Ford F-1 Bodywork - Mind The Gap - Tech

While the gap area was drying, I went ahead and worked the center section of the upper valence panel to give a reference of how high and low spots surface after the area has been block sanded down. In this example, the high spots are the bare metal sections while the unsanded, filler areas constitutes the low spots. This is how the first pass will look and each application of filler and consequential block sanding will get the panel closer and closer to perfection.

On a few occasions, the high spots are so much higher than the surrounding area that they need to be knocked down using a hammer and perhaps a dolly. This is important to remember as you don't want to build up an entire panel full of filler just to even out on high section. In this case, less is more when it comes to plastic filler.

With the filler given a good thirty minutes or so to "kick", it was time to block sand the area. I'm using 80-grit paper on a foam block that will conform slightly to the shape of the top of the fender and making sanding strokes that go all the way across the entire surface. Make alternating diagonal strokes as well so you don't make any low spots just running it back and forth on the panel.

To get the gap nice and straight once the panel was sanded, I used an old piece of 80-grit paper folded in half and simply sanded through the length of the gap to get a nice, crisp edge.

Here's the finished area, gapped and ready to rock.

If you're like me and lack a bit of bodyworking experience, chances are you're ability to lay down a nice, smooth coat of filler is lacking. Therefore, you may need to go back and fill a couple small pinholes and the like. That is what 3M Glazing and Spot Putty is for. It goes on easy and work great for touching up small areas.

For illustration purposes and to keep the surface from surrendering back over to Mother Nature, I shot a light coat of red oxide primer over the worked area. You can see that the gap area looks pretty good while the center section of the upper valence still needs some attention. When I come back to work the rest of the front sheetmetal and do my final block sanding, all this primer will be removed.