Monday, 08 February 2010 14:53

How to Fix a Dent with Body Filler

Part 1

Part 2

Fixing a dent with bodyfiller or polyester putty is sometimes not as easy as it looks. Experience makes a big difference with dent repair, developing a feel for how straight the repair is important for an undetectable repair.

To start the paint is first removed in the dented area. Since these are small dent's I have justed used a finishing putty to fill them. Finishing putty's can also be feathered into the paint when it is old, well cured paint like in this case. Used here is 3m Polyester flowable putty.  Often newcommers refer to bodyfill as "bondo" and a common question is what is the difference between bodyfiller and bondo, the answer is nothing. Bondo is just a common brand name of bodyfiller, not as popular as it once was.

The polyester putty is applied in several small applications rather then one big blob to reduce pinholes. Another way to reduce pinholes is when mixing, mix in a downward way to squeeze out any air. One other thing you should be sure of is to mix on a plastic or metal board. If you mix on cardboard it does two bad things, first it soaks up resins and second it introduces air into your mix that can generate more pinholes.

The filler is blocked several times with a variety of grits and finished off in a 180 grit prior to priming.