Ok so I've been building this 88 base Camaro that I bought I noticed a tiny little crack in the paint a year ago, I thought it would be fine but now the whole roof is getting them and they're bad. Any advise on how to fix, bondo maybe? I've never used bondo...

 

Your description is pretty vague, but if it is in fact just the paint cracking, there's absolutely no need for bondo. Just sand down and repaint. Post up some pictures of the damage if you can.

 

ok so i took some pics i also popped a piece of the paint off to see if it was the factory bondo it is. problem is ive never used bondo so i dont know what to do next.

 

that doesnt look like bondo, it looks like the paint pulling up all the way to the metal. these cars had a recall a long time ago (clearly you're past the allotted time to send your car for the recall) where the primer wasnt sticking to the metal, so the paint was just popping off in sheets. like musclecar70fan said, only thing you can do is sand it all to bare metal, and paint it again.

Keep in mind: this is the roof of the car, it sees a lot of sunlight and is beaten up by it all the time. I can see where it looks like clearcoat or just the paint coming up (the blotchy colors)

 

That's not factory paint. Looks like super thick bondo cover up. I'll bet your roof was either hail damaged or badly surface rusted. I would pull your headliner and see what the backside looks like.
I think you are going to have a lot of work to do fixing someone's half assed cover up.

 

Also, as fare as I know there is no factory bondO...

 

well i know it has to be damaged because when i stick my finger in the spot that i peeled up the metal is dented in. I thought maybe at the factory when the car was made there was some imperfections in the metal so they kinda like bondo it. idk i've heard so many stories.

 

 

**** if it were a t-top i wouldnt have to worry about it lol

 

+1 on hail or some other damage repaired, and badly. Probably have it on the hood and hatch as well. When the paint issues happen that was mentioned earlier, it peels off in sheets to the primer.

 

yes the hood has it too but the hatch is fine, im putting a light weight fiberglass hood on anyway. so do i have to sand the entire car down to bare metal?

 

Only where it needs it. If the rest of the paint is fine and not coming off like that there is no reason to do un-necessary work.

 

Is there frame ties on your car? Maybe a bit too much chassis flex causing the issues you're having?

 

Roof will always flex a little even with sfc, bondo that thick would have cracked eventually. Just a great example of why you can't just bondo the crap out of stuff.

Might want to look at the underside before you put too much work into removing the bondo. If it's not just little dents but a big dent like a tree fell on it , you might save time by knocking out the dent from beneath, the bondo will come off in big chunks.

 

Yep. Additionally, for clarification, there never has been a recall on peeling paint for these cars. There was a Technical Service Bulletin in the late 80s/early 90s that covered most paint peelers, but there was never a recall.

 

From what I understand the factory DOES use some sort of filler in a few spots on the back half of the car. More of a seam filler though where they weld the roof/quarters together I think. But it's nowhere near that thick.

 

Bad body work and paint there. Not from the factory as stated.

Yes, the factory does use a small amount of seam sealer where the quarter meets the roof, but thats not what you are dealing with here.

That car needs to be striped to bare metal, and have a proper bodywork/paint job done.

 

Other than cutting in a new roof, I don't see how they are going to fix it without the same amount of filler going back in.

I guess, they could try to tap the big ones from the inside, level them and then add filler but. A junk roof is usually a junk roof.

-- Joe

 

It's like a copper line. Some time of tinning I guess. If you've ever seen a thirdgen mediablasted it stands out.

-- Joe

 

Without actually seeing the dents it's hard to say what can be done.
If it is infact hail damage, those type dents can easily be

 

Yep, I believe they use a brazing process. When I striped my iroc it had the copper line, heck even my 55 chevy had the copper colored line at the seams.