Painting Prep question

[Nanoose]

I'm prepping to paint my Series 1. It's been painted before (at least once) and am curious if most people fill the tack weld spots in the body or leave them alone. Thoughts?

Thanks,

Dave

[Jim-ME]

Personally I'd leave them alone. That is the way they came from the factory.
Jim

[Skeeball]

what Jim said

[Nanoose]

Perfect, that's what I was hoping to hear!

Thanks,

Dave

[Terrys]

If you're talking about the spot-welds, how would you find them when it's time to drill them out for panel replacement? It's all part of the Landy charm.

[TedW]

If you're talking about the spot-welds, how would you find them when it's time to drill them out for panel replacement? It's all part of the Landy charm.

Terry is right on - my rr fender was skim-coated with Mister Bondo by an evil PO. I had to grind it all off to find the spot welds in order to replace the fender. The mess and hassle were immense.

Aesthetically, you are of course free to do as you please. That said, the spot welds are part of what gives the Series trucks their charm.

I put on my new fender using panel adhesive: it works great, but the spot welds are missing. I am considering "adding them" with a drill.

[Billy5]

I have debated this myself, as I will be repainting mine in the future. My feeling or question i ask myself is this: what am I looking to achieve in the end? In the the end, I am not looking for smooth, showroom flat as glass paint. I may even flatten the paint a little so it wont be so shiny. Therefore, I would leave the spot welds alone. Also, take care in the using of fillers. If the topcoat will be dark, this will create more heat in the sun than light colors. This could lead to to "popping" of the filler from the surface, if used to thickly.

[Nanoose]

I'm saying bad words about whoever painted this before...It's not the lime green color but that fact that a lot of the galvanized trim is painted. Bugger...

[bkreutz]

I'm saying bad words about whoever painted this before...It's not the lime green color but that fact that a lot of the galvanized trim is painted. Bugger...

The galvanized trim on mine was painted by the PO, but thankfully he didn't prep it very well and it all just popped off using a rounded off scraper.