Body filler - experiences?

[RGAZ]

Ok,

I am looking for your positive and negative experiences from using the common avaialble body fillers out there. Sure, no-one likes using body fillers, but sometimes it is inevitable due to lack of good NOS and repo parts.

So, if you have used a body filler (note how I am vague with its name to allow for all types) please reply with your pros cons to what you used.

For example:

I prefer "insert brand here" because it has the longest work time, or is easiest to sand (shave), or etc...

I hate "insert brand here" because it cracks easily, doesn't adhere, etc..

Since I read a rousing discussion on BC/CC vs. Urethane with no clear winner, I was wondering what your ideas on fillers are.

Thanks in advance,
Randy

 

[jaak]

Alot of folks say the absolute best to use is Evercoat's rage gold. I haven't tried it yet, it is very pricey around 45-50 bucks a gallon. Everyone claims it sands easy and has no pin-holes.
That being said, I always use Evercoats lightweight body filler, I have never had any trouble with it, sands fine to me, and cost 13.88 a gallon at the local parts house.

Jason

 

[alleyoopmgv]

I have been using Evercoat Rage Gold for many years, but I have recently switched to 3M Platinum Plus. It is the best body filler I have used! It sands really nice! (even if it sits for a little while). Don't really know what the cost is exactly, but it's worth it! Just my 2 cents.

 

[66_B_Body4ever]

Evercoat's premium fillers work great and have great long term holdout, 3M as mentioned above works well. I am currently use USC's BC/CC. If you choose the cheaper lines from any of the above mentioned you are getting poorer grade ingredients. Different resins, coarser talc's and larger hollow glass beads that provide the make up of the body fillers we use. If you are doing a restoration, body fillers should not be scrimped on. The end result of your job is based on the foundation you start with...Feather rite by USC as an example is the poor cousin to BC/CC by USC and is used in production shops. Great for small jobs and works fine...but it's a 'fluffier' material that can be more prone to pinholes and shrinkage. You pays your money and you takes your chances. There are many quality fillers out there right now, I like to stick to the tried, tested and true brands. I am paying about 30.00 bucks a gallon for BC/CC by USC.

Another little tip here for us restorers is to laydown a couple coats of epoxy before applying BF...Flash rust is our enemy.

 

[74sundance]

Alot of folks say the absolute best to use is Evercoat's rage gold. I haven't tried it yet, it is very pricey around 45-50 bucks a gallon. Everyone claims it sands easy and has no pin-holes.
That being said, I always use Evercoats lightweight body filler, I have never had any trouble with it, sands fine to me, and cost 13.88 a gallon at the local parts house.

Jason

I feel the same way

 

[deathcrew]

Alot of folks say the absolute best to use is Evercoat's rage gold. I haven't tried it yet, it is very pricey around 45-50 bucks a gallon. Everyone claims it sands easy and has no pin-holes.
That being said, I always use Evercoats lightweight body filler, I have never had any trouble with it, sands fine to me, and cost 13.88 a gallon at the local parts house.

Jason

I do high end paint on motorcycles and rage gold is all I use.As far as how long the workability is it depends on temp. and how much hardner you use.

 

[moparpoor]

I use z grip in the production world for the past 10 years with little to no problems.The key to using any filler no matter what the cost is proper mixing ratio with hardner.Proper application is also the key.My personal favorite is quantum wich is a epoxy based filler.It has to types of hardner a low temp and high temp and is mixed at a 10% ratio instead of the 2% ratio.The catch is the cost is 2 to 3 times the cost of standard polyester fillers.In my opinion z grip is good enough for just about any car.For the few that are as **** as my self quantum is the choice.Hope this helps:icon_lol:

 

[1badgtx]

man what ever happened to BONDO?
Petty Blue 67 GTX

 

[Redpolara]

I've found Standox and Evercoat to be good products to work with.
Some of those cheaper fillers are an absolute nightmare to sand if left overnight.......knock the excess off while it's still green.

 

[66_B_Body4ever]

man what ever happened to BONDO?
Petty Blue 67 GTX

It's still around and has a full line of products, 3M owns the company. Not my first choice but they have inproved.

 

[elitecustombody]

anything by Evercoat will work just fine, Extreme is supposed to be their best,but Rage Gold is pretty good too, Z-Grip, Lightweight are OK if you do alot of heavy mud work and don't want to spend $60 a gallon

 

[snakeoil24]

Get the body as straight as possible. If you are restoring, dolly and hammer, then lead in all your repaired window corners. Avoid body fillers if you have the time. Mixing the hardner is the problem and using over the epoxy is the safest way. Paper thin coats of Filler.

 

[ODSVET]

What everybody is forgetting here is that you shouldn't really be "filling" anything. Skim coats at the most. The biggest mistake I find in cars that we take on is people literally filling holes, dents etc etc with this crap... it gets you no where, especially if you don't , at the very least, cuts the damaged rusted area back to good , solid metal. A good rule to follow is, if you can't sand or grind it back to "silver" bare metal , it has to go. Otherwise it'll just come back to haunt you. Also, using epoxy before body filler is a waste of time in any situation, and my boss would fire you for it , prime/seal it AFTER the work is done . A good hammer/dolly set will cost you less than you think, certainly less than 2 gals of premium filler will. Take your time, most dents or imperfections can be "convinced" out... the more hammer/dolly work you do, the less filler you use. The pay off is clear, less filling = less sanding = less leveling and so on. Oh and as far as fillers go, Evercoat Z-Grip has never failed me.