need help with body work

[hellonwheelz3]

I'm building the '49 mercury and have an ill fitting hood. I dont have a file that I am comfortable using, so my question is, Can i use the putty to fill in that gap? What do you guys recommend?

[Guest Gramps-xrds]

You can add some Evergreen strip to the edges and sand it to fit.

[BigGary]

  Gramps-xrds said:

You can add some Evergreen strip to the edges and sand it to fit.

Have you noticed that the nail files you find in the cosmetics dept. are in various grits? They are great for model work. Black is the coarsest grit, about 100, and pink is the finest, about 320. They are less then $2 at most stores and alot more at your LHS, Michael's, etc.

Gary

[MikeMc]

  BigGary said:

Have you noticed that the nail files you find in the cosmetics dept. are in various grits? They are great for model work. Black is the coarsest grit, about 100, and pink is the finest, about 320. They are less then $2 at most stores and alot more at your LHS, Michael's, etc.

Gary

These work well as they are sanding sticks not files.....try em!!

[jbwelda]

you may be wondering, why is he telling me to use plastic to fill the hole when it just seems simpler to put some putty on there and sand it smooth.

the problem is that putty isnt a very stable substance, it will take a long time to truly cure and will shrink or do other things during that time period. especially when you paint over it, it will shrink and your smooth body work will get lumpy.

using plastic, which is a much more stable substance, will help make your repair permanent. you should try to fill as much as possible with plastic and then only use the putty in the joints between parts. you will really minimize the "ghosting" of the repair over time.

believe me it took me a long while to realize the wisdom of what seemed like a lot more work at first.