Bodywork is 80% preparation and 20% painting, and the preparation is 80% blocking. I've watched more restorations fall short because the owner got impatient with blocking than for any other single reason.

Blocking is the process of sanding the primed body with a hard block — either a store-bought rubber block or a piece of wood — to level the surface before topcoat. Every wave, every sag, every feather edge from a repair shows through the final paint. Blocking reveals them and removes them.

The sequence: guide coat, block with 180, guide coat, block with 220, guide coat, block with 320, seal and prime, guide coat, block with 400, finish with 500 or 600 before shooting color. This is not optional. Every shortcut in this sequence appears in the finished paint.