The way some guys treat aluminum filler is driving me crazy

I've been noticing more and more cars coming through with repairs that just don't hold up, and it's almost always because people are applying filler way too thick. Like, I had a '99 Civic come in last week with a quarter panel that someone just glopped a half inch of filler onto instead of pulling the dent. By the time I got it, it was all cracked and bubbling. It's not just hobbyists either, I've seen shop guys do it to save time on metal work. But the thing is, filler is supposed to be a skim coat, not a structural fix. I know it takes longer to hammer and dolly stuff straight, but you're just creating more work down the line. Has anyone else run into this with sublet work coming back to bite you?

2 comments

2 Comments

wells.olivia1d ago

That half inch of filler comment hit home, I stopped subletting paint work over this exact issue.

miles_roberts18h ago

Wells.olivia you're speaking my language now. Had a whole row with a painter who swore his "tiny skim" would sort out a bumpy wall, ended up with a surface that looked like a relief map. Never again, I check every spec myself since that disaster.