Body Filler Recommendations ?

TommyCoupe

TommyCoupe

Senior Member
Looking for recommendations for body filler. I used Bondo 20+ years ago, but I'm sure there are better products now.

Any recommendations ?

Tommy-
 
I use Z-Grip for my first coat. Then I typically go with a light weight filler for the remaining coats. I like Evercoat products.Then use a very creamy filler for the last skim coat. They are sold under the name of "icing", "finishing putty" etc. They are still polyester filler, using hardener, just very creamy and don't leave air pockets in the finished piece.lacquer based spot putty, stay away from. Its cheap and shrinks. Stick with all products containing a hardener.
 
I use Featherite when I do body filler. However, make sure you do everything you can to remove the damage first. Body filler should only be used for a final smoothing. Anything more than .100" is too much and will likely fail.
 
Evercoat makes a filler called, Metal to metal. Metal to metal filler looks a lot like lead and sands like premium body filler and sells for about the same price, It doesn't pin hole like some fillers. I use it .
 
I have had very good luck with Evercoat Rage Gold. It sands well and seems to stay put. It has very few pinholes.
Rusty Nelson
 
Here's some back ground. Fillers are based around polyester resins. The same resins used for fiberglass, just no glass. Instead talc ( which is why filler will bubble from moisture ) is added to the mixture. The amount and type of talc makes for different qualities. Some fillers will add other materials to make it less prone to pin holing, water absorption and ease of sanding. Still, they are all very similar. Once you find one you like working with, you generally stick with it. You also will find varying prices for filler, some seem with the extra price, some do not, IMO. If you do the prep ( most important ) work correct, most any of the fillers will work long term. So rather than get too caught up in a name . . just use it correctly.
 
I'm reading that have to sand it clean, OK! Should I use an etching acid for pitted surfaces? I'm sanding and wire brushing. I have the phosphoric acid etching wash but have been told not to use under a filler. As far as I can see, it's not what you put on top, it's the quality of the surface of the metal underneath.
Terry




PetesPonies said:
Here's some back ground. Fillers are based around polyester resins. The same resins used for fiberglass, just no glass. Instead talc ( which is why filler will bubble from moisture ) is added to the mixture. The amount and type of talc makes for different qualities. Some fillers will add other materials to make it less prone to pin holing, water absorption and ease of sanding. Still, they are all very similar. Once you find one you like working with, you generally stick with it. You also will find varying prices for filler, some seem with the extra price, some do not, IMO. If you do the prep ( most important ) work correct, most any of the fillers will work long term. So rather than get too caught up in a name . . just use it correctly.
Click to expand...
 
Terry - post a picture of what you are working on so we can see. Then we can give you advice on exactly how to fix the issue properly.
 
This car was completely primer when I started, and I put a coat of primer on each patch panel after welding to try to keep rust from forming.

Looks like I'll be doing a lot of sanding:(.

Tommy-
 
You can use an angle grinder with a wire brush to remove the primer off the panel. However, I suspect that you may need to do more bodywork before you worry about filler. Post a pic of what you are working on and we can help you.
 
Here are some pictures. The patch panels are in on the passenger side, but I haven't started the drivers side yet.
Take a look at the small holes behind the rear window.
I'm asssuming that there were some dents there, and someone drilled holes to pull them out, then covered over them with filler. I plan on welding these holes up with the mig this weekend.
There's also a picture of the un-touched drivers side. The passenger side was in similar shape.

Tommy-
 

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I would perform your repairs, strip the rest of the primer off and use a PPG DP epoxy based prmer direct to metal. That product locks onto metal and provides a great based for further filling primers and top coats.
 
Tommy - You still have some massaging to do on those panels before you are ready for filler. Take your time and do it right the first time. B.Terry has some really REALLY good pictures of the process he uses on his website that you can go and see. Look in the restorations area and you will see what I mean.

The time you spend at this point doing the job right the first time will pay off huge dividends in the final product.
 
I'd love nothing better than to be able to post pictures, But alas, I can not. So I try to describe it the best way I can. I'm working on a 1930 Town Sedan. Some parts are "Lacey" (You can see light through them like a piece of lace) Some are just pitted. It's these parts I was asking about. Looking at the surface, The "Peaks" are no problem. It's the bottom of the pits I'm concerned with. How much attention should be paid to the rust at the bottom of these pits Vis-a-Vis the body filler compound. Should the rust, small as it is, be treated prior to application of the filler. or can it be ignored. I've asked body me about this and their answer didn't satisfy me. They were body and fender men, they fixed cars, they didn't restore them. I have to bear that in mind at all times and there is a difference. Their work had a life of perhaps ten years while a restoration has a much longer life span.
Terry



28ACoupe said:
Terry - post a picture of what you are working on so we can see. Then we can give you advice on exactly how to fix the issue properly.
Click to expand...
 
Ok, Terry - if you can see light through the metal and it appears to be lacey, i.e. full of rust holes, get or make a patch panel and replace that area.

As for the pitted areas, it really kind of depends on where the area is and how badly pitted it is. I have never, in 20+ years of doing bodywork used any kind of an acid wash on bodywork. If you can get the piece to a media blaster, do so. If not, take your time with a wire brush and clean it up as best you can. Then shoot the whole area down with Rustmort to kill the remaining rust. This will turn the area black.

Use the filler directly on the metal rather than priming first.

Finally, as I told Tommy above, take your time and do it right the first time. Don't get in a hurry. Time spent at this stage will pay off bigtime in the end result.

If you can take digital pictures and email them to me, I can put them up here for you for others to comment on.
 
Do not put filler over any rusted surfaces. remove as much rust as you can. Then cover with two coats Master Series. If the pits are deep, you could even use more. The following day, scuff the MS and then apply the filler. This will give you a permanent solution. Its the way I handle rough surfaces. Yes you can cover primer ( Epoxy is my choice ) with filler, but just use skim coats and make sure you scratch up the primer first for adhesion.
 
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