[TAKerry]

I was bored and watching you tube for the first in awhile. Mostly car rebuilding stuff. There was a 3 part series with guys putting new metal on a chevelle. After they had the body together they began to coat the entire car with bondo (well it looked like rage gold). I mean they put this stuff on HEAVY and then sanded. Finished product was stunning, but Im not sure I want a car that is half mud! Is this really the right way to prep a body for paint?

[Sirrotica]

It sounds like the same premise as drywall work.

I was the grunt guy when I was a teenager in a custom body shop, this guy did some amazing paint, and body work. I worked with him doing all the crappy work he really didn't want to do. I can tell you unless the metal wasn't straight enough to paint was the only time he laid a coat of mud on it, If the metal was straight it got primer and paint on it. This included black, and all the tough colors that show imperfections.

The black, flamed 69 GTO in the background of the 69 GP dirt car in my signature pics, is my own car, that he painted in 1974. It was good enough to be in the World of Wheels show in my hometown, it got first place in class. The car wasn't coated in a layer of mud except on the beltline where it had parking lot dings on either side, mostly just primed, and blocked, to get it smooth.

He incorporated a Lemans front bumper welded solid to the front fenders so there was no front bumper gap, I liked the one piece look. I surely got a lot of attention while I drove the car.

I guess there are different ways to arrive at the same end product, whose to say what is right, or wrong?

[dhutton]

Very common to do a “coast to coast” application of filler and block the entire car. Most of it should end up on the floor with only a very small amount left on the car.

Many ways to get a great result, this is just one of them. Nothing wrong with filler if it is not abused.

Cars ready for paint in bare metal are very rare and it costs huge money.

Don

[n20ta2]

I skimmed my entire car, 95% of it ended up on the floor. I like that method only because it's faster for me, I don't end up chasing small waves that I have to go back and fix later after I primed. I coated my panels once and that's it, I don't like applying multiple coats of filler. I don't have much on my car either nothing more then a couple credit cards thickness in the welded areas much less then 1/8 inch.

[400 4spd.]

I have no trouble locating or fixing individual surface flaws, so I've never been a fan of wiping filler in areas where it isn't needed, especially wiping entire panels. I don't use primer to level bodywork either, that's what fillers are intended for.
Below are pictures of a '57 Thunderbird that was done "coast to coast" as described at a shop in Maryland. It has filler on lots of areas that are straight and didn't need filler. Five years later it has so many filler de-lamination problems that it has to be stripped again. Note the surface corrosion on the metal. Bad surface prep, no epoxy coat and too much material.

[n20ta2]

Yeah, that's just way to much filler and that metal prep is horrible. When I skim a panel it's almost translucent and when I finish sanding it most areas are back to metal and any filler left behind is so thin you can almost see through it. I also do not level with any primer, that stuff shrinks way to much to be consistent. High build primer is meant to fill fine sanding scratches pin holes ect. Skimming a panel is way different then sloping on a bunch of filler to hide crappy metal work. It's faster for me but not everyone can even do it, not easy to mix enough filler to cover an entire panel in one thin coat without causing yourself a ton of extra work. As far as delamination, sure if your prep is bad and you apply it thick. Definitely seen alot of guys abuse this method and have problems later.

[TAKerry]

Originally Posted by 400 4spd.

I have no trouble locating or fixing individual surface flaws, so I've never been a fan of wiping filler in areas where it isn't needed, especially wiping entire panels. I don't use primer to level bodywork either, that's what fillers are intended for.
Below are pictures of a '57 Thunderbird that was done "coast to coast" as described at a shop in Maryland. It has filler on lots of areas that are straight and didn't need filler. Five years later it has so many filler de-lamination problems that it has to be stripped again. Note the surface corrosion on the metal. Bad surface prep, no epoxy coat and too much material.

This is what I imagined would happen.

[dhutton]

Filler over bare metal is not quality restoration work regardless of where it is applied. Always over epoxy in the epoxy recoat window.

