Body Filler tricks to get body lines straight.....

I am buidling an off topic car for my mother and have welded in some patch panels. They welded in with minimal problems and with little to no warping. However, I got a little ahead of myself and a major body line isnt lined up exactly perfect. It is a concave body line and it is only off by less than 1/64 but you will still see it if you look right at it. Do any of you guys have good tricks for getting perfect body lines with a little filler? It seems like i sand almost all of my filler off every time I apply. Thanks!

 

Run a piece of masking tape mid way of the body line your are trying to work. Apply your body filler up to and just over the edge of tape. As the body filler start to thicken but before it sets up, pull the tape off. You can then work up to this edge, then fill in with body filler on the side you had the tape. Sounds crazy, and I did not do a good job of explaining the process, but try it.

John

 

^^^ what he said.
you can also apply multiple layers of tape to change the hight needed for the line.

for example you need a 1/16", but the tape is only 1/64" lay up 4 strips of tape and like WZ JUNK said apply filler accordingly, and peel aways as the plastic filler just starts to set. wait to long and your screwed, so try this on a piece of cardboard, thick paper, scrap metal first.

 

Good ideas guys! Thats the way I have been trying it. Just loosing patience........ Maybe I am just being too anal................

 

Like the boys said and one trick I do is to keep all my lines sharp. Most body line have a smooth edge.hard to get if you keep rounding off the edge. I do all my body lines with sharp crisp edges and when the lines look right I then lightly cut the edge down for the stock finish.Another trick is to take a black spray bomb and lightly dust over the line in question before you start sanding.Cut one side of the line till it looks right,respray and cut the other side of the line. This way you see how strait you lines are.

 

As described by 'fitzee' guide-coat is your friend! You can use it to determine how straight your bodyline is but also how much definition it has.

Dan Stevens
dba, Steelsmith

 

I work concaves a bit differently than others. I tackle the concave first, totally ignoring the intersection of the other body plane.

After all the metal prep, I apply filler and sand it out to "close to right, machine tools, might take 2 wipes. Then I begin hand work using a tube form wrapped in sandpaper. Working at 45deg angles to the body line, I sand in an X pattern with the pressure exerted within the concave and never over the edge. This allows the paper to go past the body line without sanding over it.

I work the concave section until "almost satisfied", then apply filler outside the concave if needed. I work the filler down to a sharp edge, using the marker coat method mentioned above to fine tune the edge from both directions.

Then soften the edge to match.

 

Icing is real creamy and easy to sand ,I used masking tape and bodyfiller and Icing .

 

WZ JUNK did a good job explaining that...thats how it's done.

 

Thats a good idea,I also found out if you rough it in with 36 grit paper on a long board,reapply and work with long diagonal strokes with 80 grit,stopping long before it finished.Finish with 180 very gently checking with a straight edge and your hands. A guide coat will be very helpfull as well.

 

I cheat usually make a mold off good part of body line with bondo. Works perfect for reveals and those long staight lines. Sometimes takes all the skill out of equasion when you have a sanding block in the shape of what you are trying to achieve

 

Easy...build up your filler a bit too thick on both sides of the body line.
Using a good flat block, sand down the flattest panel of the body line planes. Don't worry about the body line itself, just get your panel straight!
Take a straight edge, and pencil and draw your body line on your flat panel, using the other panel's line to be sure they match.
Put a piece of masking tape on the "good" panel to protect it, following the pencil like exactly, and then using the appropriate sanding tool, cut in your other part of the panel, up to the tape edge, just touching it.
When it's perfect, remove the tape, and with some 180 grit, carefully sand the sharp body line to match the radius it should be. Like the guys said, guide coating helps a lot here.