My 2 cents on fillers and body repair....
Some of the newer materials for body repair from Evercoat and 3M are terrific for us amateurs. Rule of thumb should be to work the metal back as far as your metal working talents allow, then use these materials as thin as possible. I just finished the body work on a 51 Panel. HUGE expanses of flat and sightly curved metal on the top and sides especially. On this job I worked the metal as best as I could, welded in my new patch panels, then proceeded with using Evercoat products. I use the waterproof, fiberglass stranded product for the first thicker filler coat.
In the following blocking processes I used their lighter, highly sand-able product. Great results.
I used these products 12 years ago on a 49 Willys-Overland Jeepster. That was in terrible shape. After 11 years with three stage pearlcoat over these products there have been zero issues with blistering, bubbling, flaking, etc.
It's pretty much a common sense, buying good materials, and following the directions. Learning how to properly block sand to minimize high and low spots will be your greatest challenge....
Have fun ..... you are in good company here!
mike
