I have made all of the metal repairs to my '38. Where I could, I used lead to fill any low spots and it has worked really well. In areas that had rust I have had a very hard time getting good adhesion of the lead so I cleaned and used body filler. I put the body filler on, sand it down, put more filler on to fill the low spots, sand more, repeat, repeat. The problem is on the front fenders. They are a very smooth, long curves and I either sand off to much or to little and cannot seem to get the contour back to where it should be. On straight panels it's easy, use a flat sanding device. Even if I use a flexible sander I still seem to not put the right amount of pressure where it is needed on the fenders. Is there any trick to this?

Thanks,

Brian

Compound curves are a problem. If you use any sand paper or abrasive paper the sheets want to stay flat in atleast one dimension. You can use damp paper and a damp sponge to get a more three-dimensional curved surface, you can dish out the sponge to approximate the surface or you can use some of the abrasive pads. 3M makes several different pads. Go slow and use your hand instead of a pad will also work. If you lightly spray a coat of primer and alterante colors before you sand it will help locate the high and low spots. Good luck it takes practice and patients.

When the lead didn't take I cleaned and pickled the area, cleaned, then applied a rust block paint to the area. The problem appears to be that the lead will not adhere to any oxidized metal. In my case I was working on areas that had been dented years ago and the water had eaten tiny little divits into the metal surface. I couldn't remove all of the rust no matter how much work I did on the area. When I tried the lead, it pulled back from any area that had rust. So I coated the surface and used the body filler. The problem is that there were many little dents with rust covering the fender. I beat them up as best I could but they were never quite smooth as the rust hd thinned the metal. Now as I put on a very thin layer of filler I find that the overall conture was affected by all the damage/repair.

I sort of figured you would say "keep going, it will work". It seems that for every pound of filler I use only 1 ounce stays on the car....

Brian

Bigbth
When sanding a compound curve stop when you think you are about half done and check your work put a clean rag under your hand and rub the surface.Its common to take to much filler off. Another good idea is to use an all metal type filler as it will not asorb water and it works more like lead.Also never put plastic filler over an area that has tinning acid on it,it wii come back through your top coat.{the voice of experince).Good luck.

How do I verify the curve is correct? I have been using a piece of steel that I bend over the curve and look for gaps but it looks like the metal may not be conforming to the contour correctly. Do I have more work to do or should I try another method to check the curve?

Brian

Blgbth

if your working on the front fenders of your 38 you can be off a little on your contour and it will not show .if your close with a gage.learn to use the flat of your hand.rub lightly up and down over the area keepimg your hand flat ,a thin rag under your hand will show up any defects after a while you wii get the feel of it.Try sanding compound curves with the flat of your hand three differant directions. It should work it does take a lot lf practice. I have been doing body work for fifty years and still learn things

Thanks guys. I have been using the four direction technique, NW to SE, SW to NE, N to S, then E to W. After about an hour of sanding you start to think that no normal person would do this so I must not be doing it right. If I feel any imperfections does that mean they will show? What I feel is as I run my hand from the top of the wheel well to the front bottom of the fender the curve seems to flatten out about half way through. It lasts for about one and a half hand widths. It feels as thought the radius has changed slightly.

Brian