Toxik

I just painted my first body and am starting to cut all the extra lexan off and was wondering what you guys do about all the edges as they are a little rough and sharp from cutting. Do you sand them? If so will that mess up the paint on the edges.
I also noticed that others use a hole saw for cutting the hole in the windshield and was wondering how good a job that does.

bateater

I would say you can sand the rough edges but um I have not yet painted a body so you might want to go with someone with a little more experience

oldshoolclod

best way to go about is to cut and sand before you paint it, that way you won't damage the paintwork(don't ask how i know...!!!!), but if you are careful, you can still sand it afterwards. Just take your time. Good luck!!!

ChevyRacing

Use a dremel and a sanding drum, works great!

Toxik

Dremel eh, thats a good idea. Unfortunatly I dont have one. Plus I painted the body first. Turned out pretty good for my first one. Minimal bleeding around the edges of the windows where they were masked off. I chromed the bumper, front grill, back bumper and toolbox. The rest of the body is black pearl. It's a Ford F650 by the way. All thats left to do is cut the mounting holes and the hole for the engine. Man I wish there was a way to not cut the body at all. Oh well.

gm72

Ditto on the cutting and sanding first. Much better results. Without a dremel, just use sandpaper, maybe 100 grit, and smooth out your rough edges.

tablist56

use sandpaper, get a rough grit and a smooth grit, use the rough first then the smooth.

if u spend enough time and patience with it u will get some great results.
dont rush it, its all about PREP PREP PREP before you even think about painting.

ive only done about 3-4 bodies and they all look schmick!!!

AUTOMAG

Instead of cutting a hole through the windshield ,you could get some nice cooling into the engine by useing the factory radiator location as i did on my Ofna jammin. A kitchen stainless steel flower sifter $2 screen was cut into place and fastened with metal foil tape .Here is a photo. just to show as an idea of what you could do . Maybe you would like for yours.

AUTOMAG

P.S. The screen is taped on from the inside of the body . That metal tape is strong as hec .. The tape is also very usefull for making grillwork moldings as can be seen in the photo..

AUTOMAG

sorry about multiple posts,,, I used a rotozip drillbit a few bucks in sears and a common house drill. to hog out the opening which worked very well then to finish to size a flat file works the edges to a good smooth unbured edge . a round file would be fine on any curves

bsammyfl

My Feedback: (4)

Want some good advice. Buy a Dremal or even a cheap imatation. They sell cheap kits on ebay for around $10.00. They will work for doing finishing on these bodys. A sanding barrel like some of the others have said works great for cleaning the lines and curves after cutting. Even these cheap kits contain a finishing block it is a litttle gray or pink block 1/2 long 1/4 inch wide its used for finishing the edges after you use the barrel sander. And all this can be done after painting. As for holes I start mine out with a body reamer Hobbico markets a set of body sissors and reamer combo for about $12. They are first quality tools and come in for less than half the cost of most reamers alone. These tools are a must have for doing this kind of work. When your done your bodys are stronger and better looking. Clean sanded edges dont catch stuff and they resist cracking when you crash. But most importantly they dont cut your hands when handling them.