What's the best body filler?

[Russ130]

Hey guys I am planning on doing the body work and paint this year on my '78. I have cab corners, rocker panels and floor boards that I will be replacing the originals with. I also have a couple of dent I will pulling out by the rear window. I have used Bondo in the past and it always seems to fall off in a couple of years no matter how good you prep it ahaead of time. I have also used the Bondo with the hair in it and well that was like working with wet hay. I have used fiberglass before as well but don't feel that would be appropriate for light filling. I would want something easy to use that can be sanded anywhere from a half hour after to possibly even a day or so later. Number one priority is it must be able stay on for many years. Once I do the cab corners and floor pans there will be zero rust on the whole truck so rust will not be an issue.

[philadelphia]

evercoat stuff is nice.. If its fallin off id say that its either too thick (more than 1/8") or the surface under it is not prepped good. I usually wash the area with soap and water then spray with brake clean thin laquer thinner..I da with 36 grit or sandblast with sand or aluminum oxide.. Thats been working over the years for me.

Ive recently used gorrilla hair, z grip and something else that is a lightweight easy sand filler..Ive had good results from it.On ly thing holding it all back is my amature body work level..i can make one hella 20/20  truck..20 feet 20 miles an hour looks showroom fresh.lol

[80stepsideguy]

I used the stuff from evercoat called RAGE EXTREME. It spreads nice and sands with 80 grit.No need o f cheese grading it or using 36 grit to cut it down.I also used the stuff from a company USC called ALL METAL. Its great stuff, it doesnt shrink or crack.Its not cheap but neither is the extreme body filler. 25.00 a quart for the all metal and about 50.00 for the filler.I am using both on my 80 right now and i used the ALL METAL on the 1/4s on my 70 vert and 8 years later no sand scratch swelling or cracks. I wouldnt go any thicker then 1/4 inch of filler personally. I use 24 grit grinding wheel to make the metal real coarse so the filler has sometihng to bite to. If you look on my thread of my restomod project on members rides page 15 you`ll see a video clip of my cab i did all the work to it.

thanks
pat

p.s. for very minor dimples i use the stuff from USC called ICING .You can use it for the body filler to smooth any imperfections.

[HAULIN IT]

Pats got it figured out..Rage & a skim coat of Icing on normal dents. Icing only in minor flaws. I've used All Metal some, it is a very good product, the problem I've had with it is mixing it in hotter weather, because you can't see if it's mixed or not...I keep stirring, then it goes off half way through spreading   It's one of those things that if you used it everyday, it would become easier to judge the amount of hardener. You should allways wear a mask doing bodywork, but with All Metal, it is mandatory! I pretty much stick to Duraglas for a base over welds & deeper spots. Have Fun! Lorne

[Russ130]

I also have a question that may belong as a new thread. When cutting out the old body panels how much metal do I leave in relation to the new panels? In other words do I put the new panel on and trace around it and cut it there or do I leave a 1/4" or how much?  I am a complete amateur in body work but insist on doing everything myself out of pride or a sense of accomplishment. Where can I get the evercoat stuff from? Would sherwin williams carry it? NAPA? Keystone? I have a wire welder and can use gas with it, also have oxy/act setup along with die grinders. I just bought an 87 that I'm going to be parting out. Since the cab is the only thing not really usable I can cut out the section instead of trying to pull out the dent. So ultimately I shouldn't need to go very thick anywhere with the filler.

[80stepsideguy]

If your planning on using new cab corners, i say replace whats only needed.I replaced from the bottom to maybe 4 inches up and that was it i discarded everything else.The body filler you can get at any body shop supply store. If you know of a body shop nearby ask them where do they get their supplies from. When you said "I can cut out the section instead of trying to pull out the dent" What are you referring to? If its a big dent you can use a stud gun for the dents as noted in the link :http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=98357
If its a rust hole a simple patch will work. Show us some pics on what you got going on and lets see if we can help you out..

thanks
pat

[Russ130]

I'll take a couple of pics tomorrow. The dent is on the back of the cab by the window but has caused the corner to come out slightly and the side to deform slightly too. I tried to pull it out about 7 or 8 years ago but was in a hurry to get it back together and had pretty bad results. The bondo stayed on until this year but since I am finally going to get around to painting it I want to fix it for good if that is even possible.

[80stepsideguy]

When you replace metal i like to butt weld it so it doesnt have that bulge the you gotta try n make level.If the part is rusted go as far as you can with good metal and cut out all the junk metal.  When you weld the metal in use a weld thru primer it`ll coat any of the bare metal and will protect it from rust..Once you get some pics up we will see what you got and help you out in the best way we can.
 
thanks
pat

[Russ130]

OK here are a couple of pics.

[80stepsideguy]

From what i see ALL that is going to need to be ground out If there is some rust back there that too needs to come out.But that stud gun dent puller will work wonders if you buy it and it will pull out alot of the heavy dents.

thanks
pat

[exilous]

as for cutting pieces out and welding them in it may be hard to explain and hard to understand but I will try my best.What I do is I will cut out he old panel to good metal and cut the new one to overlap the seam about 3/8s of an inch give or take a bit. then I will use to body tools hammer dolyl or even pliers if you want and bend a small "shelf" or "groove" that the new piece sits in so that the new piece and the original metal sit flush so when you weld, you pretty much grind smooth and skim coat it. They also sell an air tool that does this for you it works wonderful. but not everyone has the luxuries of tools like that i know i dont.

[fitz]

Harbor Freight sells that panel flange tool for about $40. It makes the "shelf" you are talking about and it also has a punch to make holes to spot weld the panel.

[Russ130]

Cool I'll head over there friday and pick one up and while I'm there I'll see if they have the stud gun.