Took me 8 years to figure out I was using too much filler on every repair

Was smoothing out a quarter panel on a 2012 Civic last month and my buddy walked over and asked why I was sanding off half my material instead of just laying it thinner. Made me realize I'd been wasting product and time for almost a decade. Anyone else have that one shop habit you had to unlearn the hard way?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryan_carr591mo ago

Is it really that big of a deal though? I mean yeah you're wasting a little bit of filler but it's not like the stuff costs a fortune. I've been slapping it on thick for years and honestly I just got used to the extra sanding. It's almost like a workout, you know? Plus I always figured a thick coat means less chance of it cracking later if the panel flexes a bit. My buddy told me the same thing your neighbor did and I tried his way for a couple weeks but I swear I started getting pinholes and tiny imperfections I had to go back and fix. So I just went back to my old method. Might be wasting a tube here and there but at least I know the job's done right the first time.

amy8581mo ago

Funny how long you can do something wrong before someone points it out, isn't it? I used to glob on bondo like I was frosting a cake, then spend the next hour grinding it all back down. One day my old timer neighbor watched me for a minute and said, "You're paying for that stuff twice. Once to put it on and once to take it off." Hit me like a brick. Now I lay it thin in passes instead of one fat coat. Saves me time, money, and a lot of dust in my lungs.