The dual-action (DA) sander employed in this project.Sanding the filler requires different methods, depending on the
topography of the metal. For areas with curves, corners and bends, foam
blocks with 36-grit sand paper are first used to flatten the filler; for flat
areas, a dual-action (DA) sander quickly blends the filler to the level of
the surrounding metal. 36-grit sandpaper will leave scratches, so after
most of the excess material is sanded away, a finer 80-grit, followed by
180-grit sandpaper, will eliminate the scratches left in the filler.
With the sanding complete, the area was covered with paint. In this
case, epoxy sealer was sprayed over the entire floor. For a factory look
and to prevent moisture from entering seams where metal meets in the
floor, a sealer was applied over each seam on the top and bottom of the
floor pans. To cleanly apply the sealer, painting tape was placed parallel
to each seam about ^1 ⁄ 2 - to ^3 ⁄ 8 - inch out from each seam. In this project,
3M panel bond was then brushed over the seams with a standard paint
brush to replicate the factory seam sealer. While the 3M panel bond was
still wet, the tape was removed to leave a clean edge to the sealant. If
the 3M panel bond is too thick or lands in places where it should not be,
it can be sanded with 220-grit sandpaper once it is dry.
Seam sealer is applied where two panels meet in locations the
factory applied it.