[jnprop]

This may sound stupid, but was body filler ever part of the production process for building cars in 69-70? The reason that I ask is; I have been stripping the paint off my 1970 LeMans. I took the fist coat off and that was white paint, the next was gray primer, the third was pepper green (which I thought was original), the next was red primer then I was down to metal. However, in several places, under the red primer plastic filler was used to smooth the body out. In fact, it wasn’t even sanded down! There isn’t rot or rust. It was just used to smooth the panel out. Maybe this car was completely stripped of the original paint, body work done (but not finished properly), and re-painted twice. But, I was wondering, can this have been done at the factory before original paint was applied? Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks
JP

[Colin]

Probably...........
I have a Firebird that has a rear spoiler thats covering a dent. Its a base 1981 Firebird that came with a V6.........the spoiler doesnt come on that car unless its ordered that way. I figure they just added it to cover the dent rather than repairing it.
I also had a Chevy truck one time that had a small amount of filler in it from the factory. I know that it had never had any body work done to it because it was owned by the same person since new.
Things happen when the cars are being built.............My Nissan truck got damged when they were loading it onto the truck for shipment to my dealer.

[CDJr]

Thats affirmative. It was common back then to have filler under the original paint from the factory

[sts]

You have been mislead by people who live in a fantasy world. The sad thing is that it shows that they are clueless to basic automotive construction. ON ALL CARS, they have used bondo since it was invented, and they are still using it today. Brfore bondo was invented, they used lead to fill similar joints.

[drew1967]

its used by the drum fulls on todays cars! how else do you think the factory would have flawless paint jobs?

[jnprop]

I never knew that. I've worked on forties and fifties cars and there was a small amount of lead used on the seams, but I was really surprised at the amount of plastic used in 69-70 and the lack of quality workmanship from the factory. Live and learn.

Thanks for the info,

JP