Pagoda SL Group
W113 Pagoda SL Group => Body, interior, paint, chrome, and cosmetic items => Topic started by: Atazman on April 12, 2011, 04:25:20
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As mentioned in one of my other posts (Metal Prepping), I'm preparing my car for painting. Right now, I'm sanding down to bare metal.
Before I go too deep on the fenders around the headlights, I would appreciate knowing some details about those "creases", or "grooves" or "dimples" or whatever they are called which originally aligned with the inside of the headlight ring. Obviously, my car does not have them.
Were they formed by shaping the metal in the fender? If I sand down to metal, will the "crease" be exposed? Dimensionally, would they be the same as the "crease" on the outside of the fender? Does anyone have a good picture showing what they look like with some measurement details so that I could reproduce them?
Your thoughts are appreciated.
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Brian Peters has excellent pictures of an original paint car on his website. www.motoringinvestments.com
It's the one that lists for $175,000!
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From the notch on the inside of the head light, the body metal sits a little bit higher than the head light trim. This is not flush or at the same level.
As the you look down the outside of the light, the trim sits the same way as around the top.
On the bottom of the light the surface of the head light trim should be the same level as the body of the car.
Going around the inside and back up to about the notch, the trim should lay right up against the body metal. The fit on original cars was perfect.
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Hi, Don
On the two occasions I've had these done, lead was 'loaded' in the area concerned and then filed down to create the notches.
It is best th fit the headlights and form the notches inline with the ones on the headlamp rim otherwise they won't line up correctly.
I'm told its best to start with epoxy primer on bare metal, but then I'm no expert on paint!
Naj
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When they built the cars the bodymen who were leading over the seams just paddled a little lead there and the notches were filed into shape.
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I'm impressed, guys!! Thanks for the information as well as the pictures. I have not sanded down the inside of the fenders yet, but if those notches are really lead, I hope there is the chance of them still being there. Hopefully no one sanded them away.
Appreciate the education on these notches.
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If you look at Naj's photos of the "notch area" in primer, you'll see a wonderful and wonderfully complex set of compound curves--enough to foil a skilled tool and die maker. This is sculptural, and this is the work of Paul Bracq. Take a look at the same area on today's latest SL's and you'll see homage to the past.
As his story goes, when the car was being designed (on paper), the model builders were not able to duplicate in clay, his vision in this area. While they were skilled, certainly, they were not sculptors or artists of the caliber of M. Bracq. This is when he rolled up his sleeves, and got dirty himself, sculpting this area in clay so that they could eventually make the tooling.
He told a similar story when working on the first 3-series BMW, one of his other masterpieces. At one point, he says, he was working on a plaster 1:1 model to sculpt it to his vision. It was late, and he was covered head to toe in plaster dust, looking like a ghost. The head of BMW came in to the studio (it was a small company back in the early 1970's) and asked the ghost if he might know where Paul Bracq is. "I am Paul Bracq, sir!" was the answer.
One of Paul Bracq's great skills is in sculpture, and the ability to actually craft in 3D what he thinks, with the in between step of 2D on paper.
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I have carefully sanded down the fenders where the "inside headlight notch" should reside. My problem is that I did not find a notch.....just smooth steel. No indication at all that anyone had used any lead to mold the notch. However, I suppose that a body man not willing to deal with the notch could easily sand down the lead without leaving any evidence.
Can anyone vouch that they have seen those notches on the fenders without any paint covering them?
I will need to get the headlight rim and see how it fits up before making a decision as to how I proceed. Advice is appreciated.
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Hello Don,
Whilst repairing my car from a hard top dropping on it I am in the process this week of putting the notches back into the fenders of my car that the painter removed without realising what he was doing and I was not all that wise about 7 years ago.
There are several things that may have happened in your case. The body shop may have just removed them, or the fenders may have been replaced over time. The inner fender is not pressed with the notch and it must be added.
One thing I have noticed and that is that the headlight surrounds do not necessarily have the clearly defined grove to align the notches to. I have five here and all of them are biased to one side in that there is a notch on one side that is clearly recognisable and not so on the other.
Search around on the site. There is lots of discussion and some photos of what is required.
Garry