Finally got that quarter panel to line up after a mess of a morning

I was working on a 2018 Honda Civic at the shop over on 5th street, and the rear quarter panel just would not sit flush no matter what I tried. I must have spent a good 45 minutes adjusting the mounting tabs and even tried a little heat on a stubborn spot. Finally I realized I had the inner structure pinched out of alignment from when I welded it, so I had to grind out a couple tacks and redo it. Once I got that sorted, the panel dropped right in with a perfect gap. It felt so good to step back and see it all clean after wrestling with it for two hours. Has anyone else fought a Honda quarter that just won't cooperate?

2 comments

2 Comments

emeryfox2d ago

Wait, you had to grind out tacks on a brand new quarter? That's brutal, man. I'd have been ready to throw my welder across the shop after that.

wren8262d ago

emeryfox I gotta push back a little. Grinding out a few tacks on a brand new quarter sucks, for sure, but it's not the end of the world. That's just part of metal work, you know? A flap disc on a grinder makes short work of that stuff, and then you just lay down a nice clean bead over it. Maybe I'm just too used to doing touch ups on my crew's mistakes, but I see that as a ten minute detour, not a shop throwing event.