Well, I just finished stripping the paint off of my '68 el Camino and found that the left rear quarter panel had some extensive bondo work. Aside from rusted lower front fenders and a few dings the car is very straight. One thing concerns me though. There was approximately 1/4 to 1/2 inch of bondo around the left rear fender lip around the top. There was some mud-cracking evident before I stripped the paint. It looked like they used two different types of filler. There was some green stuff and the pink filler I'm used to seeing. Will I need a new quarter panel to get it perfect? Or would high-quality filler suffice? I was thinking of using kitty-hair filler as I have heard it is about the strongest.

BTW think twice before you decide to chemically strip a car. This job took me about 100 hours and over $150 worth of stripper and supplies to complete. If I had to do it over again I would have sent it out to get media-blasted.

Tim

You should replace the rotted out section with metal.Most parts suppliers sell repair sections for commonly rusted areas.If you just fill it again it won't last.

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I guess I should have been more specific. The rusted lower sections of the front fenders have already been cut-out and I have patch panels for both sides. The rear wheel well opening lip is where the problem is. There isn't any rot, the wheel well lip was smashed in and then hammered out. I'll have to get some batteries for my digital camera so I can get some pics posted. Is a 1/2 inch of bondo over clean metal too thick?

Tim,

Do you have access to a hammer and a dolly? If so try to work the dent out as far as you can. That way, your filling work will be less than what you intended. Improvise if you must with a "tool" (wood block, or ?) that will fit in that tight area. I'd say you could get by with 1/2", BUT it would be MUCH Better to fill with less, after a little metal work.

Work out the metal as far as you can so that you will need no more than 1/16 of a inch of filler . This is the only way to get a quality repair.
Gordon VM
Restoration Motorsports