Body Filler Question

Not to be a contrarian but I'm going to be. All that stuff looks good, but in the end if you are loading it down with filler like that and getting it "perfect", in the end your body is still flawed and it is still body filler. It is nicely done but not really Craftsmanship. It's the easy way around that.
I know that very few are willing to pay for that kind of work, but honestly there are only a very few who can do that type of work. Still doesn't change the fact that body filler is body filler and "perfect" IMO really isn't.
I know most may disagree but that's what I believe.
 
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I don't go over 1/16" but have seen plenty of shops use however much filler is needed to correct body lines and sweep lines on show cars that have to be 100% straight and correctly shaped, and the metalwork isn't that great.


Yep. I'm going over 3/16" in spots on my El Camino. Doing a quick winter paint job and this poor thing has been hit every corner, front and side. No choice. No time to metal finish everywhere. My daughter loves going for cruises. She's 15 and this is the last chance before she doesn't want to be seen with a geezer.

However, all rust cut out, SPI epoxy coated so I feel confident with a skim of Bondo almost everywhere.
 
As thin as possible, IMO. There is an art to filler work, just like metal finishing. I’ve had guys tell me it takes no longer to do metal finishing, and I laughed at them. But after a bit of practice myself, I realized they were right. Metal finishing isn’t as hard as I thought, and more satisfying in the end, and no dust. You can work a repair until it’s done, without waiting for filler to set up. The trick is accessibility to the back of the panel.
 
As thin as possible, IMO. There is an art to filler work, just like metal finishing. I’ve had guys tell me it takes no longer to do metal finishing, and I laughed at them. But after a bit of practice myself, I realized they were right. Metal finishing isn’t as hard as I thought, and more satisfying in the end, and no dust. You can work a repair until it’s done, without waiting for filler to set up. The trick is accessibility to the back of the panel.

Yep, access to the back is key. I didn't have that on my current project, and adding skim after skim, wearing a respirator mask, what a PITA.


Eventually though, you get there after some sculpting.


IMG_3926.jpg
 
Lets all be honest here, there is filler work and then there is the hack and pack BS you see in some of these pics. Sure we would all love to have a panel that is ready to sand, prime and paint but honestly that isnt the case. Hey if you have the metal skills to do that then by all means charge accordingly! I have enough metal skills to be dangerous and I know my lane! My lane is paved with polyester of all sorts!
 
Lets all be honest here, there is filler work and then there is the hack and pack BS you see in some of these pics. Sure we would all love to have a panel that is ready to sand, prime and paint but honestly that isnt the case. Hey if you have the metal skills to do that then by all means charge accordingly! I have enough metal skills to be dangerous and I know my lane! My lane is paved with polyester of all sorts!
So long as your lane isn’t caved and paved... LOL

Don
 
To be fair though, that filler was on that car for 30+ years...... It had just began to crack and show its ugly face recently when the guy put a nice engine in it and a sticky tire. Even funnier the only place it just started to crack was there it was applied over unsanded paint and even the factory sticker on the side!

So if anyone is concerned about their 1/16-1/8" of filler failing that is applied on properly prepped metal or even better epoxy, I'd say you can rest east at night!
 
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If you must use filler in any thickness remember this, bolt your fenders on and get everything aligned before filler work.

Then I drill 1/8 alignment holes in inconspicuous places, so reassembly is spot on. If you have to tweak or realign anything you will put stress on the filler and it may crack down the road.

I did this also to insure panel gaps and fit before any filler after seeing others learn the hard way.
 
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