Skim coat application

[rod7515]

I watch a lot of overhauling and I see each time they are doing body work it looks as thou they skim coat the entire body then block their cars from there. Is this normal or am I not understanding what they do. Also how heavy or thick is the skim coat put on. I ask this because I am just about finished sanding my 66 dart down to the bare metal which means I hope to at least get it into a coat of primer this weekend then start blocking the car during the winter. I didnt find any past body work on the car so its pretty straight but I want it to be nice when Im done.
Thanks Rod

 

[omahamoparguy]

yes, in the world of show cars built in a short amount of time, it makes perfect sense. I dont think Foose needs to worry about the price of a couple of extra gallons of plastic filler and yes it is a timesaving endeavor. The vast majority of the filler ends up on the floor and you can be assured that the panels will be near perfect straight. Now for the do-it yourselfer, maybe its not the best way to go due to cost. the filler ends up not too thick as you would think.

 

[DesertRat]

I can give you my opinion FWIW. I do all my own body & paint and from what you describe you should not have or want to skim coat the whole car. Opinions vary but after I had mine sanded as far as I was going to, I painted the whole car with 2 part epoxy sealer. Then sand for adhesion and start with a heavy bodied high build primer and start blocking and priming with that using filler or glaze as required. When you get close, use a "guide coat" to locate low spots and prime & block until the car is straight. You will hear lots of ways to do your job but that is how I get a car ready for color. The color application is another conversation.
Best of luck with your project, nothing quite as rewarding as an owner applied nice paint job!
DR:coffee2:

 

[YY1]

Graveyard cars does that too. You are basically eliminating and then recreating every body line on the car

Lots of pro body guys will tell you EVERY car needs one to get straight panels but this is BS because my 73 has factory metal with no skim coat and is pretty damn straight.

The main problem (besides all that) is that it absolutely WILL come apart from the metal eventually, unless it's almost never driven and stays in a climate controlled environment.

 

[GeorgeH]

Depends on the vehicle I guess. I only put filler on where it's needed. If the vehicle is really rough it would make sense to skim coat it as opposed to piling primer on to get it straight. Too much primer film build is not stable. Sometimes when fixing a large panel such as a hood or roof the dent wants to run as your fixing it so coating the whole thing can actually save you time.

 

[Butchie7284]

I would just buy a gallon of Slick Sand and blast it on, block it straight, then seal and paint! Slick sand is a sprayable polyester primer. It's pretty much like a sprayable finishing filler. Instead of blocking out swipe marks from your bondo spreader, this lays on a thick smooth block able surface.

 

[ir3333]

i saw an article a few years ago on an Olds that took top honours in a high end show.
The magazine detailed the resto and the amount of filler on the frame and floors alone was substantial.
The body had extensive patches and was completely covered in filler and re sculptured.
You would never know after the show quality paint and finish was completed.Everything was hidden and the car was spectacular.