1940 Buick 51

September 2022 - Fender sandblasting and body work

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I contracted Texas Green Blast, a local mobile sandblaster to strip the hood, trunk and front fenders so I could prepare the pieces for final paint. The following pictures show the process with the fenders.

Stripping the fenders revealed old but light body filler work on the right side fender. All the other pieces were in great condition without any old body filler.

Primed with PPG epoxy primer. Very little new bondo work was needed and then I used Evercoat high build polyester primer and block sanded until the fenders were straight. Use a black guide coat from a spray can to identify the low spots to remedy. I learned from body work on the Datsun 280Z that looking for dents with a wet film of water is more difficult than using guide coat paint.

The inner fender walls were painted satin black prior to being installed back on the car. The factory always painted inner fender walls satin black in 1940 even though the body firewall was painted body color.

Both front fenders are completed and mounted on the car ready for paint. Also having the fenders mounted allows me to do a short street test drive because they provide structural support for the radiator.