How to Create a Bodyline With Body Filler

Working with body filler is challenging, especially for a novice. The slightest imperfection in the job always shows when the car is painted. For example, hand-sanding without a flat sandpaper holder always shows the individual's fingers as stripes or striations in the final finish. Harder still is making a straight bodyline, a task difficult by sanding technique alone. The end result is an irregular line -- wavy and disjointed -- an unsatisfactory result that is easily avoided.

Instructions

1

Sand the existing layer of body filler into a rough approximation of the bodyline you wish to produce. Several succeeding thin layers of filler are needed to create a sharp crease in the line, so an initial approximation is all that is needed.

2

Clean the roughed-in area with a shop towel dampened with water. Let it dry, then lay out the seam with a beginning and ending point using a small piece of tape. Set the tape back, away from the actual seam.

3

Peel off a 3-inch section of tape, but do not tear it off the roll. Lay this section along the seam line you wish to create, press it firmly into place, then walk backward unrolling the tape, keeping it taunt, until you reach the other end of the body seam.

4

Lay the tape along the seam line, all the while keeping it tight. Firmly press the unrolled end along the seam, tear it off, then press the entire length of tape onto the seam. The result is a perfectly aligned guide to apply filler against. Don't worry about getting filler on the tape.

5

Apply body filler, and let it set. Before it fully hardens, remove the tape. Once the filler has set, sand it smooth using a sanding board and progressively smoother sandpaper, resulting in half the seam being created. To create the other half, repeat the same steps, but apply the tape to the side you have just sanded.