Question on filler and primer.

[myredracer]

Have been working on a 60 year old body for going on two years and have had to replace many panels and do tons of rust repair along with many modifications. All the metal work is now done and am now in the process of putting on filler where needed.

I will be spraying on epoxy primer in the driveway and am running out of time before the weather gets really bad. After 2 or 3 months of hot & dry weather, we've had rain for about a week now. I need a few days to finish some media blasting and to do the primer and am in a mad rush to get the body ready to push outside as soon as the weather clears again.

Question is, can I do the filler work to as close as I can get it (without any high spots hopefully) and finish any needed filler work after the primer is on? I've been using All Metal filler. Great stuff, but dang it sets up fast. Would I continue with the All Metal over epoxy or switch to something else? Something with a somewhat slower set up time would sure help. I assume I can just use glazing putty over minor imperfections?

I did rolled wire edges on the fenders. Would I use filler or glazing putty to get rid of imperfections? Rolling the sheet metal over the 1/8" rod left some took marks that need to be dealt with.

Once I eventually get the filler work finished, can I spot spray very small areas if I sand through the primer inside my heated dry garage?

Just heading off to a store to pick up some Dura-Block sanding blocks. I have concave surfaces on front & rear fenders that need filler over the welds for the fender mods. and am hoping these will make it a lot easier.

Thanks!

Thanks!

 

[bradpac]

According to All Metal's instructions, it can be used over 2k Primers. So you should be good.

There are a lot of people who actually suggest priming all bare metal prior to using filler as an additional safe guard to seal the metal.

 

[ford33]

Yes. Continue your work and get it done. Prime as soon as you are able. Check to see if the primer will last through the winter. I had primed a car in the fall and discovered it was starting to rust again under the primer in March. I had to do some rework because the primer did not prevent rust. Check to see if you need to top coat the primer or you will be doing a lot of rework in the spring.

 

[ddawg16]

Any reason you didn't use solder?

From the sounds of your project, this is just not a quicky flip project....

Me? I would have been using solder....

 

[Two Door]

Here is a general answer to the primer/filler question. I assume it holds true for the All Metal filler as well as the one mentioned -

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/body-tech-bondo-101-magic-dent-erasing-compound.8318/

 

[HMCFab9]

You can put filler over epoxy primer. Just scuff it first.
I use All-Metal only for rough in. Use a regular filler to get everything straight. Rage filler is good stuff.
Lead is "old school" & it still works if you can find good lead & know how to do it properly, but there are better modern products available.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Any reason you didn't use solder?

Solder/lead takes more skill. Not that you can not learn it, but it takes time/practice.

I agree it makes a better job in the end.

 

[myredracer]

Have the filler work on the front & rear fenders pretty much done now. This was the majority of the filler work.

The car is a '58 Fiat 600 being built into a factory replica Abarth race car circa '62/68. The fenders on my car will look similar to the photo of the MOTUL race car. The car has new front fenders, nose panel, driver's floor rocker panels and various patch panels and pieces fabricated from scratch.

The 1st pair of front fenders I had did not fit on one side so I cut the lip area off and grafted it onto the 2nd set of fenders (the black ones in photo). For the rear, I cut out the out half of the inner wheel well to create the correct looking bulge. The outer lip area is new patch panel pieces. I trimmed the two pieces onto the body after much trial and error fitting with cardboard templates. After the new pieces were carefully tacked in place, I welded them up with my Mig and then ground and sanded the welds down, ready for filler.

If anyone is interested, I have a build thread at Xwebforums.com/rear engine Fiats: https://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/58-600-resto-mod-to-abarth-850-tc-nurburgring.33706/

 

[myredracer]

Any reason you didn't use solder?

From the sounds of your project, this is just not a quicky flip project....

Me? I would have been using solder....

Reason is twofold, one is that there was almost no lead used by the factory back then. They did use a little brazing in a couple of spots too. Lotsa putty to cover holes and seams all over the place and is still pliable. Second is because of the fender modification work I did as in the photos I just posted.

I will probably use a little lead where they originally did so it will do a better job of keeping water out and to make the joint a bit stronger.

The many various Abarth cars that were built back in the 50s & 60s had panels that were pounded out by hand and they used a lot of filler to cover things up. Many of the coachbuilt ones were aluminum so filler was the way to go.

Here is a general answer to the primer/filler question. I assume it holds true for the All Metal filler as well as the one mentioned -

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/body-tech-bondo-101-magic-dent-erasing-compound.8318/

Great info., thanks.

 

[Two Door]

Nice work on your project. I had a friend in the late sixties/early seventies who had a 600 sedan and then an 850 coupe. We had a lot of fun in them, I can understand the attraction.