okay guy's i just finished tack welding my rear quarter's on today.would like to get your thoughts on what type of bondo i should use in this area of the seam from door to tailights.turned out pretty good i think so far.thanks for any replies.gary harman

I've heard fantastic things about Evercoat Rage Xtreme. I have a gallon of it for my car, but I havent used it yet. It costs about $35 per gallon.

Evercoat makes the best out there in my book. As for the products within the evercoat line, either Rage, Rage Gold or the new Xtreme would be great choices...Eric

I work at a bodyshop,and we use Z- Grip from evercoat. It works well and sands easy, and it is not that expensive. Good luck.

I consider this question much like "which brand of oil is best and should I use conventional or synthetic?".

There is no best single answer. Frequently, the answer you get is simply personal preference. Sometimes that's based on marketing influences and sometimes it's based on real or imagined advantages and/or disadvantages.

There are some real differences in types of filler, such a "lite" as opposed to the regular. Even that difference is ...to me...kinda like a blind taste test of Pepsi VS Coke. It's a fact that most people can't tell the difference unless they know which one is which.

I did a 3 month stint as a consultant in a large body shop a couple of years ago. The body men had been using Evercoat Rage in one gallon containers and insisted it was the best stuff they had ever used. I switched them over to 5-gallon containers of Dyna-Lite. They couldn't tell the difference. There was a heckuva price difference though.

No personal digs here, but it's been my experience that professional body men are easy marketing "suckers" for the latest "rage"...double entendre, pun intended. They are convinced by the sales folks that the latest product is the absolute best and they should ask to use it. The decision to use it or not frequently is determined by who is having to pay for that latest "rage".

Let me try to use this analogy...Let's assume there are real differences. In NASCAR, the teams have determined that air pressure in the tires is absolutely critical to the best performance. Even a half pound or quarter pound can make a difference. Heck, we ordinary people, even major tire shop don't even have an air gauge that is calibrated that closely.

The point is that if there are differences, does the increased ease of sanding, faster/slower cure time, less shrinkage, etc. make up for the price difference...especially if you are personally paying for the product??

I've used most of the fillers on the market. Considering that I'm now retired from the business and my usage is on my personal vehicles, I go up the street four blocks to Auto Zone and buy a one gallon container of Bondo brand polyester filler and it fills the bill quite nicely. At about $10. a gallon, it stacks up quite well to Rage, Rage Gold or Rage Extreme and for my purposes, does just as good a job.

That was a longer response than I intended, so instead of the usual .02, please send one used American dollar. smile.gif

Vette, I don't think I have ever disagreed with you, but I personally feel there is a big difference in fillers. I always bought the cheap stuff, just didn't see any need to spend the extra money for something that would fill the dent just the same.

When I was repping paint I had a customer complain about a filler I sold. He said it didn't spread well and asked for different one. I picked up two different fillers and head out to his shop. One WAS a cheapie, the least expensive we had, "EconoBody". The other was Evercoats "RAGE" (with a NAPA M-S label smile.gif ).

I worked with all three, the one he complained about which was in the middle as far as cost and the two I brought. I have to tell you, there was a BIG difference between them. Now, the funny thing was the Econobody actually worked pretty well (I have no idea who makes it, but it is a "re-label" so it could actually be "Bondo" brand for all I know). The middle of the road one was I believe Evercoat "White star" it really did have a much rougher texture and spread very rough. The others (with RAGE being the best) spread like cream cheeze compared. I have since tried others and there IS a big difference from RAGE (regular RAGE is fine) and other fillers I have tried. There are plenty of good ones, but they are all the higher priced products.

You DO get what you pay for....usually.

On the salesman comments smile.gif I honestly NEVER pushed ANYTHING that wasn't better than what the guy was using at the time. I know that isn't the rule but the exception. But honestly, that is what I did. It made no sense to push something on someone who was going to throw it in my face the next time I stopped by. I WANTED to help them and make them happy.

By the way, RAGE gold is my favorite. With Evercoats "Glaze coat" or "Metal Glaze" as my favorite polyester putty for skim coats. They are the exact same product in a different color.
smile.gif

Brian, We're still pretty much on the same page. I agree, as I stated, that there are differences in fillers, but many(perhaps most) people won't know the difference unless they have two products side by side and knowing which one is which.

Even for those who really can tell the difference in the filler qualities, is the price difference worth it? To some, it may be. I kinda think that many body guys won't think so if the price increase is coming out of their personal pocket.

Didn't mean for the sales comment to sound like a dig at salesmen. The fact is that salesmen SELL. If they have a new product to offer, their job is to SELL that product. If it's a higher cost product, the odds are that the salesman realizes a greater reward for his selling efforts. That's how selling ordinarily works. Not all sales folks have the conscience that you do(did). smile.gif

mxracer, make sure you weld the quarter panel complete, just tack welds with open spaces between will not hold up to the expansion and contraction of the two pieces being joined. The seam will always show itself down the road if not welded completely.

As far as filler goes, the cheap stuff will work but I do prefer evercoat Rage extreme--it goes on so smooth and thin when needed that it pretty much eliminates the need for any glaze coats. I also use a coat of everglass over any welds first followed by the rage. The everglass adds some strength to repair areas and is more moisture resistant than regular fillers which could help in areas where you may have a micro small pinhole----weld areas. JMO here, have fun graemlins/beers.gif

Good stuff Bob smile.gif

I'll second the duraglass or everglass over welds.
I usually duraglass and then allmetal. If I have any pinholes, I fix with a skim coat of regular filler. I don't have a preference, but I don't care for really runny filler. It needs to spread without dragging and leaving air bubbles in the surface.

my unexpert opinion.

bob, i did the offset flange to the upper body. then after triming the quarters to fit in the offset i took them back off and punched a approx. .250 hole close to that edge and about every 2 inches apart. i worked in different areas as to not put to much heat in one area. do you think this seam needs to be welded solid still? thanks

yes, it should be welded solid. The seam will show itseld in time if not completely welded. You can do the welding a spot weld at a time skipping around until completely welded for less chance of warpage. You could also lead the seam without welding it solid but very tricky.

Brian, I've been using Napa's TEC filler, and TECFlow blending putty, stepped up from Bondo and Napa's MicroLite brands. Is this the relabeled Rage you speak of? About $26/gal over here. I find it hands down the easiest filler I've ever worked with. Not that I do it alot, I actually avoid bodywork as much as I can. :D This is probably why the El Camino's been in a coma for 9 years. :D Using the TEC fillers has me re-energized to tackle the job, I've done more bodywork in the past 8 months than I've done in the past 5 years. It's so easy to shape and work, I can almost see the end to the bodywork in sight. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

That's RAGE alright. smile.gif Good stuff