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Pro tip: A painter taught me to stop rushing my filler work
I was chatting with an old timer at the NAPA store last Tuesday. He said if the filler still smells like chemical when you sand it, it's not ready. I used to sand after 10 minutes and wonder why I got pinholes and shrinking. Now I wait a full 20 minutes minimum before touching it with sandpaper. It's made a huge difference in how smooth my panels come out before primer. Anyone else have a trick they learned from an old school painter?
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lewis.brian10d ago
@linda_reed I gotta call BS on the thin layers thing - I've had way better luck with one solid application and just letting it sit longer, helps the filler bond to the metal instead of peeling off in sheets later lol.
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linda_reed10d ago
Learned that one the hard way with a classic car hood. Had to strip it three times before an old guy told me the same thing about waiting for the chemical smell to fade. Now I mix my filler a little thinner too so it does not trap air. Another trick is to spread it on in really thin layers instead of one big glob. That way each layer cures faster and you get less shrinking later. Also started using a cheap infrared thermometer to check the panel temp before and during curing. Makes a difference on cold days in the garage.
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Haha yeah the infrared thermometer tip is solid, I swear half the battle is just guessing temperatures by touch. One time I was mixing filler in my unheated garage in January and wondered why it was taking forever to kick, turns out the panel was like 40 degrees lol. So now I just point a space heater at the metal for ten minutes before I even mix anything.
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