Quarter panel body line dissappearing??

[chargerguy111]

I just had both quarter skins put on my 68 Charger.My question is,Does the body line get more faint right before it reaches the crest of the quarter?I checked both sides and measured and they are both like this in the same area.You can still see them but can't feel them as good for about 15 inches and then they come back in.Is this correct or did my body man screw up something?Or ,bigger question,does anyone even know what Im talking about?If not I could send some pics of the area.Thanks!

[keepat]

If you are talking about the body line just above the wheel opening? It should crisp and the same front to back!
Pat

[Lord Warlock]

Funny how things come up when i'm playing with that part, no the body line is fairly distinct from the front fender to the rear of the car.  I'm not exactly sure where it flattens out on the front fenders, somewhere between the wheel opening nad the nose. 

I'd love to hear some tips on what to do to bring the body line back into more definition, i've been working some dings out of mine and getting it straight and sharp afterwards is getting tedious (looks great in primer, less great with paint).  With only one side of mine an issue its taking an awful lot of time and effort so far.

[Charger-Bodie]

the body line should be sharp from abour 7 inches back at the leading edge of the fender all the way to to the rear! one thing that does annoy me is when people BUILD the line all the way to the front, its NOT supposed to be that way ! it is supposed to fade out before the front of the fender 68 69 and 70

[hemi-hampton]

I think I know the answer & solution. The problem is you got aftermarket sherman 1/4's. The solution is NOS 1/4's. Problem solved. I know, not the answer anybody wants to hear. Sherman 1/4's are so wavy I have to skim with a thin layer of body filler to get straight. While your at it use that time to sharpen up that body line. Lots of Priming & blocking with tape on that line will sharpen it also.   LEON.

[Lord Warlock]

When you say blocking with tape on the line, explain the process a little more.  I've been considering using masking tape to help only block sand the area above the line and then below it, trying to sharpen the line on mine.  From what i can tell on mine i'm going to have to skim coat the very front of the right front fender, above the line as well as the top of the fender itself.  When stripping the body I found a well done repair in that spot, but took it all out to verify the metal itself. Its not quite as smooth as the rest of the side of the car ...meaning wavy, and obvious when sighting down the side (when working the line). 

In my case i'm working with original quarters and fenders.

Do you have a preferred filler you use for skim coating?

Primer and sanding I can do easy enough, (gotta get a new compressor though, my 12 year old portable just gave up the ghost)

[69bronzeT5]

IThe problem is you got aftermarket sherman 1/4's. The solution is NOS 1/4's.

What kind does the Paddock sell?

[Ghoste]

Right now, I think all the Paddock sell are the Sherman ones.  The AMD stuff opens your options up but NOS is just that Cody, New Old Stock.  Anybody selling them in a catalog will have an extremely limited supply and want big big dollars for them.  The tipoff with the Paddock offerings is that you have to cut your own marker light openings.  The catchphrase you will want to be looking for is oem style or full factory style 1/4's and things like that.  You've waited 9 years, patience now to find a vendor offering original style full ones will be worth it.

[Joshua]

Does EVERYBODY just replace their 1/4's, regardless of how much rust is present? I can't beleive all these cars getting complete 1/4's replaced are rusted all the way up to the beltline......I see pics of cars here that don't look that bad and in another pic the entire side of the car is gone

My car is rusted in the lower part, along with a small amount above the wheelwell.....I was just going to make the panels myself....and replace ONLY the bad.....is that bad?

