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Just finishing up this Bondorific patch job on my rocker panel (and opposite side rear panel section) and need advice on how to finish things up. I believe I've read that bondo can be spread as thin as you want as long as it has good mechanical adhesion, but I'm wondering as I do these last steps if I might could use something else meant for filing in more nuanced scratches and little valleys.

Basically I've got both panels shaped about like I want (exposing some sheet metal along the way) and now I just need to fill in the 36 grit sanding marks on the bondo, cover the exposed aluminum, sand up to 800? grit, then go at it with color coats and then clear.

2 questions are...

- What should I use to fill in the bondo scratches and cover the exposed aluminum? body panels?...possibly some kind of high build primer?

- What's the minimum grit you need to sand (the primer?) up to before applying the color and clear coats? I've been told anywhere between 400-800. For the bonding between the color and clear coats I'll be timing them to take advantage of chemical adhesion.

note: Since this picture was taken I've added another skim coat of bondo to fill in those small bondo divots, but I should have those same 36 grit scratches after I sand it back down again.


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At the point in your picture there should be no more 36 grit used. A skim coat of metal glaze or thinned body filler is all that's needed. This should be block sanded down with 150 grit and then coated with something like a polyester primer, then blocked down with 220 grit after guide coating with some black chalk dust. I spray mostly 2 part base coat/ clear coat and never use anything finer than 400 grit before painting. You can actually sand so smooth that your new paint will not adhere like it should. The trick to a deep glassy finish is to put plenty clear coat, then wet sand down to 2000 grit and polish. The more work you put in the better the results..
 
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