Factory bondo???

[combatmech]

Working on one of two rust/ chipped paint areas on my truck. Digging into the paint, it looks like GM applied a healthy coat of body filler over bare metal, then a coat of AF blue paint, and then a final coat of OD green.
Would it be normal for the factory to apply body fillers to a vehicle prior to painting?? There does not appear to be any dents in the metal in that area.
Just curious......

 

[Flyingvan911]

Strange.

 

[mkcoen]

Almost all vehicles come from the factory with some body filler. Most times it's to cover up welding seams, assembly line damage, etc. My family was in the auto business from the '50s up through the '90s and saw it on just about every make and model. However, they should have primed it before any top coat was applied.

 

[combatmech]

Almost all vehicles come from the factory with some body filler. Most times it's to cover up welding seams, assembly line damage, etc. My family was in the auto business from the '50s up through the '90s and saw it on just about every make and model. However, they should have primed it before any top coat was applied.

That makes sense. I do not recall seeing any primer. From the looks of other places on the truck, GM didnt even scuff the AF blue before the OD green.

 

[com54]

I've seen filler on quite a few factory vehicles. But not without primer.

 

[zout]

They did not expect it to last that long under war conditions.
Bean counters estimated how much more time to get the same results shot term and went the "low bidder" route.