[M_a_t_t]

Originally Posted by Cd

I didn't watch the video ( perhaps later, but for now it is not something I am even able to do because of lack of tools and garage space. )

So this may have been covered in the video, but if not, here are some general questions :

What would be the cost to do something such as a Honda Civic fender in normal guage steel ?

And aluminum ?

I know it varies, but a ballpark figure on the cheapest it could cost ? ( no free materials that is )

I'm assuming that when creating something such as a fender, you start with a wood "buck" that looks much like the cardboard inner structure Darin used on his Insight tail.
I assume you wack the metal till it roughly "drapes " around to shape.
You then continue pounding to get the metal shaped even closer to your buck.

But then here is the part I'm confused about : how does one get the metal to become perfectly smooth and straight without the use of body filler ?

I remember paint and body class in high school. It really surprised me how precise you have to be to get a smooth panel .

I am just getting into it myself and haven't watched the video either, so I don't know if I have the correct answer (plus there are usually more than one way to skin a cat).

If you mean material cost and assuming no mistakes were made I think you could get a big enough sheet of steel (at least from my local steel shop) for $10. No idea on aluminum, though I know the $ per the lb cut offs sold at the same shop are like 3x as much as steel.

I've never heard of the method you describe, though it certainly sounds like it has merit. The way I've seen it done is by using a teardrop mallet and a sandbag (not a literal sandbag, but pretty close) beat the panel into roughly the shape you want. Then english wheel the panel to make it smooth and finish the curvature. You could also just skip the hammer and go straight for the wheel, but it takes a lot longer.

Like I said, I am still a newb to this so this may not be a good way to do that.