My uncle's body filler advice almost cost me a whole quarter panel job

So my uncle Bob, who's been doing this since the 80s, told me to skip the metal prep and just slap filler straight on bare steel to save time. I tried it on a 2015 Civic in Louisville last Tuesday and the whole patch popped off after two days. Had to grind it all back down and start over with proper etching primer. Has anyone else had an old timer give them advice that seemed smart but totally backfired?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_patricia11d agoTop Commenter

Man, I used to think old school shortcuts were the only way to go, but watching that filler pop off changed my whole mind. Now I'm all about doing it right the first time.

avery72111d ago

My uncle Bob gave me the same advice about skipping prep on a 97 F-150 I was fixing up back in 2018. Did it pop off in two days? It didn't budge for three years until I sold it. Maybe the humidity in Louisville is just worse than where I'm at, but I swear half the battle with body work is blaming the weather or the paint brand when the real issue is technique. That said, I'm still not buying etching primer for every little ding.