Metal thickness on G1 Acura Legends?

[digger89l]

I purchased your flanging tool and panel adhesive a while back, and am about to start my project of replacing rusted metal on the rear quarters of my 89 Acura Legend sedan. I've fashioned cardboard patterns for the replacement panels ...cut out the old rusted metal, and now I need to buy two panels of sheet metal, about 18 inches wide by 40 inches long. Questions: what gauge metal should I buy to match the original body metal? Should I buy "plain" or "galvanized" metal??

[MarkR]

First measure the thickness of the existing panel, in an area not affected by corrosion. I would assume it is 18 or 20 gauge, but measure first. I like using either e-coated metal or galvanized panels; if you are bonding the panel it makes not difference. If you were planning to weld in the panel then you must remove the coatings at the weld area

[digger89l]

First measure the thickness of the existing panel, in an area not affected by corrosion. I would assume it is 18 or 20 gauge, but measure first. I like using either e-coated metal or galvanized panels; if you are bonding the panel it makes not difference. If you were planning to weld in the panel then you must remove the coatings at the weld area

Thanks for the response, Mark. However, if I had the ability to measure the thickness of the existing panel, I wouldn't have asked the question in the first place ...right? :(.

I guess I'll just take a clipping of a non-rusted area of the panel I cut out, and take it with me when I go to buy new metal ..they should be able to measure it there.

So ..what is "e-coated" metal? Is it coated both sides??

[MarkR]

If you do not own calipers to measure the metal you can use a set of feeler gauges.On a clean cut side of metal hold the feeler gauges aside of the metal until a match is found between the feeler gauge and the metal.I f you don't have feeler gauges your idea of taking the metal to the shop is best. E-coat is a process of immersing the part in a bath and using DC elctical current to "paint" the part. It gives better corrosion protection than traditional coatings and assures even coverage on all areas

[digger89l]

If you do not own calipers to measure the metal you can use a set of feeler gauges.On a clean cut side of metal hold the feeler gauges aside of the metal until a match is found between the feeler gauge and the metal.I f you don't have feeler gauges your idea of taking the metal to the shop is best. E-coat is a process of immersing the part in a bath and using DC elctical current to "paint" the part. It gives better corrosion protection than traditional coatings and assures even coverage on all areas

Thanks for the info, Mark. However, in the meantime, I've done some of my own research: So here's the deal: the sheet metal on my 89L sedan is 22 gauge in thickness. That's a bit thinner than the metal on an 85 Nissan 200SX, which is 20 gauge in thickness. By comparison, 18 gauge metal is quite thick ...approximately the same thickness as a dime. (I cut small samples and took them to a welding supply store and had them check them with their micrometer measuring tool!) By the way, not to be argumentative, but I took along a blade style feeler gauge, and had them check that. Result? ...the thicknesses of the feeler gauge blades bear absolutely NO relationship to sheet metal guage: ie ...a .018 feeler gauge is NOT the same as 18 gauge sheet metal.

The metal I've chosen to use to do the repairs on my 89 L sedan is 24 gauge stuff I got at a surplus place. This metal is marginally thinner than the original 22 gauge metal, but it is much easier to form (especially on the dog-legs) and is "e-coated" (electro coated) on both sides, making it virtually rust-proof. I'll grind off the e-coating on the mating surfaces before using the panel bonding adhesive I got from Eastwood. As well, I plan to coat the inside side of the repair panels with a Bondo type spray-on rubberized undercoating, and this will more than compensate for the slightly thinner panel thickness.

It's been a long process, and I'm now about 40% done: I've had to rebuild almost the entire rear wheel-well on the passenger side, as it was virtually rusted away. I discovered in the process that this area of the car had been extensively repaired before. I'm only the second owner - I bought the car from an Acura dealer in 1995, and it had been owned by a dealer employee up until I bought it. They never disclosed to me that it had been damaged and repaired. Upon very close inspection, it appears that the whole rear quarter panel had been replaced, but they cheaped-out on the repairs to the inner wheel well, and rust got hold and did severe damage.

[Nick C]

You are correct that 18 gauge metal is different than the thickness of a .018" feeler gauge blade. Mark's technique allows you to measure the thickness in inches that your metal is, so you can measure the thickness of the replacement metal to match it up (or look the metal thickness up in a sheet metal chart). Here's a Sheet Metal Thickness Chart (http://www.sheetmetalguy.com/sheet_metal_gauge_chart.htm) that I came across online.

It sounds like you are making good progress on your repairs. If you get a chance, post up some pics.