Body shaving

[Skwerly]

Anyone ever use a Dremel type tool with a cutoff wheel to shape the bodies? I know the instructions recommend curved scissors and a bunch of other things, but INRL we use an angle grinder, so the Dremel tool seems to make sense. OR is it too uncontrollable and we risk ruining the bodies?

 

[Lessen]

Very uncontrollable. I even have trouble with a sanding drum. IMO, the best way to cut out/modify lexan bodies is via the score/snap method. Use an Xacto knife to score your new edge then bend til it snaps. Usually only have to bend it the opposite direction once and the piece comes clean off.

 

[Skwerly]

ah! brilliant! i TOLD the woman i needed a hobby knife when we were there... grrr.

 

[Lessen]

Works really well. The only thing I use my lexan scissors is to make cuts up to the scored line, just so I can break off in segments. You need to do the for curved areas like wheel wells and such.

 

[frickenjoey]

I first read the title BODY SHAVING then Anyone ever use a Dremel type tool with a cutoff wheel to shape the bodies...and read shaving again instead of shaping. I was about to respond you maybe you should try a razor instead....I had a horriable image in my head of some trying to use a dremel for hair removal. Now granted I think it WOULD work...but um..might take a little skin with it. Anywho
.:sign_ontopic:
I use lexan scissors exclusively and had decent luck. Granted I am not by any means good at painting or body work so Lessen KNOWS what he is talking about. If you are not really sure the scissors are a safe bet.

 

[Skwerly]

LOL yea the thought occurred to me that i should re-think the name of the thread but... ah well.

Thanks all.

 

[Lessen]

In all honesty I think it just comes down to personal preference. I'm sure lexan scissors work great, I just don't care for them. On the flipside, you can mar a brand new body very easily if you slip with the razor in the wrong direction. I just cut out a Formula body using score/snap. There were plenty of areas where I could have used scissors, but there were a lot of spots where scissors would have been impossible..

 

[slowngreen]

I'm not good at cutting out bodies with blades, I just use lexan scissors. Some times use a sanding wheel on a dremel to smooth up any little ridges any where that might be a cause for ripping later.

 

[NCNitro]

I start with lexan scisors, cutting close as possible to any curves, and right on the line for straight cuts. Then, since I can control a dremel (Josh ) I use a sanding drum to make the wheel wells and curves perfect.

 

[Lessen]

Hey now. I can control a dremel, did you not see Spongebob. I just don't care to. I used to shape with a ddemeland it works really well, just kind of messy. I found that I'm fairly good with the blade and if I get the score right, there's no need to go back and touch up.

Read between the lines.... Do it right the first time Joe.

 

[NCNitro]

I do it right every time! :

 

[Rolex]

If you've ever watched a wood carver, he'll have the handle of the knife clamped with his palm and four fingers and his thumb is pressed against the work.
That's the way I hold the dremel and I can do VERY accurate grinding and cutting that way.
All my straight edges are score and snap.

 

[Skwerly]

yea my dremel has speed control too, so i'm thinking i could even lightly score with a sanding or cutoff disc... we'll see. either way, i finally picked up an exacto today hahaha. impatiently awaiting the RC now...

 

[Rolex]

I don't use the cutoff disk, only the sanding drums and some of the grinding bits for detail work.

 

[Lessen]

yeah, definitely the sanding drums. Cutting discs are just asking for issues I think.

 

[hamz9561]

I played with a cutoff disc on an old shell that I had goofed on the paint job and it tended to just melt the lexan.

I've tried both the score and snap and the lexan scissors. I prefer my scissors.

 

[Lessen]

Just a couple tips on using a sanding drum...

• The larger sanding drum seems to be more controllable than the smaller due to the slightly larger contact area. It seems less likely to grab in and dig if you accidently put a little too much pressure on it.
• Running the drum along the lexan edge in the same direction as the direction of the contact will also lessen the likelyhood of stalling (gouging) along the edge, which leaves just that, a gouge that you'd probably want to smooth out.

As in all things, practice makes perfect and you may not find these tips helpful if you do not have these issues. NCNitro is an outstanding bodyman and his methods work very well for him.

I cut out this Formula Ten with score/snap method yesterday...

...and these slits in the wing of my MazdaSpeed 6 are done using a body reamer to first create holes at the ends and then cut out the middles using whichever method you prefer. I actually think using scissors to cut the straight may be easier here because there is not much material to get good leverage on to snap off. I actually had to use pliers to get enough leverage as the lexan is quite thick here.

 

[NCNitro]

Best thing to do is give all these methods a try on some scrap lexan, or maybe an old lid. See what works best for you, what you are most comfortable with, then stick with that method and perfect it. I have modified my trimming methods over the years to where it is just second nature for me know. I am comfortable with my method and get great results from it, just as Lessen is with his. The end result is what matters, I hate seeing a body that looks like it was trimmed with a steak knife or chainsaw. No matter how good the paint looks if the trim looks bad it will make the lid look like crap.

One thing though, no matter what method you choose, is to never leave a straight cut angle, always, and I mean always round the inside corners, or the body will tear in a right angle cut corner. You can see this in the pics of all the cuts Lessen just posted, all rounded corners.

 

[Skwerly]

EXCELLENT advice, guys! Thanks so much for taking the time. I may practice on the lid that comes with the thing, since I don't plan on running it until the VDub lid is totally shot to heck, and maybe not even then. Probably just as an emergency extra or something.

 

[Skwerly]

OOPS, sorry guys, one more question: i got that "bug" body and of course it comes with the protective film on it for the overspray and all that.

Question:

Do i paint the body first or cut the body to my liking and then paint it? i don't wanna damage that film by cutting it but i also would really rather paint it after i have it shaped the way i want haha.

what do you guys do?