Bodywork Pt 1

Whew! Bodywork part 1 was a success! 

Because we were limited on time this weekend,

we decided to focus on rust removal on the outside first. 

We figured we should take advantage of the nice weather 

and handle as much of the outside rust as we could.

We are not rust removal experts...nor auto body work experts.

BUT

We are good listeners and skilled at researching.

Thanks to YouTube tutorials we managed to get some initial rust maintenance finished.

Step one involved using an angle grinder to grind the rusted metal down to just metal.

Power tools are seriously the coolest things.

Of course, I had a healthy dose of fear before trying to use one.

Luckily my courageous man was up for the job.

Once we found out how easy it was to use, we decided to rent another one.

Now, at this point we are both looking and feeling hella bad-ass

power tooling the shit out of all the rust above the wheel wells.

We attempted to use Bondo to fill in a small hole near the wheel well.

I was in charge of that.

I quickly found out that we may have skipped a step.

We forgot filler, so I just put plain ol' hardener in the hole and called it good.

We're gonna have to revisit that job some time soon. 

After grinding, we did a bit of fine tuning with sand paper. 

Then we wiped down the van to remove rust/metal dust.

Then it became time to tape and cover up around the areas we worked on.

Tom took charge of priming all the spots with one coat. 

Enjoy the tape job.

We aren't perfect, nor professional contractors.

We are well aware of our limitations, but choose to learn through them

Rather than become defeated by them.

Stay tuned for bodywork pt 2.

We will be working on the inside to patch and secure some decent sized rusty holes.

According to Tom's research this should be a fun one.

By fun, I mean super involved, tedious, and time consuming. 

Here is a before picture...just to get you all excited :D

I will do my best to document.

I must mention how difficult it is to take pics and vids during this.

Mostly because by the time I think to do it, I'm super dirty.

AND it's so much fun that documenting looks to be more of a hassle in the moment. 

SUPER AWESOME VAN PLAN CONTINUES <3