Correcting body warpage

[aurfalien]

Hi,

As I'm finishing up my current project going through final body/chassis alignment and am having a bit of a time making things fit.

Well I come to finally notice that by body is a bit warped.

The front right quarter panel rises up about 1mm almost as if it was twisted so.

How would you all fix this?

[gtx6970]

Hold it under pretty hot water, ( at least as hot as your fingers can take ) , correcting the twist ( maybe even over corrected slightly ) then have an assistant switch it from hot to cold water ,, all the while keeping the body in the water stream  .

You may have to repeat this several times to get what your after. How well this works depends A LOT on how bad its twisted.

 

DO NOT under ANY circumstances use the oven in an attempt to correct a twisted body ,,,  Or a hair dryer or heat gun , or open flame of any kind

( trust me on this )

Edited October 6, 2016 by gtx6970

[JTalmage]

Tried that w/ the latest Revell Ramcharger body.... no dice. 

[bismarck]

I recently had to do the boiling water trick to correct a pretty bad warp in a VW kit. worked like a charm. I guess it depends on how bad the warp is, and where it is.

[aurfalien]

Bummer as I have it pretty much painted up (lacquer).

Oh well, another lesson learned!

[Psychographic]

 Are there enough contact places to cement the body in place on the frame and interior tub? If it's only 1mm, the frame should hold it into position unless the frame doesn't have much rigidity to it.

[aurfalien]

 Are there enough contact places to cement the body in place on the frame and interior tub? If it's only 1mm, the frame should hold it into position unless the frame doesn't have much rigidity to it.

The tub or chassis is straight as an arrow which is good.  So I'll use that as a straightener but in the future I will check before hand.  I prefer the body slip on with minimal effort.

Man this scale building is tough!

[Warren D]

As in full-scale rebuilds, frequent test fitting makes like easier.  I'd try the hot water bath, just check to see if the paint softens before handling.  Maybe you can use some rigid styrene square stock and glue up some braces under the body or re-inforce the frame and add a few attach points.

I think we're all a little warped, otherwise we'd be doing something else!

[MrObsessive]

Yet another reason why one should not paint the body till near the end to ensure everything fits correctly! 

That's been a practice of mine for many years, and I'll test fit things many, many times over to make sure there are no surprises. Even then, you can still run into a little difficulty, but it sure beats having to discover something's warped after it's all painted up and pretty.

I think we're all a little warped, otherwise we'd be doing something else!

Folks have been telling me that for years!

 

[Harry P.]

Most people will never notice a 1mm warp in the first place.

[Psychographic]

If you are going to try boiling water, make sure ALL the solvents have outgassed. You'd be amazed at what flashing with high temps under water can do with trapped solvents.

Edited October 6, 2016 by Psychographic

[aurfalien]

If you are going to try boiling water, make sure ALL the solvents have outgassed. You'd be amazed at what flashing with high temps under water can do with trapped solvents.

I think I'll be passing on the boiling water thing.

However this is another lesson I must learn; test test test... fit fit fit...

[Snake45]

It might well be that after you have the glass, interior, firewall, and chassis in place, everything will align straight and true.

I've had it happen. Not every time, but more than once.

I say drive on and see what happens. You might get lucky!

[Intmd8r]

For the most part, I've been lucky on warped bodies.  Never tired the hot water bath, but I have a few candidates in my collection that weill need it.

For minor adjustments, I've been able to get by with using CA glue to secure the underside of the body to the attachment points on teh chassis.  Assuming the chassis is rigid enough to pull the body straight, of course.

On occasion, I've even modified the suspension and/or the wheel attachments points to compensate.

Again - all depends on where and how bad the issue is.  Good  luck - we feel your pain!

[935k3]

I never depend on glue for chassis to body attachment. I have always found a mechanical solution that locks the body to chassis this takes care of any slight warpage and you do not have to mess with glue on a finished body.

[Intmd8r]

I never depend on glue for chassis to body attachment. I have always found a mechanical solution that locks the body to chassis this takes care of any slight warpage and you do not have to mess with glue on a finished body.

guess it depends on your skill level/situation. Perhaps you are a more skilled builder than I am, but there are some kits that require the body to be glued to the chassis. Why not use that to your advantage?

Anyways, there have been several solutions offered. It's nearly impossible for one to solve all problems. Poor Brian will have to try the solution that he's most comfortable with.

 

 

[aurfalien]

Hi,

I was able to correct via super glue down the inside edge were the body meets the chassis.

Basically as you said, anchor the warped body to a straight chassis.  In this case the chassis is nice and thick.

Since warpage was slight, the correction worked wonderfully.

Thanks to Tamiya for developing there tape, I used it to help keep things together while the glue dried.

Funny, I initially complained about the tape but have since found 100%, my gripes are due to lack of experience and not the products.

 

Edited October 20, 2016 by aurfalien