23 replies to this topic

[Moggyton]

Just out of interest why does everyone seem to be against filler when rebuilding classic cars? I had my mini professionally resprayed and he put filler all over the place because the panels were uneven. Is it just impossible to fit panels without them being perfect and completely smooth without filler? The guy that did it has been doing it for a long time and he said all the classic cars he does need filler as without it none of the panels would be straight or smooth. So whats the deal?

Edited by Moggyton, 22 April 2014 - 09:42 PM.

[the_samkingdon15]

filler is magical stuff.. its just when people make panels out of filler instead of welding up a hole.. a quick skim is fine though

[Moggyton]

There was a nice patch on the roof

[Alex_B]

filler has a purpose, to smooth out SMALL imperfections in the surface of a panel, 

the reason why filler has a bad name is due to it being used to bodge cars together, its not unheard of for someone to fix a rusty hole with chicken wire and filler, some newspaper for good measure and then paint it 

Filler should be used at a max thickness of about 5mm, any thicker and the panel needs beating out first 

[henri1972]

i once watched a couple of guys from Rolls Royce prepare a silver cloud 3 turn it from four door to a two door  convertible every panel except the bonnet was covered in filler to get the swage lines sharp and perfect i was told it was common practice at Rolls Royce shocked me too when i see it done the car looked straight as a die when done

[Moggyton]

I see, well astleast mine was rust free before hand then!

[MrBounce]

My Midas project had a front end stuffed full of filler. Cracks everywhere and it didn't take much to knock it back out again. Still, I like a challenge. There's bits up to 12mm thick in places. I am still using it to sort out minor imperfections - you'd be hard pressed to find a bodyshop that doesn't  use the stuff. It's all about the application though.

[robminibcy]

there's nothing wrong with filler at all if used correctly for its designed purpose. That is to remove dents and smooth surfaces for cosmetic reasons prior to paint. The problem comes where it is either applied incorrectly or worse used to hide or replace corrosion or crash damage.

[Alex_B]

also should only be applied to bare metal or other filler - never paint. if you need to apply it ontop of paint you need a "stopper" which is a fine filler material which matches the paint better than ordinary filler and helps avoid any cracking and lifting 

[KernowCooper]

Its not the filler is a issue its whats underneath thats counts

[miniman24]

When home for the holidays I work for a company that restores Triumph TR's - this company is at the very top end of Triumph restoration and sales and their cars often sell for £100,000 or more - heres a TR3 I did the body work on.

 

tr3 by victorkristiansen, on Flickr

 

Filler has to be used,its a necessity - without it the car would look like utter crap So long as its used to shape panels, and no more than 5mm or so thick as already said, its fine :)

Edited by miniman24, 22 April 2014 - 10:13 PM.

[myredmini]

Also when filler is applied, shaped and high build primed. It is good practice to then give it all time to settle prior to flattinv and painting, this allows everything to sink back. But yes if used properly filler is fine.

[Alex_B]

I wish I could show you a picture of an Mg A door which had been fillered that I found out about a while back now

It was an american import Mg A and at some time it was beaten up (I think by the previous owners wife after a divorce or something) and was covered in massive dents and in the passenger door there was a 2.5 inch deep dent about the size of a rugby ball and due to the doors being aluminium and this garage being a little bit cheap they filled the dent until smooth. I have no idea if the door is still in one piece but I wouldnt be surprised with the roads how they are that the filler has fallen out of the door 

[Ben_O]

Filler has been used forever! In the days before plastic filler, body solder was used which is essentially the same thing. Bare metal repairs are possible but not practical in a professional environment like a body shop as the time involved in repairing the body without filler would be uneconomical.

 

Filler only gets its bad name by the bodgers and boy racers who think its acceptable to stick a cheap FG body kit on using the stuff and we all know about the golden days of stuffing huge holes with newspaper and filler!! lol

 

Filler is very useful but it has its place.

It's also worth mentioning that it shouldn't really be used to repair damage on edges of panels as it can easily be chipped.

 

+1 on the comment above about leaving the filler to shrink back before final flatting. The last thing you want is to spend out on a spray job only to find sink holes and great rings around your repairs!

 

Ben

[Mini 360]

9/10 dents can be taken out by a skilled panel beater.  9/10 bodyshops arent skilled in doing this though sadly.  Hence the filler being used instead.