202 Section 2 Nonstructural Repairs Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. area gradually and evenly. Sand until a featheredge is made all around the filler. Then switch to 80-grit sandpaper. At this point, use hand sanding rather than power sanding because hand sanding is easier to control. Large areas of filler can be sanded with a yard- stick instead of a sanding stick. Because the yardstick is longer, it can span a wider area of filler. It is also flex- ible, so it can be bent to conform to a medium crown. After removing the 40-grit scratches with 80-grit paper, switch to 180-grit sandpaper to remove the 80-grit scratches. To sand a crowned area around a wheel opening, use the curved surface of the sanding block as shown in Figure 9-60. Sanding a body line in filler is challenging. It can be difficult to sand a straight line that matches the undamaged contour of the body line. Any deviation will be easily visible in the repaired vehicle. One way to form a body line out of body filler is to use a body line sander, such as the one shown in Figure 9-61. This sander forms straight body lines. The shape of the sander conforms to the contour of the panel in the area of the body line. Make sure there are no metal high spots before applying filler. Sand straight. Curved body lines may be formed with masking tape, as shown in Figure 9-62. The quarter panel has a slightly dished-in area defined by the subtle body line. The damage included the dished-in area. Body filler was applied after raising and leveling. The first application of filler was sanded. A strip of 2″ masking tape was positioned to form the body line. The photo shows the second application of filler after the masking tape was removed. The second application of filler will be carefully sanded to level. One common problem when using filler is the pres- ence of pinholes. Pinholes are air pockets in the cured filler. Figure 9-63 shows pinholes. Blowing a stream of compressed air over the cured and sanded filler can reveal this problem. The air will blow out sanding dust Goodheart-Willcox Publisher Figure 9-59. A—The air file should span the filler and be moved up and down. B—Using the edge of the air file will prevent the file from flattening the crown. Air file A B Goodheart-Willcox Publisher Figure 9-61. This sanding tool is moved along the body filler to shape the body line. Body line sander Goodheart-Willcox Publisher Figure 9-60. Attaching the sandpaper to the curved side of the block allows the block to be used to sand filler on a concave surface.