cracked rear quarter panel

[mbdblue]

I wonder if subaru is just using shitty ass thin metal....Something similar happened to another member a little while ago

http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/185343-quarter-panel/page-2?hl=+subaru%20+metal

But a weld is the strongest thing you can do to it. If you really wanted to, you could weld in a little support strip from the backside. But then your talking about prep and repainting it too.

[CleanSierra]

^^^ I'll add that a weld by a GOOD welder. A guy who doesn't know what he's doing will warp the piss out of the existing panel and make your problem worse. Hell, even a good welder may end up with warp on that thin ass factory sheet metal. Body work will need done regardless. It's not just a simple fix done in a couple of hours.

[Aj11]

look.like stress fractures. ever get water in your trunk? I'm sure the bass didn't cause that but it's certainly not helping at this point.

cheapest way to fix would be jb weld the inside and bondo the outside. will that hold for the next 5 years? doubt it but it's not gonna cost more then $50 to fix it.

actually the perfect match spray paint works pretty damn well i might add. just get some 5000grit and wet sand after it dries

[CleanSierra]

5000 grit?!?! Are you serious? That's not, in any way, what he'd want to do. 5000 grit is not even sandpaper really, it's made so swirl marks can be taken out of paint without compound. It has other uses as well, like eliminating orange peel, and scratches, etc.

OP, don't JB Weld your car. Fix it right the first time or don't fix it at all. JB Weld is a bandaid and throwing body filler on the outside of the body, with no prior experience, will not be successful. I'd be willing to bet that your body filler line would shrink, crack and look like shit within 6 months, maybe a year on the high side.

Take it to a professional and get an estimate. If you're able, pull the body man himself aside and ask him his opinion of how he'd truly fix it if it were his car.

[Aj11]

I'm saying use 5000 grit after he sprays the prefect match paint. not to expose the bare metal. in that aspect it would be more then pointless. my girls car had some paint chipped off. so i added some bondo sanded with 500 then 1000 sprayed the perfect match and then went over it with 5000 grit and looks amazing. the paint without sanding looks a Lil rough.

i agree that he should do it right. but if he wants to go cheap like he said... well that's cheap!

if anything have someone do the actual body repair and do the paint work yourself. that will save you some money.

[CleanSierra]

I'm saying use 5000 grit after he sprays the prefect match paint. not to expose the bare metal. in that aspect it would be more then pointless. my girls car had some paint chipped off. so i added some bondo sanded with 500 then 1000 sprayed the perfect match and then went over it with 5000 grit and looks amazing. the paint without sanding looks a Lil rough.

i agree that he should do it right. but if he wants to go cheap like he said... well that's cheap!

if anything have someone do the actual body repair and do the paint work yourself. that will save you some money.

Can you link me to the exact 5000 grit sandpaper you're referring to? I'm curious what exact product you're making a reference to.

[MarioB]

5000 grit is rediculous. ive never used higher than 2000 to color sand a whole car flat. even to get out a piece of dirt

[CleanSierra]

Agreed, Trizact is the only stuff I've seen which is 3M. 3000 is the most I've ever seen needed to get paint FLAT, glass flat. 5000 grit is an alternative to using compound and buffer and eliminates swirl marks. As far as blending paint or taking out dullness, 5000 grit would never, ever be needed. 2000-2500 Is the standard. 3000 grit if you're anal as hell.

[Aj11]

3m is the kind i used. i had it laying around. i reached for the 2000 grit and first Swype i didn't like how deep it went into the (spray) paint so instead of running to to the store i just grabbed the 5000 i had. it really did work great! this isn't real car paint that's been layered like it should and isn't nearly as "hard" when it dries. honestly i think a clay bar would have scuffed it up. could i have used 3000 yea sure but that's not what i had. so i posted what i know. because it worked.

when my internet isn't sucking so hard I'll post the pics.

the prefect match touch up paint sprays on.really nice and the bondo sanding already Gave me the nice surface to work with. the 5000 grit just gave the spray paint a nice shine. there wasnt much actual sanding to do. just making it look pretty

[CleanSierra]

Good follow up AJ, I like that explanation

I've never even seen the Trizact in person, I use 2 different compounds and let the buffer melt down the scratches. The spray paint thing is interesting, since like you said, it's not hard like catalyzed car finish. I'm thinking it's going to be time to experiment soon