question about body fill

[Buddy]

I have my truck being painted right now by a very very highly recommended body man. When i had the cab off my truck i had it upside down doing some welding and i dropped it on the roof putting a fair size crease in the roof. me not being a body man or even having a clue about body work didn't really think it was a big deal. just talked to body guy tonight, first time we have talked since i dropped the truck off, he wasn't there when i dropped it off and he never seen it before. He didn't seem like anything was a problem he just said it need a ton of work. but what he did say got me thinking after was that the roof was going to require a ton of body fill. Now I got to thinking is that a big problem? or was he just stating a fact. I know this guy does high end work. I have talked to at least 25 different people some even hot rod guys and they all praise this guy, i just hung up on that body fill comment. So my question is this big deal is it going to show up in a year or to is it going to look fine for now and look like heck in a year or so. what are your guys thought on this, I always hear guys say " no bondo on my truck" but i never really believed them. Really just want to hear some advice on this. Is bodo the end of the word. i was very clear with the guy i wanted a high end job and he was fie with that. We even talked price again tonight and he didn't try to get me for any extras or anything.

[Captkaos]

How big a crease/dent? 

[Buddy]

I didn't think it was that big but I guess he did. He said he pulled a lot of it out but still need to apply fill. The crease was about 2' long.

[Captkaos]

How deep?  you don't want 1/2" of bondo on it, but to make one smooth it will need bondo.

[Buddy]

I don't know how thick. It was about 3/4" but he said he pulled most of it out. I didn't see what he ended up with. I was just concered about his comment. I am hoping he would know not to apply that much bodo, if he is as good as everyone says he is! I am just nervous about this enitre paint process. I know nothing about it. He tells me not to worry about it. He can fix it.

[Blazin]

Ive done repairs that had body filler over the entire door or quarter panel. It was only a 1/16"th to an 1/8"th thick when the primer was applied. It was allot of filler, but 70% or more got sanded off!
A prime example right here:




Self etching primer:


High build urethane primer:


Paint:

[1980c10]

I wouldn't sweat it at all. Any body guy with some common sense can fix it. I have repaired plenty of stuff with bondo with good results. the key is too not get it too thick. By no means do I consider myself a body man.

[78 Chevyrado]

What no bondo means could mean two things.  It could mean they used lead for filler, or they actually hand worked the metal totally into the shape they wanted it.  Either of those means Big $$$.  Plastic Filler (bondo)  Is perfectly fine as long as it's used properly. 

When you get a crease in metal, it stretches the metal out inside the dented part.  when you pull it back out, there's too much metal now which means it won't just go back to the shape it was in before.  So what the body guys do, is pull it out as close as they can to the shape they want and then fine-tune it with the bondo.  They will also use heat appropriately to shrink the metal back down to cut down on the filler required.  All the different levels are for is economy.  He'll do it however you want, but it will cost you.  I have plastic filler on mine and its doing great 2 years later. 




Finished

[Buddy]

Ok thanks for the info, I was just worried about the bodo thing. as i said i really know nothing about the autobody world other than it is a work of art. I know now that i should have looked harder for a better cab way back when but I am way past that know. I just didnt want it to just ok quicker or look like heck faster because it had bondo.

[78 Chevyrado]

If you want to learn a little bit about body work, ask the body shop about you coming up there regularly to see how they do what they do, or to see if you can help out.  I helped a good bit on my truck where I could, and you learn how, and save some money too.  You can also tell them to do something differently if you cnahge your mind on something, just be careful you don't change things too much like I did as I probably offset any savings I got helping out because I kept adding things for them to do....

I drove by the body shop on my way home every day so I stopped in every day and hung around.  Now I have a couple of new friends too I still go see them when I have time and hang out a little bit.

I can understand some shops not wanting you there all the time like I was, but be wary of one that doesn't want you there till its done.  It depends on the owners, as some people's work really does suffer when they're being observed.

The place to put your money though for the best look is in the buffing after its all done.  So if you want it buffed out really well, get an extra coat of clear if you can afford it.  It's worth it if you can swing it.

[Buddy]

i have a private guy doing it for me, he has been great to deal with. he Will buffing it out when he is done as he did say the same as you with the extra coat of clear. I know everything else on the truck is all just minor fixes as all other panels where new. Just the cab was so rough in some spots. i did cut all of the rust etc and replace everything that way. He just told me for the money I invested inthat cab i could have found one in better shape. this all comes down to me not doing tis before and not knowing what I was talking about. Knowing now i would just look for another cab. But like i said i am way past that. I want to keep this truck for long time and am just hoping that i didn't make a mistake, I know he has told me he spent way longer than he would have on any other cab. he also didn't seem to worried about it he just kept saying it needed lot of work. That is the part that got me nervous

[Bitzer!]

If you've agreed the price then you have nothing to worry about. He'd have priced acording to the work. Most of the good guys are true with their word as is their price and work. Chill 

[Buddy]

wow all I keep thinking is wow.  I just left my body guys shop and is knee deep into my truck. There is a ton of little dents and dings here and there  that he fixed. It has a 1000 little spots where he fixed things. There is also a ton of bondo on the floor. He showed what rear body lines are supposed to look like. Ha Ha I had no idea that i was that far out on things, i thought i had it lined up pretty good until he showed me what he had to do. he also showed me that it was hit before on the side of the cab. he had to cut an area there he put a small slice with the grinder and pulled the cab corner some. This guys does amazing work. There was a dent under the back window he has it beat out now , you cant even tell it was ever there. Wow was i impressed, He has the hood lines and the door lines bang on. I just cant get over it. He still has stuff everywhere so it hard to tell what it is going to look like but i would say it gonna to look sweet. My mind is at ease now i just wanna see it painted. he hopes to have it in primer by monday and he said it will be aleaset another week after

[bake74]

     So are you convinced that he is a good body man yet ?

[Buddy]

I am a believer for sure, this guy seems awesome. stopped by again today and he has it all in primier stage. looks great. Funny to see the truck all one color even if it is primer. It has been muilti color for so long. It looks sweet in the primer stage... That was 4 hours ago and I am still smiling. Cant wait to get her home, he still says aleast another week yet.