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?

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barbara3991d ago

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