another ghost line question

[wade fischer]

I have searched all over and still dont know what to do at this point. I chopped the top on my car (39 ford coupe). I butt welded the seam on top solid. used kitty hair over that and then used bondo on top of that. painted black and the thing looked great, pulled it outside and the ghost lines showed up in two spots. pull it back in and they go away. i plan on taking it back down to the weld what do i build it back up with to avoid the ghost lines???????

thanks'

[Bob K]

Before you go to all that trouble, make sure there is something there and not just an illusion. I would do one little check on my work first. Plan on spraying another coat of base on the panel where the lines are to make sure you are not seeing the result of thin coverage on that spot. However before you spray the base coat take a hard block and some 1200 grit paper and block the clear to see if in fact there is a small high line or low line that is showing up. The first stroke of the sandpaper will tell you if there is a flaw or not. You will be using the gloss as a guide coat. If it is indeed flat then continue scuffing the area and shoot some base on and then clear it. Take it outside and see if you cured the problem. I would just do that check before I ripped up everything. It will only take an hour. If you fix the line that way then you can go ahead and scuff the top and quarters to put a final coat of clear on everything to hide your repair.

Bob K

[Len]

Black is a tough color because a seam in the metal can expand or contract with changes in temperature and show in that black finish. If it was a lighter color you wouldn't see it as much plus black gets mush hotter in the sun than a light color and the heat can cause the seam to show even more.

[wade fischer]

yeah I figured changing colors would alleviate some of it. Before i take it all back down and still not know exactly how to fix it , maybe i will try a test patch with another color. This one has me pulling my hair out.

[Len]

yeah I figured changing colors would alleviate some of it. Before i take it all back down and still not know exactly how to fix it , maybe i will try a test patch with another color. This one has me pulling my hair out.

Wade, I'm afraid I could have the same problem in my not-to-distant future. I'm working on a 40 Lincoln Zephyr that someone had previously chopped and my client wants it painted black after I finish customizing it and putting a TON of filler on it. I've already explained the problems of the expansion and contraction in the hot sun caused by the black but the client says he'll take the risk. I have a bad feeling about the future of this Lincoln.

[wade fischer]

I guess what ill end up doing is grind down again, try and get everything perfect and then go with a little lighter color. I wonder if a blue would be ok? I guess thats hard to know at this point. haha

[Len]

I guess what ill end up doing is grind down again, try and get everything perfect and then go with a little lighter color. I wonder if a blue would be ok? I guess thats hard to know at this point. haha

White, silver, yellow are all good colors. A light blue or silver blue would probably be ok but a dark blue is almost the same as black. And this problem is usually only a problem on the horizontal surfaces like the roof or hood and not as much of a problem on the sides.

[Henry]

I have searched all over and still dont know what to do at this point. I chopped the top on my car (39 ford coupe). I butt welded the seam on top solid. used kitty hair over that and then used bondo on top of that. painted black and the thing looked great, pulled it outside and the ghost lines showed up in two spots. pull it back in and they go away. i plan on taking it back down to the weld what do i build it back up with to avoid the ghost lines???????

thanks'

Try some Metal to Metal filler as I've read on this forum in the past. Do only one spot by grinding it all the way back down. Maybe you can tap the area down to allow more M 2 M. Hate for you to have to 'change' the color to something you don't want. Henry