One thing body work professionals have in common, is the anticipation and excitement to see all their hard work pay off when it’s painted. The entire process, the hundreds of hours of block sanding, is all so the finished product is spectacular. There are some principles to the process, and when followed, the results benefit dramatically. Bobby O’Dowd’s work, as pictured, is proof.
There are several things to take note of in these pictures, all of which accumulate to better results.
- In the first picture, note what is in body work, and what isn’t yet. A big rule of thumb is to body work one section at a time. This is far more efficient, and makes for crisper work.
- The grit. All the body filler, in every stage, is finished with between 80-150 grit. Less to shrink, more exact block sanding, and less pin holes when re spreading filler.
- Each panel is irrelevant. There is no attention paid to where the door, fender or quarter panel starts and stops. It is treated as one shape, and then the panels just cut out of it.
- Attention is given to the areas that still need filler, and the areas that are good. Use long pieces of aluminum flat stock as a guide. There’s no need to add more filler to the areas that are already high. The best way to where those areas are, is by using the flat stock.
- This is a very difficult shape to get correct, and when you do the work methodically, it doesn’t make it easy, but it definitely helps.
