Ready for paint?

Hey guys!
i just registered for this forum because i was just doing some random searching on the net for parts/ideas for my 65 ranchero project and i came across this forum. This is a great place for help and advice so i decided to join the community. so here in lies my question...


me and my father have been vigerously working on restoring a 65 ranchero that my grandfather gave to me. so far, we have welded on the tailgate, made a roll pan, shaved the door, removed all chrome, relocated the gas filler behind the driver tailight, removed the bed rail lip that the bed chrome bolts to, ect We have used alot of Metal to Metal body filler instead of Bondo because the man at the paint shop suggested its durability and life to be much more significant that bondo. Before i spray on the primer, i sand the area with 100 grit paper, then 200 grit making sure to get all the scratches off the filler, then prime. Because the filler tends to leave small pits in my finished product, i was wondering if skim filler is the answer so i dont have to reapply more filler to the area and perform more tedios sanding? can skim be applied over primer? does it have a long life? is it durrable? I was also wondering if i should even worry about the tiniest pits, because i do plan on spraying the whole car with a high build primer before applying paint. will this primer fill the spots? and i doing this all right? any suggestions? was this thread way too long???

thank you all for your more experienced responses and suggestions. Im just a 17 year old kid trying to get his truck done before his senior year is over. This is also my first time working with filler....

Man I am so sick of hearing how BONDO is bad , guys that think they know have no clue and give such bad advice its unreal !
Body Filler has become so advanced today its the only thing to use ! Been using it for 30 years . ( as long as it isnt layed on a half inch thick )

OK off my soap box :-p

Now to answer your question , depending on the primer you sprayed , most Paint Manufacturers have a polyester filler for filling MINOR imperfections and is compatible with their primers , and sands very easy . ( it will need a coat or 2 of primer over it as it will soak up if sealed and painted ) .

SprayTech

Welcome to CHR

Yes you should use skim filler for the pits. Be sure you work it into the hole though, otherwise it will just cover the pit and not fill it. Also you should put a thin coat over the entire area you're working on, this will help prevent waving in your panel.

Body filler works just fine for straightening surfaces. Metal 2 metal is great stuff if it's on bare metal. BONDO is a brand name, I use evercoat filler. It hasn't failed me yet.

Good luck and drop us a line if you have more questions.

Oz

I only called it BONDO , instead of Body Filler because everyone in the industry calls it Bondo or Plastic , never used the Brand Bondo , as I always use PPG's Body filler's .
Just wanted to mention this .

You shouldnt have to cover the whole area if its minor imperfections , if your filling sand scratches and wavey body work , then it wasnt ready for primer . ;) as the polyester puttys can be used over the body filler for filling the imperfections before priming too . ( FYI )

Just dont use the old Lacquer spot putty of years ago , as it will shrink , and you will see everywhere you used it after a few months !

SprayTech

Welcome 65 to the club,
Spray- check me on this as I'm not 100% sure but didn't they zinc dip the Fords in the 60's? I know the 65 Thunderbird I just did was zinc'ed and I had to epoxy seal it.
This will also give you more of a build for your primer surfacer. unfortunatly sanding is the only way to achive the prep 65 and you will sand a bunch more I'm afraid. I prime & then block it down with 180 grit to check for high & low spots, and then prime again (3 coats each time), cross cut this prime coat with a soft pad, and then prime again for the wet sand with 400.
With all this body work you've done I would then seal it with a QUALITY sealer (I like Crossfire ) and let it set for a couple days.
Wet sand it with 600 & paint & clear.
Good Luck & let us know how it comes out.

I have had tremendous success with Evercoat "metalglaze" polyester finishing and blending putty #100416.
It is a 2-part putty that requires a hardner, and it can be applied over body filler or primer, (not bare steel). It dries quickly, sands very easy, and doesn't seem to shrink, even when applied fairly heavy ( like up to 1/16" thick).
You will need to seal it with primer before spraying finish coats of paint over it, or it will suck the shine out of the paint applied over top of it.

If you want ranchero advice ask Dave he has one wwild contrapsion on the horizon. As far as using filler, there are quite a few really good brands. I use icing (polyester filler) to go over all of my filler to fill the pin holes and to allow for finish sanding with finer sand paper and retaining a straighter surface. Use 2K primer surfacer ( this will raise many opinions on which is best) block sand and seal with epoxy primer. Now your project can sit until you are ready to paint.

thanks everyone,

hambiskit- i think i should be ok on the zink... we stripped down the ENTIRE truck with that aircraft pait remover from kragen.... took two gallons but it was down to the bare metal before i knew it. then the truck got a good sanding before any body work was down in each area.

i just finished the roof of the cab today, the driver side, pass side, and the rear had many good sized dings that were inaccesable due to the funky inner structure.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by SprayTech
[B]Man I am so sick of hearing how BONDO is bad , guys that think they know have no clue and give such bad advice its unreal !
Body Filler has become so advanced today its the only thing to use ! Been using it for 30 years . ( as long as it isnt layed on a half inch thick )


I'm with you on this one spray.. I dont' know where they get there miss information from.. it's rather irritating..

Just remember that at least half the cars you pass on the road have body filler somewhere. Can't see it, can you? I guess if that many people use it.......it must be okay!.....or they wouldn't use it!.....right?

most of the cars i see are cheap imports with plastic and stickers all over them...and indeed alot of filler. We are using this Metal 2 Metal filler which seems to do a much better job than Bondo brand.

I like the ppg lightweight myself and the rage xtreme...