OK- - - -you've got it roughed out- - - -now start the metal finishing process. Tack a piece of 80 grit sandpaper to a piece of 2X4 about a foot long, and scuff the surface of the metal to show up high and low spots. Bump the high spots down with a flat-faced body hammer, and use one with a slightly rounded contour to raise the low areas. Don't pound- - - -tap gently. When the surface of the metal is pretty much scuffed bright all over, spray a thin "guide coat" of cheap rattle can primer all over and switch to finer grit sandpaper, maybe 120 or so. Pretty soon you'll get to the point that very little body filler, if any at all is needed before you apply some sort of high-build primer and continue the smoothing process- - - -sand- - -prime- - - sand- - -etc. By switching to progressively finer grits of sandpaper, each thin prime coat will fill the scratches left behind by the block sanding. That's how we did it back when lacquer was the paint of choice, and the surfaces had to be glass-smooth before several coats of paint were applied, and then hand-rubbed.
Jerry
