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I was mixing my body filler wrong for months until a job in Tacoma
I was working on a 2018 F-150 bed side and the filler kept sagging before it set. The guy I was helping there asked if I was using the hardener from the old tube, which I was. He pointed out the date code, and it was from two years ago. I swapped to a fresh tube and the mix set up perfect in about eight minutes. Has anyone else had a problem with old hardener making filler act weird?
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phoenix_grant22d ago
My uncle had a tube of hardener in his garage that must have been from 2005. He used it on a little dent in his old Dodge door, and the filler stayed soft for like three days. We ended up having to chip it all out with plastic scrapers. It was a total waste of time. That stuff definitely goes bad sitting on the shelf.
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seanc7322d ago
That's interesting, but I've had the opposite happen. I've used hardener past its date and it still worked fine for me. The real issue is often mixing it wrong, not the age. I'd check your ratio before blaming the tube.
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Wait, you actually used expired hardener and it worked? That's playing with fire, man... the date is there for a reason. The chemicals break down over time, so even if you mix it perfect, it might not cure right. Could end up with a sticky mess or worse, the bond fails later. Just because you got lucky once doesn't mean it's good advice.
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