I just finished priming. I had to strip the car down to metal because the last owner painted the entire car in Krylon and many panels had been replaced. The guy at the shop has been giving me a lot of guff over my choice of 40 grit sandpaper for stripping purposes. He said it was too coarse and the scratches would show through the primer. It did in a few areas but not nearly as bad as he predicted. Now he's saying it will show after I spray the top-coat -- something to do with the surface tension. Also, there are a few dings that I missed and would like to fill.

1.) Should I believe this guy? He seems to do good work but he was wrong in his first prediction.

2.) After applying filler to some of the smaller blemishes, is it ok to just spray on some rattle-can primer over the filler?

 

I'd definitely would (rattle can) primer it again. The guy from the body shop know what he's talking about. It will show up 'bleed through'. I think it's Krylon, makes a filler\primer in a spray can. The stuff works good! Then wet sand with VERY fine sandpaper (400 grit). Run your hand across it as you're sanding, should feel like you're running your hand across glass. I forget who on this board said it, I think it was TomP, the quality of the end result is in the prep work.
Do a search, ALOT of great info!!!

 

Scratches are no big deal, you can just use "high build" primer to fill them in, however its best to avoid them if at all possible and use something a little finer like the person suggested.

 

If the scratches are deep, I would use spot putty to fill them. It comes in a little tube and acts like regular filler would, but it is very soft and pliable. You put it on with a small paddle and wait about 30 min, then sand with 320-400 grit. Then to make sure it is perfect, spray sandable primer over it and wetsand with 400 grit. I tore my front fenders down with 40 grit, and had to use this method. It worked perfect for me. I used 80 on the rest of the car without trouble

Matt

 

Oh, I forgot to mention that I primed it with high-build primer. Most of the scratches are gone an what's left, I think I can wet-sand out. That leaves the gouges that I guess I will spot puddy and primer over.

Also, the car was originally two-tone red with grey. Separating the colors were four stripes of grey, black, and white. I've been looking everywhere for pictures of this paint scheme but no luck. Anyone know where I can find some pictures. I want to make the car look stock. It's an 86.