i noticed on "American Hotrod" when they were working on "junkyard dog" one of the guys was spreading either filler or putty on the trunk lid and he appeared to be covering the entire surface with it.is/was this necessary? thats an awful lot of stuff!reckon it was because there were a lot of repair areas on it?

Many times a skim coat is applied to the entire panel. The reason is to sand a large area flat without distrrbing other fills.

Ill add to what Dave, alot easier to work the entire surface then try to work a spot of filler here and there. Most of it will end up on the ground anyway

:)That is one of the biggest, it not the biggest mistakes guys make when learning body repair. Give the dent the respect it deserves. Don't skimp on the filler, like Eric says, what doesn't belong will end up on the floor, what you DO need will stay there. http://members.aol.com/icantunderstand/roadsterinbondo.jpg
http://members.aol.com/goodstuff53/arod.jpg

that is an absolutely beautiful piece of automotive artwork! :eek: thanks for the replies. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Yes however some people don't do it correct. example-today I got around to running out to my dad's to sand what is left of the paint/primer/filler down. Low and behold I not only had to pull the grinder out but never put it away and 4 hours later I'm still not done. Almost 1/4" deep all over the ENTIRE CAR. Some spots were flawless after removing the filler-what the he!!. Some people should not be allowed to touch filler. Also, it should never be applied OVER a gapping hole due to rust in the middle of a panel.

My Elky has about 1/8" of filler around the entire car and I've found nothing wrong aside from minor dings on the parts I've stripped down so far. Of course, I'm taking it all off since it's 10 years old and cracking.

Just so you know, the age has nothing what so ever to do with the cracking. It was improper use, "Somehow" I don't know what, but somehow it was improperly applied that is leading to the failure. If properly applied plastic filler will outlast you and I.

I'd like to add to the conversation that when I started to sand down a crack in the paint on the rear quarter of the SS.. I noticed some bondo and as I proceeded to sand I noticed more and more bondo...I finally got frustrated and buried the grinder staight into the stuff only to discover that there was 3/4 of an inch of that stuff in there!!..Needless to say, I am replacing the whole quarter panel....although someone did a really nice job of reshaping the taillight housing...that stuff really works well....

Sometimes it may necessary to fill from edge to edge to iron out the waves in the panel. This is what bodymen call a glamour coat.

Originally posted by Black70454:
Sometimes it may necessary to fill from edge to edge to iron out the waves in the panel. This is what bodymen call a glamour coat. "Glamour coat" LOL, talk about spin. smile.gif Around here it is simply a "skim coat". "Glamour coat" sounds great, it does make sense. smile.gif

"Glamour Coat" I'll have to remember that one :D I remember the old days when repairs would be made then the whole car was built up with laquer putty and primer untill the car was straight. Then sprayed with three coats of laquer paint and wetsanded followed by three more coats and wetsanded and buffed, the look was awesome untill everything shrunk down showing waves and scratches etc. The guys doing really good work would let the car shrink in primer for sometimes months before applying paint and then wait for months to color sand and buff, all in an attempt to let everything dry/shrink so the car would hold it's shape and shine when they were done with it. The bodymen and costomizers of years ago had it tough compared to today. The newer primers and fillers offer very low shrinkage. Polyester fillers have always gotten a bad rap by butchers using it improperly in my opinion. I can honestly say I have never had or seen any failures directly related to polyester filler, only improper application/usage. The bodymen that are skimming complete vehicles are straightening these vehicles with a product that does not shrink. The same could be done with polyester primers and urethane surfacers but at a much slower rate. I have no problems with skimming an entire panel in an effort to perfect it before primer surfacer application, it only makes sense. A shop south of me works on exotics, customs, and restorations. You won't see any polyseter filler in his garage, but he does go through gallons upon gallons of polyester primer which is pretty much the same stuff smile.gif

The only thing bad about the overuse of primer surfacer is the build up of millage (matrial build) if primer surfacer is too thick it can crack. Most paint companies don't you to use primer as a polyester filler. Icing works great, I personally think it is the one of the best finishing fillers.

i've been using icing (polyester filler putty)on my hood and trunk lid as a finish over the fiberglass short-strand body filler.it sands fairly easily and leaves a smooth finish if you work it right.i'm happy. :D