Used to sling filler on every dent, now I grab the stud welder first

I used to grab the body filler and just pack it in, even on dents the size of a dinner plate. About two years ago a painter named Ray at the shop in Council Bluffs told me filler over 1/8 inch is asking for a comeback, and he was right, I had a quarter panel on a 2014 Silverado crack out after 8 months. Now I pull the metal with the stud welder and only skim coat after. Curious how many of you still reach for filler first on deep dents or is it just me.

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sam_murphy3910d ago

Man, Ray was doing you a solid and you didn't even know it yet. That 1/8 inch rule is no joke either, because filler shrinks as it cures and the thicker it is the more it wants to move around under the paint. Add in a little heat from the sun or a door getting shut hard and that quarter panel was doomed from day one. I've seen guys pack filler in a dent you could hide a football in, then wonder why it looks like a topo map a year later. Once you start pulling with the stud welder you realize you spend less time sanding and way less product, so it pays for itself fast. The real move is getting the metal close first, then a thin skim to finish it, because filler is for smoothing not for building.

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