Weekend Garage Q: How solid is the paint job?

Q:I'm looking for a 1967 or 1968 Camaro. The main thing I want is no body filler. Most of the cars I see have been painted at least once. How do I tell on a painted car whether it's solid or is going to rust bubble a couple years after I buy it? -Ed M., St. Louis Park

A:First, let's discuss the misconception of "no body filler." Every car painted in modern times has some body filler on it. The important thing to realize is how that filler is used. What you're hoping to avoid, understandably, is dents or rust holes clogged up with blobs of filler, then sanded down to hide the damage.

Body filler in general is not a "con," however. Its legitimate purpose is to smooth out minor imperfections for a straight, clean line across the panel. Trying to work just the metal itself to get it as nice as we have grown accustomed to cars looking today would be very difficult. Even in the old days, they did not work just the steel to a point of perfection before spraying it. Instead, anywhere they had done some work, such as welding in a patch panel, they would use lead to smooth over the weld. This was an art and the best lead workers could get a very nice finish. Yet lead is poisonous and not something you want people spending a lot of time heating, sanding and breathing in.

Today, body shops - whether doing collision work or very high-end restoration and fabrication - use a "skim coat" of filler to get the panel surface as straight as possible before painting. What you want to avoid is a hack job - a Camaro in poor condition that someone's dressed up as a show car. Study the car closely. Stare at it. Look at the gaps around each panel and how the panel itself fits in place. Older cars are not perfect but nothing should be way off, especially on a car repainted by a competent shop. A huge gap or a very uneven one is not correct. That could be a sign that something was damaged and not well repaired.

Look down the sides of the car for waves, ripples, bumps, panel misalignment. Old cars rust behind the wheels. Check that area closely. Look and feel behind the wheels and around the wheel wells. Is the edge clean metal, or is filler built up back there? How do the bumpers fit? Is one end high or low or significantly closer to the car? There will be minor imperfections in an older car. Question major ones.

Get the car on a lift. Are the chassis members and floor boards solid and straight and "square?" Any signs of repair on the low body areas? If the car is freshly undercoated, see if you can lift the carpets in the cabin or trunk. Undercoating can hide a lot. You're looking for hidden rust. If the tops of the doors fit tight, the car could be sagging from a rotted undercarriage.

Finally, call the shop that painted the car. Ask the shop if workers remember this Camaro, and find out what work they did. Visit its website if the shop has one and look at any posted projects. Ask what warranty was provided with the paint job and find out what the paint job cost. If it was a discount job, look at some other cars. Quick, cheap work will show through the paint, or through overspray on trim, tires, exhaust system, etc. If you buy the car, get the paperwork for the paint job and if anything comes up, take it up with the shop that painted it.