after that.
On the roof of this car, however, we see that the paint is crazed and checked. Assuming only the top coat of paint is so affected, it either has to be completely sanded off (down to stable undercoats), or strip just the roof of the car, either by media-blasting or liquid hand-stripping. If the checking isn’t too bad, you might be able to sand it smooth and coat it with today’s catalyzed high-fill primer. But often such checking will “telegraph” (through shrinkage) back to the surface, especially after new paint is rubbed out.
How can you tell if a car has filler in it, especially if it’s painted and looks smooth? The first clue is to check the backsides of any panels accessible to see (or feel) if they’re wrinkly or wobbly. Some people can “hear” filler just by rapping their knuckle along the outer body. Otherwise, I have seen numerous “filler finder” devices that use spring-loaded magnets, or are battery-powered with lights or beepers. However, a simple, small refrigerator magnet, like the two shown here, can work just as well, especially if you use the same one regularly and get to know its “feel.”
Let’s use my ’52 Chevy as an example of how you can use high-fill primer. We know this car only has factory paint, except where I’ve spotted it in with lacquer, such as here on the trunk, where I removed the handle/emblem, welded up the holes, ground them, then added a thin coat of filler and sanded it smooth before priming, spot painting, and rubbing it out. It looks okay here, but I could still see ripples in it after a few months’ shrinkage.
Some sanding with 180-grit paper on a long board quickly revealed low areas. But they’re not deep enough to require new filler. In the lower panel you can see two small high (bare) spots that uncovered themselves from this block sanding. I tapped them down level with a body hammer and dolly; they won’t require filler either.
Since I know this paint surface is stable, I sprayed it with a few coats of catalyzed, high-fill primer.
Again using the long board with 180-grit and sanding at 45-degree angles, both left-to-right and right-to-left on this curved surface, it didn’t take long to level the area, using only the primer and existing paint as “filler.” If you hit bare metal during this process, it’s best to spray these spots with an etching sealer, or at least more primer, before spraying base color.
But this option we’re discussing pertains to vehicles that you know or suspect have had some bodywork done, and you assume it has been done properly because nothing indicates otherwise. In such cases I suggest not stripping the car because most types of stripping either remove existing filler, or “infect” it with chemicals so it must be removed. Opinions differ on this issue, but I think it’s smarter to be an optimist. Given that you’ve checked carefully for any real gremlins, and the body looks good the way it is, sand it down and repaint it. Even if it’s a little wavy, do your block sanding on what’s already there, if it’s a stable surface. Add some high-fill primer or spot putty, as needed. But consider yourself lucky you didn’t have to go through the major job of stripping and a bunch of arduous bodywork. If you keep this car for years and it starts showing signs of some missed rust or improper bodywork, either fix those spots or strip the whole car at that point, rather than assuming it from the start.
Here’s another good example of metal that doesn’t need stripping. This is a ’56 VW door, but it could be a whole car. Amazingly, after 50 years, it still has factory-original paint on it—the fact the inside matches the outside is a good clue—with virtually no dents, and very complete.
My son purchased a pair of these for $100 each for an early Bug he’s rebuilding (much simpler and cheaper than fixing the ones on the car). They were shipped from Australia, and what minor surface rust is on them appears to have occurred on the boat trip.
The first place to check for serious rust on any car is at the bottom edge of the doors, which should have unclogged drain holes to let water out. These have minor surface rust, but no nasty rust coming from inside out.
On the other hand, if you’re a true pessimist or Doubting Thomas, and you don’t know what lies under the painted or primed surface of your vehicle, there’s only one way to find out—strip it to bare metal. This is the final option, and it’s the only viable one if you know the body has too many layers of paint already, has obvious problems with existing paint not adhering to the body, has bodywork you can tell is bad (including excessive filler), or shows visible signs of rust. The only question, given this fourth option, is how to strip the body.
So Strip It
First the don’ts—please don’t take a grinder, or any kind of rotary sander, to the body to try to strip all the paint off. Not only does a grinder not reach into lots of areas that need to be stripped, but it scars the surface and actually removes metal, which you do not want to do during the stripping process. If you use a big body grinder, it not only gouges the surface, but it can also heat and warp the sheetmetal. During the stripping process, you want to remove everything except metal from the body.
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