Segment #3

I'll start this post off with a couple of notes: 1) As I think of them I'll add links to sites that I think can be of value to you that you may not find elswhere 2) keep in mind this blog site organizes things newest to oldest, so go to the right side and you can go in chonological order.

RANT #2
Ok folks, I'm no expert but with what little I do know I can tell you that nearly all of the little dents and most of the big dents in your Landy can be tapped out with a dolly and hammer, better yet instead of a hammer use a two foot piece of 2x2. If you're doing a restoration, invest in a decent set of tools and learn how to anneal the panels as well.  So here you are with your new set of body hammers (and here's where the ranting starts) you need to understand two things:  1) That little pointy end of the hammer DOES NOT CONTAIN ALL THE MAGIC. Just because it looks different than your framing hammer and it's a "special" body hammer does not mean that you should actually use it to make a panel flat 2) I did say TAP TAP TAP - not - BAM BAM BAM.  Heres what you get with the pointy pick end and a lot of bam bam bam:

Now, does that look like an improvement?  Hell no, that just created a BUTTOCKS-LOAD of work for the guy that wants it right - AND - the perceived need for a TON of body filler. I cannot tell you how tired I am of seeing indiscriminate use of a pick hammer on Rover panels.

As I move forward, I'll be showing you what can be done when you stop and think about the dent, evaluate the tools you have and take a reasoned approach to straightening the panels on your little gem.

RANDOM TIP:
Rusted-on door tops:  Soak 'em with your favorite brand of penetrating oil for a couple of days then use heat, lots of heat, and probably a few loving taps with your favorite 5lb "pursueder".  CAUTION: Be thoughtful with the use of the heat as right next to the nut of the top is AL, which will melt - some type of heat shield is a good idea.

Back to the work at hand:
You'll notice that I have used stipper to rid the truck of most of the body filler.  Crazy? Dumb? I can't say, but I can tell you the EFS-2500 does a good job of lifting it.  I also hate a bunch of plastic dust going all over the shop, and I hate more getting into the AL of the body with a sander.  So, for the most part it was stripped, there were a few areas where I took off quite a bit with a sander then finished with the stripper.  In the end, it's all gone so sit back and crack a cold one and smoke your favorite leaf while you pat yourself on the back.  I haven't weighed the filler and paint yet, but I would guess nearly 50lb came off the truck - no shite.

In the next post, I'll show some photos of the end results and some of the tools used.