Checking 72 skylark body for straightness

I had posted another thread earlier about sanding the sail panel area of this body style where the vinyl top trim wouldve gone. And after many many months of sanding and shaping i think i have everything straight and smooth. My question is, is there a way to check for smoothness in the paint using black spray primer and a wet spray like water or a cleaner or something like that to give it a temporary gloss shine so i can visually see it? As opposed to spraying the whole car in two different colors of primer and blocking everything down, any and all help is appreciated and welcome

 

I am still in progress with my blocking, but I used wax and grease remover in a spray bottle to wet the car down.

 

Does the wax and grease remover evaporate very quickly?

 

Wax and grease remover works well for checking but , I just use guide coat myself

 

They call it "guide coating".

 

Would that be like a graphite based guide coat? Do i have to order that through a company like eastwood or could i get it at like a local auto paint store

 

Wouldnt i have to sand it off if the panel wasnt straight? Im not opposed to using like a spray can of gloss paint, but the only bad part is sanding the entire back half of the car trying to sand off the glossy finish of that lacquer paint. Or could i use enamel reducer on the lacquer? Im new to checking body panels for straightness

 

That would make sense haha im sorry that went cometely went over my head, i will work more on checking with the various guide coats tonight and will try to post pictures if i can

 

You can use spray paint on the filler, I don't recommend using it on the primer when blocking it tho. And yes I use the powder guide coat or the spray can version for filler work, on my primer I spray a base color if it's a large area, or I use spray paint just gotta be sure to get it all off

 

Go to your paint supplier and get the 3M 05861 Guide coat and applicator. There's enough to do a lot of area. Usually when you have been sanding on the car for a period of time and if you are blocking it out properly you will develop a "feel" for when it is right or close to right. Also, look closely at the surface while you are blocking and look for different shades indicating high areas and or low areas. Keep working it now to avoid surprises later. Now is not the time in the process to get lazy. The car will be as straight as you want it to be. Can you post a few pictures of what you have?

 

Yes i will try to post a few pictures here shortly

 

How can i post the pictures? Everytime i go to post pictures it tells me there was an error

 

Sorry, I think I misunderstood your question. I definitely use guide coat during the process (a dusting of spray paint). When I think I am finished with a particular grit, I spray on the wax and grease remover as a final check for waves before moving on to a finer grit. Just wanted to clarify.

 

Youre fine, yes i was asking about using a wax and grease remover, or another liquid similar to it, to check for straightness after sanding the back half of the car

 

Most body men use rattle can. But should be SEM. It does not have a high build. If use a gloss black to heavy. Load paper. False reading. I use Dupont black Epoxy sealer on bare metal. Shows everything. Then when Bodywork all done. I use black primer. Put three coats on. Shows everything. That’s the nice thing about using German Products. They give you all those options. And DuPont owns Spies Heckler.

 

Yes bodymen use solvent. To check right after the wipe. Aluminum thin yardstick Priceless

 

When you block primer or mud . That metal showing is telling you everything

 

If I have a panel with a lot of mud work and I’m happy with the straightness. I puta high build primer on panel . Sand off primer until I almost break through on edges
Metal showing. I then go to Primer surfacer (sealer) witch is designed to top coat the highbuild. I’ll put 3 coats on then board off. When I see edges bare metal. You done