Robert J. Donahue wrote:
>
> On the subject of body filler, I am finding quit a bit of
> filler under the paint on the TD, also grinding marks. The
> filler is white and I am wondering if it was put on
> at the factory. Was this standard practice back then? I find
> that if I strip a panel down to bare metal removing the filler,
> it is very hard to get it flat again. Did they have bondo back
> then, or was filler some other material?
Remove ALL filler by grinding, sanding, etc. It would NOT have been put
on at the factory. Depending on what panel you cannot get flat, you may
have distorted metal giving an "oil can" effect. (You press the metal
and it springs back to its distorted shape). The only way to solve this
is by heat shrinking the metal. This involves heating the center of the
oilcan dent to cherry red and then quenching with cold water. This may
have to be repeated several times. This will change the temper of the
metal, and the oilcanning should disappear. You can then hammer and
dolly the metal back to its original shape. If any filler is required,
it should be no more than 1/32 to 1/16 thick after feathering into the
surrounding material. If you do not have the tools or skill to do this
body repair, any body shop can help you.
Hope this is of some help.
Bill Harkins
Fallbrook, CA
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