Body Filler Options

[GeorgeRud]

As I have no bodywork experience, I wonder if it's standard to completely cover the body with filler, then sand it down (as seen on many of the Velocity Channel restoration shows) before applying primer and color coats? Obviously this amount of hand crafting is not done during initial manufacturing, but is there an advantage to this? Seems a high build sealing primer would make this unnecessary.

[McMark]

It's the same as every other aspect of a restoration, you get what you pay for. It's W_A_Y easier to put a thin skim coat over the whole car and then just block it smooth, instead of applying filler just to the 'dents'. Most of the time on an older car you don't realize that the body is full of waves and bumps. And that doesn't even get into the mismatch of panels. Sometimes the only way to make a car with a replaced fender line up is to build up a section with bondo. If you use a skim coat over the whole car you skip the process of deciding where to put filler, you skip the 'oops I missed a spot'. You get it all in one shot and can move on quickly.

1. Entire Skim Coat = cheap, and still can look amazing or crap depending on the body guy.
2. Minimize Filler = quite a bit more expensive, and still can look amazing or crap depending on the body guy.
3. No Filler = insanely expensive, and still can look amazing or crap depending on the body guy

So before ya'll go and condemn bondo/filler, think about how much you would pay for paint/metalwork. If you think $5000 is too much for a paint job, then you can't afford option 2 & 3.

Bondo/Filler doesn't make or break a paint job, it's exclusively your budget and the skills of the body guy.