[Lord Warlock]

Not everyone replaces the whole quarter, unless it has substantial rot in it.  Some will because they detest any rust setting up residence in their cars.  Many just weld in new patch panels instead of replacing a whole quarter, provided they can do it and still look quality.  You just want to avoid packing in bondo to cover up bad areas. 
In my case i chose not to replace quarter panels because while i had rust on the inside of the panel, it hadn't eaten thru the panel itself, i had a couple pinholes showing, but if you pressed hard with a thumb the area would dent in, those areas would be better served by cutting out the metal and welding in a patch, but I'm not a welder, don't have the welder or tools for that type of work, and will likely take it to a real bodyshop eventually to have them fix the real problem areas.  I don't think an area consisting of 2 inches of weakened metal behind the rear wheel justifies major surgery.  The only other rust i had was along the rear window tray, which i won't actually know for sure how bad it is till i get the trim off the rear window from the inside and can see it more clearly.  The whole tray is solid, but there is some rust along where the edge of the rear glass sits on the window frame.  The only way i can think of to properly fix this is to remove the glass, and work on it with glass out of the car.  And i don't want to have the glass out for too long or it will likely have something fall on it or crack it somehow.  Or with my luck it wil break when they try to take it out. 

[69bronzeT5]

My quarters deffintley need replacing. There fine at the top except one little section but the bottoms are GONE!

[Joshua]

Do you have a preferred filler you use for skim coating?

Evercoat Rage gold....

The only other rust i had was along the rear window tray, which i won't actually know for sure how bad it is till i get the trim off the rear window from the inside and can see it more clearly. The whole tray is solid, but there is some rust along where the edge of the rear glass sits on the window frame. The only way i can think of to properly fix this is to remove the glass, and work on it with glass out of the car. And i don't want to have the glass out for too long or it will likely have something fall on it or crack it somehow. Or with my luck it wil break when they try to take it out.

Sounds like you're in the same boat as I. I recently took out my rear window because of the rust. The panel is solid up till the window. I have a freind with a sign company which has large sheet metal brakes. I plan on making new pieces for the window lip/channel. The corners are going to be tricky..........unless I can borrow a shrinker/strecher

[bill440rt]

Evercoat's Rage Gold IS excellent filler. I used it on my '69.

But, for real finesse, finish it off with a super-thin coat of their Polyester putty. THEN, 2 coats of Stand-Ox Spritz-Plastik. This is a sprayable polyester filler. You need a gravity gun with a big-a$$ tip to spray it, 2.5 or larger. Block it with 180, and Sha-ZAyUM!! Lazer crisp lines!

[Lord Warlock]

someone sells new corner channels for the back window,  I saw an article of it being done on a bbody recently in one of the mopar magazines (or it could have been Hemmings) you still need to cut the old out and weld the new in, which makes it a larger job than i want to get into.  I don't trust myself with a torch or metal cutter, i'd set the whole garage on fire. I'll just keep parking mine in a garage to keep the dampness off. 

I like evercoat's line, that is what the local paint supplier carries, and i tend to get my stuff there instead of at car part stores.  I haven't used Rage Gold before though, they carry it, but it tends to be in the larger cans instead of the smaller quantities.  I'm beginning to think a bigger can would be the better buy at this point.  I'd kill for some spray on filler...that would work great and would be simpler to sand the bodyline than spreading it out and trying to feather the edges

[hemi-hampton]

Not sure if posting these pics would do any good, I had 100's of pictures on my computer that got wiped out/lost accidently. I had many of this 69 dart that showed the Blocking with tape lines but now gone. I'll post 3 that I have. Heres one. LEON.

[hemi-hampton]

In this picture shows 3 coats of primer allready blocked, now getting 3 more. LEON.

[hemi-hampton]

Talk about a pain in the ass, Darts have more body lines then any car, not fun trying to get all those straight. I used tape on all the body lines. Tape below body line, block, then tape above line, block, ect, ect. Re blacking as guide coat when necessary to help see line. LEON.

[Lord Warlock]

nice work,  i'm pleased to hear that something that looked like it Might work, is actually something body guys use.  I'd never discussed it with the couple body people i've known, just thought it made sense to keep from sanding to far on one side of the line.  All of this manual sanding is killing my shoulders, especially the side with the rotator cuff problem.  But it has to be done.  It won't ever get done if i don't spend the necessary time on it.