be such an eye sore that my wife is embarrassed to be seen in lol.
I have very little body work experience, I got a quote from a friend who does body work of $900 just to fix the back quarter and get it back in primer. It seems like a good price, but this is a toy that’s gonna get beat up, I have more time then money right now, so figured it might be a good time to learn body work, plus inevitably I’ll get more chances to do body work on it.
For starters the truck has almost no rust, just dents and dings.. so How should I attack the rear quarter? Thought about replacing outter skin, either in sections with butt welds, or the whole thing.
Watched some videos on YouTube and talked to a couple people, one idea was putting a deflated basketball between the inner and outer skins, then inflating slowly to push the dent out, then using a hammer on a 2x4 to knock down the ridge above the factory body line..
Was thinking about investing in some diy tools, suction dent puller, hammer and dolly, super glue dent pullers..
Again not looking for a show quality repair, just something that looks ok from 10’ with flat spray paint on it.
Thanks in advance!

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I too am not a "body guy" but can tell you that the damage on that body line is going to be hard to get straight. and with so many spots of damage, a newer panel may be best/easiest. You already have metal missing from the rocker area and a horrible repair attempt under the taillight. under the taillight and rear lower fender would be easy enough to cut out and weld in new metal but that body line is the hardest part.

Might be easier to buy the wife some dark sunglasses lol
 
That metal is so stretched out and that crease above the body line is bad. Good luck getting that to look any where close to ok. The more you mess with it the worse it will be for your buddy to fix. I’m guessing it’s gonna need some tabs welded on the body line and pulled out while working all the metal around it, then a lot of shrinking. A new quarter would be the best way to go.
 
Does anyone know if you can find a reproduction outter skin only? The whole assembly is $700 before tax, S&H.. the only other option might be the wrecking yard..
 
I love to save money by putting in extra time, but that looks like a lost cause to me. If you were a paint and body guy by trade, then maybe. Otherwise i'd be looking for a part-out or junk yard that you can carve off the whole quarter with a sawzall and bring home to use as patch pieces.
 
wazzabie said:
I've read the the truck bedsides are not a good option because the wheel well is not aligned to the K5.
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Its not a direct match and still needs to be steel worked but truck bed sides are easier to find than blazer bed sides.
 
Are you just going to smash it again? You could spend a bunch of time and get it like 90% OK and just live with it.

I've never tried it, but the easiest hack job might be cutting it up and straightening parts separately, then welding up the cuts. It lets you remove some material, which helps remove the stretching.
 
Blue85 said:
Are you just going to smash it again? You could spend a bunch of time and get it like 90% OK and just live with it.

I've never tried it, but the easiest hack job might be cutting it up and straightening parts separately, then welding up the cuts. It lets you remove some material, which helps remove the stretching.
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That area you can't get a hammer and dolly to so it would need to be cut out. If it is going to be a trail rig I would just leave it.
 
love the “leave it” support.. it’s gonna get some kind of attempt at straightened out, and rocker guards are in the near future,
Should help a Little.. I just found the driver front fender has a huge dent in the lower fender just behind the wheel well opening.. so yeahs it’s gonna get beat up, but I’d like to keep it closish, as dents find their way into the rig, I’d like to hit them with some diy stuff so it’s not a complete eye sore..
 
Get a stud gun to help pull the dents. Get it close, little filler and some paint.
Dent it again. Repeat.

Last time I had to do some body work when I couldn't get to the back of the panel I was looking for a stud gun. The cheap ones were backordered so I tack welded 16 penny nails into the dents and used a slide hammer. Worked fine but I wasn't looking for any pro quality work either.

My experience with DIY body and paint for trucks that get driven and live outside is you get about 10 years before the paint starts to go bad and the truck needs attention again. I am very happy I learned to do sketchy body work and garage paintwork. Buy real auto paint and learn, its worth it to have the skills, even for trail rigs.


I just used this TCP global paint, base/clear on my blazer. Gallon kit was enough for complete color change inside and out, you would need primer too, I got some from same place. I am happy with the paint and even happier I can fix my own dents going forward.
tcpglobal.com

Hot Rod Red - Urethane Basecoat with Premium Clearcoat Auto Paint - Complete Medium Gallon Paint Kit - Professional High Gloss Automotive Coating

Hot Rod Red - Urethane Basecoat with Premium Clearcoat Auto Paint - Complete Medium Gallon Paint Kit - Professional High Gloss Automotive Coating
tcpglobal.com tcpglobal.com

On a previous truck I used the Martin Seynor Crossfire paint from NAPA. It worked well also, got about 10 years out of the clearcoat. The TCP global premium clear is nicer so far. It went on thick and I liked how it sprayed. Its real shiny too.
 
Well I used a basketball to push the biggest dent out, taped off the big stuff and then hit it with a about a dozen cans of flat tan, hit the roof with semi gloss black, painted the emblems, replaced the old busted up grille with a survivor, and put it all back together. It’s far from good, but good from a far. Better then it was and good enough for a wheeler..

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Would you be able to measure the length and width of the “bed” of your blazer? I’m trying to buy a softopper for a bobbed bed truck.
 
Chickntrk said:
Thanks!
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You could probably call them with your dimensions and maybe they could help you figure something out. The blazer top is going to be significantly different where it connects to the back of the cab vs a truck style.. You may have to just find someone who does custom boat covers and have them make you what you need.
 
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