Whats the best body filler?
11-02-2006, 04:24 AM
#14
Join Date: Oct 2006
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Posts: 14
RE: Whats the best body filler?
Lead takes LOTS of practice, and when improperly applied, it can crack and fall out so I disagree it will outlast plastic. Plastic is definitely more forgiving, but won't stick to improperly prepared surfaces, and it still takes SOME practice to learn how to mix it, work it, shape it. Surface prep is similar with a slight difference: both need clean, bare (100% rust free) dry metal. A big difference is that lead will stick to slick or rough metal but must have zero paint on it; for plastic, you want to rough up the metal, but plastic will also stick to most any conventional primer or rough sanded paint. Another difference is it's easy to add a second application of plastic filler over the first; with lead, you're reworking the whole fill if you didn't put enough on the first time or filed too much. Both are not good for your health to apply or to sand (plastic) or file (lead) - wear a proper mask and have proper ventilation. Plastic dust is bad, but lead filings and dust can qualify your garage for superfund cleanup. The toxicity of lead is the main reason nobody uses it any more.
There are two reasons you wouldn't put plastic (polyester) filler over epoxy: 1) if the epoxy isn't fully cured, the trapped solvent will cause the filler to bubble and/orseparate, and 2) epoxy forms an extremely hard, slick surface; plastic fillers bond with mechanical adhesion: it grips to scratches, so the rougher the surface, the better the grip, the slicker the surface, the poorer the grip. So, you can put plastic filler over epoxy, but you have to wait the full cure time (typically 7 days or more), AND you need to roughen it up with coarse sandpaper with an inline sander (not an orbital). A lot of wasted work in my opinion.
The reality is all pro-grade polyester resin body fillers are about the same, so it's kind of a personal preference thing. Some stick better to aluminum or galvanized metal, some are lighter than others, some easier to sand, some feather better than others, some have less air whipped into them so you have less pinholes. But since you shouldn't be ever using more than 1/4" thickness of it at the deepest spot in a repair, it's not going to make a huge difference. You use it to level and smooth out a repair, not to BE the repair.
I personally like the Evercoat Lite Weight in the red/white can for general purpose, and White Star for thin "skim coat" fills on wavy panels. 3M products are also pretty good, but you'll probably end up with whatever pro brands you can get at your local car paint store. The stuff with "aluminum" is a gimmick and you won't find it in pro lines. The types called "light weight" will generally be the easiest to sand, but might not feather as well as the "heavier" stuff that has more resin/less fillers (almost sounds like a beer commercial) . Just be aware that the "vacuum processed" stuff costs more and promises the potential for less pinholes, but if you whip air in when mixing in the hardener, you've wasted your money. Mix thoroughly but "gently". Also be aware that the wrong amount of hardener will ruin even the most expensive filler, although once you get a feel for it, you can tweak the amount of hardener to speed up or slow down the set time depending on your air temp.
Like most things related to painting (and golf), the results are more dependent on the skill of the Indian rather than the cost of the arrows.
There are two reasons you wouldn't put plastic (polyester) filler over epoxy: 1) if the epoxy isn't fully cured, the trapped solvent will cause the filler to bubble and/orseparate, and 2) epoxy forms an extremely hard, slick surface; plastic fillers bond with mechanical adhesion: it grips to scratches, so the rougher the surface, the better the grip, the slicker the surface, the poorer the grip. So, you can put plastic filler over epoxy, but you have to wait the full cure time (typically 7 days or more), AND you need to roughen it up with coarse sandpaper with an inline sander (not an orbital). A lot of wasted work in my opinion.
The reality is all pro-grade polyester resin body fillers are about the same, so it's kind of a personal preference thing. Some stick better to aluminum or galvanized metal, some are lighter than others, some easier to sand, some feather better than others, some have less air whipped into them so you have less pinholes. But since you shouldn't be ever using more than 1/4" thickness of it at the deepest spot in a repair, it's not going to make a huge difference. You use it to level and smooth out a repair, not to BE the repair.
I personally like the Evercoat Lite Weight in the red/white can for general purpose, and White Star for thin "skim coat" fills on wavy panels. 3M products are also pretty good, but you'll probably end up with whatever pro brands you can get at your local car paint store. The stuff with "aluminum" is a gimmick and you won't find it in pro lines. The types called "light weight" will generally be the easiest to sand, but might not feather as well as the "heavier" stuff that has more resin/less fillers (almost sounds like a beer commercial) . Just be aware that the "vacuum processed" stuff costs more and promises the potential for less pinholes, but if you whip air in when mixing in the hardener, you've wasted your money. Mix thoroughly but "gently". Also be aware that the wrong amount of hardener will ruin even the most expensive filler, although once you get a feel for it, you can tweak the amount of hardener to speed up or slow down the set time depending on your air temp.
Like most things related to painting (and golf), the results are more dependent on the skill of the Indian rather than the cost of the arrows.
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