Quarter repair gone bad???

[rq375]

I had the quarters replaced on a 68 Mustang about five years ago, now the paint is cracked through to the filler in several places, but not flaking. It looks as if the filler has expanded beyond the elastic limit of the paint. Does this sound like something was mis-matched, improperly prepped, not cured, or just new rust under the filler?

thanks.

[justasquid]

I'm not a body expert. But I think what probably happened is the filler will shrink and cause the paint to crack. This usually doesnt happen when a thin coat is applied and sanded smooth. But, if someone decided to fill in dents or deep creases, it will shrink and crack. I believe a good rule is to keep the filler to less than an 1/16 of an inch thick. If there is a crease or dent deeper than that, it should be pulled out. But surely, anyone of the variables you already mentioned could have easily been the culprit as well.

My guess is the filler was applied too thick and that is what caused the cracking.

Again, I'm not an expert. I'm sure some of the body men on here will have more to add.

[HILROD]

It could be a lot of thing. Without digging in or having pics, the first thing that comes to mind is poor weling, or just tack welding in spots and paving filler over it. Any time I weld a panel on it gets fully welded before any body work. Even factory seams will crack most times after painting. If the car is driven a lot, or is pushed hard, this becomes a bigger problem, with poor work. Also if not prepaired properly, rust can form or grow under the paint and cause this. Hopefully you have the option of returning it to the place that did it for you, for them to see, and maybe fix.