Fire Damage Repair

[Husker]

A buddy of mine had his 66 Ford PU sitting next to his Ford Explorer which decided to start on fire for no reason. It damaged the side of the 66 and I offered to fix it for him since it was not insured.  I do all my own body work but fixing burnt sheetmetal is a new one for me. Any tips on prep will be appreciated.

[enjenjo]

How bad is it? Paint bubbled, or scorched and missing completely? Sheet metal warped?

[Husker]

How bad is it? Paint bubbled, or scorched and missing completely? Sheet metal warped?

Scorched for the most part, door and hood got it good on the right side, I can replace that stuff, the window post on the right side is scorched pretty bad.

[enjenjo]

Where the paint is just bubbled, you can just take it down to the metal, and redo it from there. If the metal is scorched, all the paint missing, and metal discolored, you need to sand it good, and then use a metal etch product, scrubbing it in with steel wool, until you have removed all the residue. Then refinish as normal. I have had good luck with this method. Others may do it differently, I would like to hear their ways too.

[idrivejunk]

Where the paint is just bubbled, you can just take it down to the metal, and redo it from there. If the metal is scorched, all the paint missing, and metal discolored, you need to sand it good, and then use a metal etch product, scrubbing it in with steel wool, until you have removed all the residue. Then refinish as normal. I have had good luck with this method. Others may do it differently, I would like to hear their ways too.

I agree with enenjo's advice. I can only add that from what I have seen, if the metal surface is discolored, that panel is probably badly warped. Hope the bedside didn't get it bad. Could be more difficult to straighten as well, especially if using pull studs, etc. More brittle. I have always been able to walk away from the crispy ones at work, but I do have one in my yard that was very close to a big fire at the rear. Lamps melted, die-cast quarter extensions warped. Paint is not disclored but quarter panel warpage is evident and any bodyfiller is toast. I say if its looking like mostly just scorched paint, it might be something that will hammer out. But if the metal is discolored get ready for a straightening mess.

[Husker]

Thanks guys!