Shoutout to the old timer who showed me how to fix a dent without filler

I was working on a 2001 Civic last week and watched a younger guy spend 30 minutes mixing body filler for a quarter-sized ding near the taillight. The old man who shared my bay walked over with a slide hammer and had it pulled flat in 5 minutes, no filler needed. He told me these cars had thinner metal and you could work it back if you knew the grain. I see way too many repairs now that just cover stuff up instead of actually shaping the metal. It takes more practice but the job holds up way better in the long run. Anyone else notice body filler getting overused on simple dents?

2 comments

2 Comments

barbara3994d ago

The real issue is that filler hides rust underneath and people don't notice until the paint starts bubbling a year later.

sam53018h ago

Man, 2 years back I watched a buddy drop $8,500 on a '72 Bronco that looked clean as a whistle in the photos. When he went to pick it up, the guy had slapped bondo over the whole passenger quarter panel and painted right over it. By the time he got it home and parked it in the rain for a week, the entire side started bubbling up like a pizza crust. That filler trick is the oldest move in the book for hiding cancer, and it always comes back to bite you. Even worse is when they use fiberglass mat and resin over rust holes just to sell it fast. You can't trust paint that looks too perfect on a 20 year old truck, that's for sure.