Auto Body Equipment & Materials List for DIY'ers

This is the new thread with my a rough draft of a list.

As I said in the original thread, I want input from those experienced in body work and restoration of body/chassis. What I don't want is to create a venue for arguments over which brand of xyz is the best. Compared to some of the venues I read, this one appears to be pretty well mannered and I hope to keep it that way.

I've set up a ranking system...if you have a suggestion on how the rank should be set up, please feel free to give your input.

1=Must have for all (focused on DIY'er)

2=Must have for advanced DIY'er/non-professional

3=Luxury for advanced DIY; Must have for Pro

4=Luxury for Pro

Once we get the list started, I will input to an excel spreadsheet and include details based on your input. Details such as, ref pics/links, compressor capacities, paint gun nozzle sizes, what grit paper is used for what....what different fillers are used for, etc.

Thank you all in advance for your input.

Equipment

*Air Compressor-1

--Oil/water separator-1

*Cut off wheel-1

*Rotary sander-2

*DA sander-1

*Sanding block-1

*Long board sander-1

*MIG or TIG welder-2

*Oxy Acetylene torch-2

*Cobra Torch-3

*Plasma Cutter-3

*Spot welder-3

*Stud welder/slide hammer-?

*Sheet metal Brake-3

*English Wheel-3

*Air Nibbler-2

*Spray Gun-1

--Gun & nozzle sizes rules of thumb

*Respirator/Air Mask-1

*Rotary grinder/wire wheel-1

--Recommended consumables

*Spot weld cutter-1

*Face Mask/Eye Protection-1

*Body hammer & dolly set-1

*Masking Paper/Plastic Dispenser-3

*Shop Vac-1

*Seam Buster-2

*Manual Hole Punch-2

*Air Hammer-2

Etc...

Consumables

*Abrasive Grinding Discs

*Wire Wheels

--Knotted Wire

--Cup style

*Sand paper

--Grit vs purpose (also what to avoid...such as silicon oxide, etc)

+80 grit (bare metal prep, knocking down filler, etc)

+320 grit (list primary uses)

~Type (PSA vs hook & loop; is one better suited?)

*Weld wire

--Easygrind .025 for MIG

*Masking Paper

*Masking Tape

Etc...

Chemicals

*Acetone or other cleaning solvents

*Degreaser/wax removal products

*Pain gun cleaning supplies

*Bare metal sealers

--Epoxy paint

--Rust encapsulation/preventive

--Weld-thru primer

*Seam Sealer

*Primer (list different types and purpose)

*Body filler (list different types and purpose)

*Sound deadener/thermal barrier

Etc...

I would make the stud welder #3. The best body man I knew preferred to drill holes and then pull using a set of self made pullers that were hardened metal rods with a wooden handle to pull with and an "L" shaped hook on the other end, no sheet metal screws and a slide hammer. He would pull and tap with a body hammer. Easy to fill the holes with a mig or oxy/acetylene. I've used his method and it works well. He only used a stud welder on seriously wrinkled dents, the kind that today's "body men" would have to replace the panel.

Spot welder, plasma cutter, English wheel #3.

Oxy/acetylene #2

Henrob torch #3 (thanks to David for bringing this one up the other day)

Shop vac -1

Face mask -1

Respirator mask -1

Seam buster -2

Manual hole puncher -2

1971 M-code Mach 1

A understanding wife. Everything else is useless if don't have one.

A understanding wife. Everything else is useless if don't have one.

Click to expand...

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Simple solution scrap the wife

One thing I see Tony mentioned I think is a #1 is a really good mask with replaceable filters or an air mask is even better. I can represent what happens when you don't use one. I lost 40% of my lungs to COPD from many sources. I use to machine asbestos based insulation materials when building thermoset molds. Also painted without a mask just a rag around my face for about 10 years. And yes I also smoked for many years. I was bullet proof like many thought back then You can replace tools if they don't do what you want but lungs only come in pairs and COPD does not reverse.

Don mentioned the Henrob welder / torch. It is now called a Cobra Torch. It can replace a standard welding / cutting torch, MIG, TIG and Plasma for right at $500 if you have the gauges. I got my new one yesterday and also my friend that does restorations go one. Hope to post some pictures soon of results. Lifetime warranty, made in the U.S.A. in Michigan and will weld steel, aluminum, stainless. Cuts much better than a standard torch with a slot about like a Plasma. Puts way less heat into the panel than TIG and you can weld and not have such a big bead to grind down and work from MIG. Way cheaper to operate and small and compact. Sounds like a advertisement, lol. Go to the internet and look at some of the video.

I've added the input and a little bit of formatting. It seems that the spaces (formatting) I had get removed when I post....there when I edit, gone when I post up.

Would like to see some input regarding sandpaper grit vs purpose...about the only one I can remember is 80 grit for bare metal prep.

What about rules of thumb for paint gun capacity and nozzle size? I'm considering the HF purple gun for primer...anyone know what size nozzles work best for different coatings?

I'm aware of different types of filler...some have fiber, some don't....are there any guidelines for the type to use in a given situation?

I would get the Stud Welder if you have a lot of dents to pull. I did not use a slide hammer but used a tool called StudLever instead. You have more control on your pull and you can use a pick hammer to relieve the stress as you pull the dents out. No holes to weld up when you use studs to pull dents out with. Also a shrinking disk to pull the metal back in after using the body hammers.

I did a rear OTR panel that was dented pretty good and using these tools after I was done you really couldn't tell it had been damaged. That is before using filler to smooth everything out.

Also did a door that was dented about 36 inches. The panel was supposed to be rounded but the are was in a "V" shape after the PO ran into a metal pole. That also came out really well using these tools.

You want to take out all the dents first and then epoxy primer before doing the body filler work. After you do that shoot filler/primer and start your block sanding.

In the Other Vehicles forum I have my 71 RR resto thread and you can see the body work starting on page 20 to about page 24. Scott ("Q") gave me lots of info on the proper way to do this along with videos. I'll be following your work as I don't want to miss any good advice others will post here. Good luck.