Don

[MUSLCAH]

Nope…Nevah coated a panel with mud…for the sake of blocking it all off. Less is better.

[1965gp]

My 66 GTO was done this way. The painter kept showing me huge chunks of filler when they were stripping it. Crazy part is that the car was pretty straight and didn’t need it? It’s like they put a lot of filler on and stopped sanding when it was flat. Car was probably 3/4”-1” wider than it was supposed to be!

[n20ta2]

If its done correctly there shouldn't be much filler left on the car at all. If they have to cake on body filler then the metal work wasn't done properly.

[jww]

I call em mudmobiles!!!

All the greats do it, Kindig, Foose and prolly get $500..00 an hour. Tons of these on Barrett-Jackson, Mecum. I don’t consider that bodywork. Others may disagree.
I would love to see some of these $$$$$$$ auction cars in the nude! Would be scary!

[nytrainer]

Skimming is really no different than the accepted practice of spraying polyester primer surfacers like Feather Fill, Slick Sand etc. Each sprayed coat is about 4 mil but it too ends up sanded on the floor like the skim coat of body filler if you’re doing it right (FF was the go to for years for fiberglass bodies).
An analogy might be…Have you ever repaired drywall damage? A hole here, blow out patch there, relocated outlet, nail holes etc ? You could mud and sand each spot but in the right light it’d look bad. Best thing would be to skim coat the whole wall and it gets sanded back down until all spots are on the same plane. My 2 cents..

[dhutton]

Filler gets a bad reputation because it is abused by so many. Properly applied and worked filler is perfectly fine imho. How many folks commenting here have actually done show quality bodywork?

Don

[TAKerry]

Originally Posted by nytrainer

Skimming is really no different than the accepted practice of spraying polyester primer surfacers like Feather Fill, Slick Sand etc. Each sprayed coat is about 4 mil but it too ends up sanded on the floor like the skim coat of body filler if you’re doing it right (FF was the go to for years for fiberglass bodies).
An analogy might be…Have you ever repaired drywall damage? A hole here, blow out patch there, relocated outlet, nail holes etc ? You could mud and sand each spot but in the right light it’d look bad. Best thing would be to skim coat the whole wall and it gets sanded back down until all spots are on the same plane. My 2 cents..

HA, just finished skim coating a wall today at work!

[turbo69bird]

Some guys do this with good results , depends on what products are used and if it will
Shrink over time most body filler will over time.
I always used marglass (kitty hair) over any weld joints then a light filler like icing, block it , then a spray ale polyester w a pressure pot system. The. Blocked w a guide coat misted over the body on the whole car. Came out beautiful. Straight as can be. Be careful of isocyanates use an air fed.

[400 4spd.]

Originally Posted by dhutton

Filler gets a bad reputation because it is abused by so many. Properly applied and worked filler is perfectly fine imho. How many folks commenting here have actually done show quality bodywork?

Don

Here is a pair of 'Cudas that I did the bodies on roughly 15 years ago. That was when I was working at a competitor's restoration shop before opening my own. From what I gather, they have held up well. If any of you saw them at MCACN recently, I would like opinions on how they looked to you.

[400 4spd.]

Here is another that I did, the blue 'Cuda. I've done more cars than I could ever count over the past 46 years, but this is the last one I'll post, I promise. This car was judged at the 2012 Mopar Nationals in Ohio. It scored extremely high, but the owner told me points were deducted because the body fit was too good for factory standards, if you can believe that.

[dhutton]

I’ve only been doing this for six years since I retired but I have been fortunate to have a couple of Goodguys winners. I’m not into restorations, I lean to pro-touring cars.

I’ve also got a 78 Bandit Trans Am pro-touring build heading to Goodguys in March. Fingers crossed….

Don

[400 4spd.]

Beautiful work, Don. My shop is building a similar looking black 69 RS. Full chassis with an LT4 and 8 speed automatic. The owner supplied the assembled chassis/drivetrain combo and we have rebuilt the body and will be assembling it to the chassis.