Auto body repair & detailing: shrinkage, butt welding, chevy truck

Question
i welded a 1948 chevy truck hood which is a two piece hood togather took my time ground it down filled it with tiger hair on first pass then z grip for small leveling primed it with ppg shop line high build then sealed it with shop line epoxy then painted it with dpc black and clear when iwet sanded it it looked fine when i got thru buffing it you could see ghost lines where the hood was put togather is there anything i can do

Answer
Hi Dave,

This is from the differences in metal and material thicknesses. I've seen this before and it's almost impossible to eliminate. Question: When you welded the two pieces together was there any difference in the thickness of the metal? If you flanged the metal and then welded this could cause the problem.

I have talked with many restoration shops and they all battle the same problem. They tell me they can minimize the shrinkage by butt welding (no flange) and by hammer & dollying the weld out. Then applying a reinforced fiberglass filler over the top. It doesn't get rid of it but does minimizes it considerably. Usually when it gets hot in the sun it begins to shrink and map out. Try this approach and see if it helps.