Using a Chisel to Strip Metal from a Car Body

Now that I have the majority of the quarter panel off, I'm down to the door jam area. It's a complicated area because it has a lot of angles, and the spot welds are in different phases, and what we're trying to do, again, is just bring this down to single plane metal. So it will fold off with the chisel. One more thing that you've probably noticed, Is right inside the door right there, that's exactly the area that I was talking about, the cut long four, and that's where it's welded, and that's what we have to get the quarter panel off of, and we have to save that part. You know I've been thinking about chisel tips, for a little bit here and what is, what makes it easier to get a spot weld out in some areas, and harder in other areas, and the spot welds are put in, and the factory usually uses a flange, and the quarter panel comes down, and then it flanges into the car, and it welds on top of the rocker here. And it makes a very strong joint. And so what I like to do is to take off the metals, so I wind up with one single plane of metal, to get the spot welds out. And the reason is, when I bring the chisel up to the spot weld, it's pretty simple to bend this metal. But if you have the metal, that still has the flange in it, and the spot welds are in it there. When you're trying to lift the metal, which you're going to see with the chisel, I'm here to tell you. You can't hardly bend it, and that's what it does, it just fights with the chisel. Quarter panel comes around the door jam area, again. I can't just come in here, and start taking this metal off, until I cut enough metal away, to come into a single plane. Again it's, it's just that basic. A single plane will bend, I can chip over. If you leave a flange in there, it's going to be so hard to lift the metal of the spot weld, you won't be able to do it, you'll tear stuff off. Now I want you to follow along with me and look. Watch what I'm doing with the chisel right here. I'm going to use the edge as a guide, and I'm just peeling the quarter panel off. What's the object again? I want the single plane metal, because it's spot welded down through the face. And now what I'm doing is I'm just using a chisel, and I'm running it right along that inner structure, as a guide, and again these are the things, you're going to get when you start playing with the chisel. Takes a little bit of time, but see how I can fold the metal back, and that's a single plane itself at this point. Doing what I want it to do, it's folding out of the way. Cause what do I want to do? I want to get on that face, and remove the spot welds. That's the real test of the chisel. Now watch the chisel pierce the door jam again, and the object? One more time, it's spot welded to that face, and I have to have a single plane of metal, but the caution here is, I'm barely piercing because if I continue to chisel in, it'll hit that inner structure piece, that carries the door latch. So, very carefully working along down there, and that's what you're going to do, is practice with the chisel, that'll put that face in a single plane, allow me to roll that metal off, push it over the spot welds. Right here, just cut it right through, right there. Now that single plane's right in front of me, and see I'm not just ramming it down on a spot weld. What I'm doing is I'm using the chisel, to push it over the top of the spot weld, and you'll see in just, pretty soon, I'll get enough purchase here, and use a couple different angles on it, when I come to the spot weld, see the metal lift away right there. Little bit to get started, now we can just catch them one at a time, single plane of metal, see I got behind it right there, and lifted it out of the way. It's all giving me advantage, to get over the top of the spot weld. Just going to have to play with chisel, but I'm telling you, it's a great tool. Now if you notice, right there what happened, General Motors didn't have that car welded very well, right there but it happens. But now, it's like butter. Okay, I'm approaching the bottom of the door jam, and you can see it's the same as the rest. I'm just using the chisel to come around the spot weld, and that will finish it up. Single plane metal, comes off every time.