Auto body repair & detailing: Feather edging, filler primer, slide hammer

Question
I have a 96 ranger with alot of body damage mainly on the bedside but also on the cab.  I finished the bedsides slide hammer and filler primer ect. but for some reason I am have the hardest time I have ever had with body work on the cab roof dents which are small for some reason I cannot feather in to the metal after hammering and dollying the sheet metal up and down to close enough contour and applying filler.  Im wondering if my technique all along has been faulty never had such trouble though.  Can you explain to me feathering filler to metal technique is there any cheats or half$$$ ways of doing this, any or all please

Answer
Hi Jason,

I assume you are trying to get it flat and straight. You will need to get several coats of filler primer on the surface first. After the primer sets up and is ready to block you need to spray a guide coat on the surface. This will allow you to see the low areas while you sand. I recommend sanding with 320 grit on a block or long-board sander at least 17" in length. When you sand, don't sand in a straight line. You will need to sand in an X pattern. Make 2-3 passes in one direction and then make 2-3 passes in the other direction. Keep sanding in this manner until you either break through the primer or until you remove all the guide coat. After you finish sanding you should be ready to spray a sealer and paint. If you are going to want to paint directly on your filler primer then you will need to re-sand with 500-600 grit wet to re-fine the scratches. I am going to add some links below to give you ideas of the type things I'm talking about. Good Luck!

http://www.repaintsupply.com/pd_hand_longboard.cfm
http://www.repaintsupply.com/pd_black_guide.cfm
http://www.repaintsupply.com/pd_3m_stikit_gold_sheet_roll_02591.cfm
http://www.repaintsupply.com/pd_2_34_x.cfm