Advice / Help with Shaping?

[tuffgong]

Hey guys - So I spent the last few days sanding (using 40 grit paper with guide coat), I am hitting metal in some areas, should I be staying away from the areas showing metal?

Some parts of the tank do seem to be coming into shape very very slowly the more filler I remove. Clearly last year I applied to much in certain areas. The red stuff you see is very hard to sand.

Any advice on how I would proceed with the bits showing metal, shall I skim some filler back over the exposed metal areas carefully so as not to mess the shape up?

Cheers in advance as always,

VJ

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[Len]

The metal showing are the high spots and it looks like you're very close to being finished. At that point I would probably either start sanding with a finer grit or spray on a good filler primer like Optex then guide coat and block sand using something like 400 grit wet paper.

[bmarler]

lens right, you're close. but i see those couple of high spots as a pain in the rear. plus, you've got a few different materials you're sanding that have different rates of removal when sanding. 40 grit is good for initial busting down, but i would have switched to 80 grit as soon as i got the surface broken.
you need to have a uniform material on the surface to work with so the optex is a great idea. before i did that though, i might tap down the high spots and give those areas a little skim of filler to fine tune. put away the 40 grit and start with 80. get it close and switch to 180. use guide coat. if you see the metal starting to show you'll need to stop and evaluate whether you have enough to finish or still need to add more. then spray the optex and guide coat as len says.
don't wait too long to switch to lighter grits, if you do there's not enough material there to remove the heavy scratch.
round stuff is such a pain.

[tuffgong]

Thanks guys, apologies for my late reply. I switched grades today, I skimmed some filler very lightly over the metal bits. I really have no skills tapping metal down so went with the filler option.

I can still - STILL - see some slight differences in shape, gosh this thing is a fuel tank from hell, geezz!! I have seen houses being built quicker then this thing! Its starting to frustrate me a little I have some more body work to do before I am ready for the high build I think...

Last year I bought the U-POL S2025 HIGH BUILD 2K PRIMER, I was hoping to spray the U-POL after bodywork was complete as opposed to Optex. Is the U-POL stuff the same as the Optex as is spray on filler primer?

Thanks again chaps for everything, tomorrow is a new day

Cheers,
VJ

[Len]

Thanks guys, apologies for my late reply. I switched grades today, I skimmed some filler very lightly over the metal bits. I really have no skills tapping metal down so went with the filler option.

I can still - STILL - see some slight differences in shape, gosh this thing is a fuel tank from hell, geezz!! I have seen houses being built quicker then this thing! Its starting to frustrate me a little I have some more body work to do before I am ready for the high build I think...

Last year I bought the U-POL S2025 HIGH BUILD 2K PRIMER, I was hoping to spray the U-POL after bodywork was complete as opposed to Optex. Is the U-POL stuff the same as the Optex as is spray on filler primer?

Thanks again chaps for everything, tomorrow is a new day

Cheers,
VJ

The problem is tha the metal is a "high spot" and applying filler over it isn't the answer however applying filler around it may help correct the shape. The U-Pol may work fine, I haven't used it but be sure to apply a guide coat prior to sanding.

That is a very difficult job to get perfect so don't lose faith, just have patients and you should be fine. Guide coat is your friend.

[tuffgong]

Thanks Len, wise words as always. I did just that, apply some filler around the high spots. I almost did loose complete faith the other day, what a project to start... most people start off with something straight lol..!

Many thanks again chaps,
Cheers,

VJ