filler... what sort?

[JaneHibbert]

Hi i have a door with scratches in and crcked paint and various bumps and want to respray it. i have read up on painting methods but wanted to know what filler to use to get a smooth finish. i watched a program recently which showd professionsals putting layers of filler over the whole body then sanding it all down to get a perfect finish. but what sort of filler do you use for that sort of thin job? just regular body filler like you get at halfords? thanks

[lambrettalad]

regular filler is fine but you must sand, key and clean the metal surface first .As with all body work 95% of the finish depends on the work put in to the preparation, also use as little filler as possible . Remember if it's not right first time you can always do it again,it's a learning curve .I wish you well

[JaneHibbert]

thank you, is regular filler what the professionals use? when they do it the filler looks kinda sloppy, the studd i get always seems thicker. do you think it is being used too cold?

[lambrettalad]

probably not too cold ,when you see them on the telly they are mostly doing the whole car /panel using trade filler from monster tubs normal filler is fine for the weekend body person

How much have you got to fill? It's a bit like plastering the more you have to fill the more difficult it becomes

remember the more you put in the more you have to sand away and the more feathering you have to get right

[kennatt]

if the door is as bad as you make it out,the cracked paint being the worst,then filling will not be the way to go.You will find you that you will give yourself a mammoth task by covering everything with filler, you will never get it flat enough to get a satisfactory finish,the filler will be far too thick and the top coating will sink in to it and every area of filler will show as a ring. Far better to take the time to sand the door back to metal then fill any dents and marks with a thin layer of filler which can be flatted and feather'd out,then reprimed and painted. It will take not much longer than a bodge job but the result will be ten times better. Cracked paint is a sure sign of too many layers of paint after a few resprays. The old coatings shrink and cause the top coat to crack. Filling them and repainting just makes it worse and the new top coat WILL crack again in a very short time. Do it properly once and forget about it for the next ten years.As an asside ,filler comes in a premixed state.and hardens with an activator,the only thing temperature effects is the rate at which it goes off,ie too cold and it takes a long time to harden,too hot and it goes off too quickly to apply , unless you are skilled in using it.The temp. has no effect on the consistency,of the filler,it can be made thinner by adding liquid resin but not many people do this ,just use it out of the tin as it is. Good luck

[tysonn]

Kennat is correct about stripping the door being the only way to go for a proper job.Going back to the filler I also have come across cheap filler that is very thick once mixed regardless of the temperature.Cheap fillers also are often harder work to flat back once set.In my experience the best body filler you can buy is Upol Fantastic.Its the easiest to mix,spread,flat,lack of pinholes etc I have ever come across.Its as finely milled as stopper.Makes the job a lot easier and many pro body shops use and recommend it.

[JaneHibbert]

yes youre right, ill have to rethink my strategy!

[lambrettalad]

please don't think i'm teaching you to suck eggs ,but youtube has some good examples of how to do jobs .this might be worth a look

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf4h5lZY ... re=related