Body fillers

[monte70car]

We don't do much body work here in our little work shop, but I do have a review of Bondo's metal filler. On the project hood we have been busy working on we have been using the metal filler it's not the same product as Evercoat's metal-2-metal. The color and texture is the same sanding the metal filler can be done with 60 girt on a palm sander very fast as it has more plastic filler then metal. When doing the magnet test on the metal filler you can pull the magnet out a few inches before it comes off the panel. Price wise the metal filler runs the same price as the Metal-2-metal $36 with sales tax up here. I give the product 3 stars.

 

Metal-2-metal: we got turn on to this product by a local bike builder who uses it on gas tanks on motorcycles. With the metal-2-metal pulling a magnet on a panel you can pull the magnet about 6 inches out before it lose it's grip. When sanding the metal-2-metal it takes about 40 girt paper to even cut the roughness off the metal-2-metal. Price of the metal-2-metal depending on where you shop will start around the $36 for a quart and go up. i give the product 4 stars.

 

Plastic filler(Bondo): Everyone knows the Bondo brand as most local auto part stores carry their product and a gallon runs $25. As people say you get what you pay and Bondo comes in handy for a quick pick up. I give the product 2.5 stars.

 

Rage Xetereme: Used this on a friends car and really liked the quality of the product. The Rage is a light weight filler which is easy to apply easy to sand, coverage when primer was nice and smooth. The price of the Rage was about $60 for a gallon but the some will say it's a high price for body filler. I give they product 4 stars.

 

Dynatron Dyna-delite: I picked it up at the parts house for around $40 a gallon. It is a heavy plastic filler compare to the Bondo brand and the Rage brand. I would pick this brand filler over the Bondo stuff and use it for a base then the light weight Rage on top of it keeping the filler thickness under 1/2" although the ideal goal is very little filler. I give this 4 stars as well.

 

Eastwood contour: Seen this user on Spike's muscle car show along with their Truck show. Product contains rust inhibitors and is self etching properties which will come in handy if the body filler area gets wet it wont do like the Bondo and soak the water in and cause issue down the road. Haven't used this product yet but it is waiting to be use on the hood. The price on the Eastwood filler is $50 plus shipping so it's in between the Rage and the Dynatron.

[7tonemonte]

My preference is the Rage Extreme, been using it for years now, Its what I used on my car, just like any of the other products you should not be using it to fill rust and major dents, work the metal as best you can, and go from there!

The problem that most people have is abusing the material, thats where you run into trouble

[Jared Richey]

The "Smart" Brand is an off brand I used that our local finish master sells. It is made by one of the higher end name brands, but it still was not cheap, using an off label in some cases saves you some $$ and its the same stuff, every little bit helps.

[Steve G]

I like U-Pol Gold filler and U-Pol gold Glaze... they are designed to also be mixed together to control thickness and consistancey as needed.... sands about 3x faster than Rage Extreme and no paper plugging, bodyline shaping comes up super fast and zero pinholes. Sandable within 5 minutes to 10 minutes depending on how you control cure time... No Shrinking.. ever.

Easily finished off to 320 grit (thats not a typo!) for the picky preppers if needed. 180 grit finish is effortless

Been using it for years... not one problem yet.

[CKZ03]

There are many good products available today, some of the off brands that are cheaper achieve the same results for half the cost. Thought I would throw in my 2 cents here. I use some of the more expensive products and have had great results and longevity of repairs. For welded areas and deeper/thicker repairs I like to use Duraglass, cant recall the manufacturer. Its kind of a short strand fiberglass bondo like material. Typically would finish off over this with a light weight filler. Duraglass is very hard to sand once fully cured. I usually like to get on it while it is in precured state. Usually hit it with 40 grit and work it up to 80, then apply regular filler to finish off repair. And yes this tends to make me itch, it does contain fiberglass. Never been a big fiberglass repair fan, but this stuff does work well - on both fiberglass & steel.

 

For standard repairs I like to use a filler called Platinum made by 3M. We use Rage and Rage Gold at work on a daily basis and they work fine. At home, and on my own stuff I prefer the Platinum. Super easy to sand with minimal to no pinholes.

 

For finish putty I go about it two different ways. Sometimes I use Glaze Coat made by Evercoat. Another product available is called Plastic Honey, also made by Evercoat. This is designed to be added to standard filler to thin it out, essentially making your own Glazing putty. Both great products, very easy to sand. I Typically finish off in 180 grit prior to priming.

[Leghome]

Duraglass is a USC product and at $55.00 a gallon quite expensive but a very good product..