D Car — July 2004
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About this issue
246 available scans from D Car — July 2004, in right-to-left reading order. Japanese OCR and English translation drafts are available throughout. Drafts have not received exhaustive image proofreading; unreadable source remains recorded in the archival data.
Page 66 — English draft translation
Captions and page details
First shape it with aluminum filler
Step 2
2
Welding 1: Tack it in place first Use a spot welder to attach the sheet metal to the body. Here, the panel has been tacked at its four corners; more welds will follow.
Apply body filler Prison #8 uses three kinds of filler: aluminum filler for the base, body filler for shaping, and polyester filler for the final finish.
Key point
S
Level it with the body surface
The trick to applying filler! When applying the first aluminum filler, spread it so the patch is level with the body. On later passes, shape it to restore the Civic’s natural curves.
Filler
Smooth it out
Sheet metal
Body surface
Sparks fly, but NOBORUN keeps working by hand as if nothing is happening.
Cross-section
Mix in hardener…
Apply it generously!
Apply the filler generously. It is built up in several layers, with each pass brought as close as possible to a perfect finish.
Key point
Welding creates a lot of heat, so you should not weld continuously in one spot. Around the taillight, for example, work diagonally. Move the welds apart to keep heat from building up in one area.
Welding
Welding
The basic rule of spot welding: work diagonally!
Add hardener to set the filler and mix the aluminum filler. Too much hardener can cause shrinkage, so use only a little…
Welding
…if any.
2
3
The rear of the trunk gate is now covered in aluminum filler. You can already see how flat it is.
Welding
Continue spot-welding the seams Spot-weld along the entire edge of the sheet metal around the taillight opening. Work alternately from top to bottom so the panel does not overheat.
Keep welding!!
Keep welding!
Apply, apply, apply! Because the area is large, mix the filler in several small batches. Then keep applying it generously.
Fill in the gaps. When the body gets hot, take a short break, then resume welding…
Cure it with infrared heat An infrared heater is directed at the body to cure the filler. It must be completely hardened before the next step. Do not rush if you want a perfect finish.
The square device on the left is an infrared heater. It is powerful enough to cure aluminum filler in about 20 minutes.
The work is well underway. It has already taken more than an hour to get this far.
…then continue welding.
Too much heat will warp the body
Key point
Warp!!
BANG!
If you rush and weld continuously like this, the body will warp…
…and buckle it.
Excessive heat warps the sheet metal and body
He is checking the body-surface temperature by hand. Heat distortion is one of the most important things to watch for.
Level the surface to finish
Sand it smooth to finish After the aluminum filler dries, an orbital sander with a dust-collection bag is used to level the surface. The filler dust is substantial. By this stage, you almost forget there was once a huge hole.
Once the sheet metal is firmly fixed, grind down the welds that protrude. Remove any cracked paint, too; filler will peel off if applied over it…
There are still a few slight bumps, but the surface is getting nice and smooth.
…later.
Finish leveling by hand. Make the surface precise before applying the next filler layer.
Welding complete!
The aluminum filler has been sanded level. It looks completely different. Next, body filler will be applied…
…over it.
Rough sanding is finished and the surface is nearly flat. The final result is in sight.
At last, the welding is complete. Now the rough sanding begins…
…next.
Level the surface to prepare for filler. Work patiently to remove every raised spot.
Change the sandpaper often and smooth the filler surface.
66