Painting A 1989 Chevy S10 - Low-Buck Paint, High-Class Look

8. Speaking of filler, once the hammer work was done the filler was skimmed over the area and left to dry. Once it had dried, Ricardo blocked it straight with 80-grit paper.

9a. To make sure the dent is completely gone, a very thin coat of glaze is spread over the areas...

9b. ...and blocked with 220 on a long board

10. The rest of the truck was sanded with a dual-action (DA) sander fitted with an interference pad and 220 paper. The interference pad helps prevent the sander from cutting gouges in the truck. This is a standard thing for all Maaco locations.

Part Two: Shoot The Primer
After the entire truck was sanded with the 220 and all the chips and scratches were feathered out, a coat of high-build primer was applied. This primer goes on very thick and is used as a blocking primer to get the truck even straighter. One thing to note about the primer Maaco uses: It's the same professional stuff custom shops use. If you plan on doing bodywork at home before taking your truck to Maaco, make sure to check with the manager about what materials to use. If you use spray-paint-type primer, you will get charged to strip it off because it conflicts with the company's warranty.

1. After the primer flashed off, a dust coat of black spray paint was applied as a guidecoat. This helps the technician see if there are any minor high or low spots in the panel. The key to blocking is to sand off the guidecoat with 320-grit paper in an alternating X-pattern. If the previous bodywork is good, the guidecoat will sand off without breaking through to bare metal.

2. After the whole truck was blocked and one more coat of high-build was applied, the truck was rolled into a completely different area of the shop where the doors and tailgate were removed so the jambs could be sprayed. Before any sealer or paint is applied, the areas are blown off with compressed air to remove loose dust. Then, they are given a through rubbing with alcohol wipes to remove any oil or static electricity. A tack cloth is then used to perform the final wipe as a last line of defense against dirt.