Expert: William Forster - 4/13/2007

Question
I have a 65 Mustang that has been repainted with what appears to be two-stage paint.  There is no bondo on the car, but the finish has a slight "waviness" to it.  What is the likely cause and do you think I can wet-sand it out?

Answer
The slight waviness is probably from body filler, and from the fact the car was not stripped down to bare metal. When you sand out a stone chip or scratch, it leaves a divot in the paint. Primer does a pretty good job filling the divot, when properly done, but the end result is almost always a bit of waviness. I gotta tell you, I have a really tough time believing there is no filller work in a 42 y.o. Mustang, unless it has something like 25,000 origional, documented miles. The fact its been painted tells me otherwise. You just don't paint a car for the hell of it, there is always a reason. Without knowing the clear coat thickness on the car, I would be darn hesitant to try to block and buff the car. What if you go thru the clear? Then you are loookiing at expensive refinish work. These cars also did not have arrow straight panels. I would take it to a body shop, and get their opinion on the car. Bill