When you’re restoring a car, there are a lot of mistakes that can be made. Here are some of the most common ones:
Wet sanding is one of the most common mistakes when it comes to car restoration. This is simple: wet sanding is much easier than dry sanding. However, using water on your sandpaper will leave swirl marks on your paint. These swirl marks will have to be removed during polishing, which could take hours.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of swapping out all of the parts on your car at once. This can lead to problems later down the line when you need to replace other parts or make adjustments to fit new parts. If you want to swap out parts, do so one at a time to avoid having dozens of mismatched parts on your car at once.
You may have heard of sandblasting, but you probably don’t know that this process can cause more damage than good. Sandblasting is a popular method of removing rust from automotive surfaces. Sandblasting works by blowing dry sand at high speeds onto the surface of your car or truck. The sand breaks down the rusted area and leaves behind a smooth finish once it has been removed with high-pressure water jets or compressed air. However, it can also cause damage to your vehicle’s body and paint job if not done correctly.
Sandblasting can leave behind residue and debris in the paint. This debris can cause the paint to crack, peel and flake off over time. The best way to remove rust from your vehicle is by using a chemical cleaner. These cleaners are safer for your vehicle and will not cause any damage to your paint job or bodywork.
One of the first-time restorers’ biggest mistakes is not taking the time to replace all of the nuts and bolts in their cars before they start driving them around. Often, they don’t realize how much damage can be caused by just one missing nut or bolt. For example, if you don’t replace your gas tank straps before starting, they could break off while you’re driving down the road and spill gasoline all over your engine compartment. Make sure you have an assortment of sockets, wrenches, and screwdrivers available, so you don’t lose track of any screws when they come loose.
You’ll want to fill any holes or cracks with putty or filler material when doing bodywork. The same goes for small dents – if they’re less than an eighth of an inch deep, you can usually fill them with Bondo, which is plastic filler paste. However, if they’re deeper than that or there’s a large dent in your fender, you’ll probably have to replace part of the panel instead of trying to repair it yourself.
It’s tempting to want to do everything at once when starting a restoration project, but doing so can be extremely costly if something goes wrong along the way. Start small by replacing the tires before moving on to bigger projects like repairing bodywork or restoring engines. This will give you time to save up for more expensive projects later in your restoration process.
Car restoration is a lengthy process, where many pitfalls await the unwary. The reality is that chances are you will make mistakes in the process. But don’t fret because planning is key to avoiding such mistakes. When you fully plan the task, it’s easier to manage and track your work and more likely to yield its desired results. And that means you’ll end up with an automobile with which you’ll be proud to take on any open road.