RedraifExtras's 1987 Pontiac Firebird on CarDomain

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SHAVING
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As you have noticed in the pictures, RAIF is obviously shaved...door handles, antenna, and the gas filler door are all gone!

Here's how:

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WELDING
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***Note:***
Practice on some thin, automotive grade sheet metal before you start welding on your car. The metal is thin, and very easy to warp if you don't know what you're doing.

We started by removing the handles and lock cylinders.

The antenna

Also the gas filler door

Then we made poster board patterns for the filler pieces. Make them as close as possible, so that when you duplicate the patterns with sheet metal (we used a crunched door from a body shop scrap pile) there is very little gap. The smaller the gap, the less weld it will take, the less chance of warping the metal.

Set your welder (MIG) on its lowest heat setting, and turn the wire speed low also...you may have to play with it a little. Tack weld the pieces in, skipping from one side to the other so as not to build up too much heat. Use a bucket with a wet rag constantly dipping it and placing it up around the area you are welding to keep it cool.

Once the pieces are welded solid, dress the welds with a body grinder.

Here you can see the back of the gas filler panel once its been welded on the car. An extra piece was added first to help brace and to help hold the patch piece as it was added.

Here you can see how we dressed the back side to help insure there was no chance of rust forming at the weld points.

Its best to do this on all areas that are exposed on the backside. It was not as easy on the doors, but with the door panels out, I got a coating on them as well! The antenna hole was not addressed till the fender was later removed. The mirror holes could not be reached to dress them.

If you did a good job, very little filler will be required. After grinding the welds smooth, it only needed a small amount of body filler.

I would use a product like All Metal, or Marglass...they have greater strength than regular plastic fillers.

We should have used All Metal, but the can had dried up and we were in the middle of the job. It shouldn't require much filler at all if the panel is cut and welded properly.

Use a skim coat of regular body filler (Bondo) if necessary. Then be sure to blend your work into the surrounding paint and body. You want a smooth transition b/w the shaving and natural body lines. The smoother your transition the easier it will be to make the shaving invisible when the paint finally goes on.

Finish with epoxy primer. We choose epoxy primer because the car would have to be in primer for a period of time before being painted. Epoxy primer, as long as it is not sanded, can stand up to weather for a short time, w/o absorbing moisture. Other primers will absorb moisture & you will have a rusty mess before you know it... (ie. Rattle can primers)