Front fender body line re-do

[Lord Warlock]

My front fender on my 69 had some old damage that i found when I took the body down to bare metal,  rebuilding the panel has been challenging to say the least, as i've repeatedly encountered waves on the final coats.  I finally think i have the panel itself done,  but now i have to focus on the body line itself.  The line running the length of the fender, just above the wheelwell to the front of the fender disappears due to the body work that was done ages ago.

What is the best way to make a new body line?  tape it off and use primer to build up the level to the edge of the masking tape? then pull it off, adjust the tape to the top and then primer the bottom edge?  or to use filler instead?  I'm a bit paranoid to use filler as it invites more sanding to get the excess off which could reopen the problem of waves.  At least using primer i can gently sand the bottom part which is flat to cut an edge without making more waves.

This fender has been my bane now for several years, holding off the rest of the rebuild as i won't reassemble till the paint work is done.  spraying paint is the easy part, the underlying body work has been my challenge. 

[Patronus]

Tape it, alternating colors (easier to see) I would build up maybe 4 layers and use filler. Sand and prime each side independently.

[Dino]

Either tape it and build up filler in thin coats or...and I know you don't want to hear this...remove the filler and work the metal to get the dents out and your line back.  If you don't want to remove what you have on there now then don't use a hammer!

[Lord Warlock]

Removing the filler isn't really an option at this point, I already removed the filler and started over above the body line and finally got it almost correct (looks great dry, but when wet and viewed at a 45 degree angle down the side, can still see spots that could potentially cause waves in the paint coat when sprayed.  Plan on spraying a second coat of thick primer/sealer in the next few days to see if i can correct this. 

The body line itself I taped it and applied two layers of tape, then used pourable filler (thin filler) to the top and bottom of the tape edge which made a faint line appear and may do the trick.  Unfortunately there is no way i can work the metal itself out.  There really is no dent there anymore, whoever did the body work removed the dent itself, but its still depressed slightly where the flattened it some, taking some of the original curve of the panel out.  The original body work made the body line totally disappear from the center of the wheelwell to the nose.  Making a replacement line is the only way to use the factory original fender (the AMD units evidently don't come with an antenna hole-or i'd seriously be considering the replacement of the fender).  Given the fact that the fender is 90% straight, and is rust free, i prefer to use as much original hardware as possible in the rebuild. 

The irritating part right now is that the area where the damage was originally looks fine in the primer stage, there are now small waves in the reflections on a wet panel (after wetsanding), when looked straight on the fender looks fine, only when viewed at an angle is the imperfection noticable.  I've been block sanding with a foot long, and an 18 inch long flexible sanding board (durablock) hoping the waves eventually work themselves out. After a couple of years of attempts i'm reaching a point where i'll have to settle for almost good enough and just move on to other sections.  Managed to cut out and weld in new patch panels, smooth those just fine and paint them, but the front fender has such a visual impact with the smooth curves that I have trouble settling for less than 99% correct. 

[jaak]

I used the tape method too. I blocked one side of the bodyline using masking tape (also use a guide coat on your filler to see what you are doing). After I was happy with how it looked/felt I sprayed on a thick layer of polyester filler and blocked some more.....then another coat of polyester, blocking.....then two coats of urethane primer....blocking both coats. Lines are sharp and arrow straight.

One tip, sort of a pet peeve of mine, alot of folks block the line in all the way to the front edge of the fender (like in pic of general lee), when in fact it should feather out about 6-7 inches from the front edge (bottom pic). But its what ever floats your boat, I guess. Alot of people frown on filling in rear valance seams, and I did on my because I prefer the smooth look.





Good Luck,
Jason