[taylorb2053]

so here is my problem everytime i come around to doing some filler work on small dents i cant tell if i am doing it right. I put some filler on and sand it down and feel for the dent and i cant feel it but how do i know that it is not still there and i just cant feel it. I use a dry guide coat from 3m but sometimes i have no luck with that. would a spray guide coat be better. any help would be greatly appreciated

[dinger]

Hands and sight are usually a good way to do this. A guide coat can make it perfect. Most beginners will take off to much filler, use sanding blocks. Epoxy primer with the filler over the primer can help, when you start getting into the primer, you probably should stop. Make sure you cover a little more than the dent, this will make it easier to feather into the metal.

[boatbob2]

Hi,for guide coats,i use the cheap black spray paint from wally world..

[MARTINSR]

Here is an article on filler use that will explain a lot. http://www.autobodystore.com/ms21.shtml

Basically the dead giveaway is if your filler around the dent is "transparent" you are on the right track. If you have a clear filler/metal line you have sanded too much and the filler is low. The surrounding area should be so thin as it tapers off to literally a "transparent" look.

I am not exaggerating, when you have been around this stuff long enough you can literally look at filler work and know if it's straight without even feeling it. Not to perfection you understand, but you can often simply look at it and know if it is even worth taking the time to feel it.

Brian

[Daz_uk]

One little trick is to turn you sandpaper over with the grit side facing your hand and pass it over the repair.
For some reason you can sometimes feel it better than with just your fingers

[cyclopsblown34]

Brian, I see you're a substantial distance from the site you linked to. Do you have anything to do with it? The information is worded like your posts on here and is obviously from a professional bodyman. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by cyclopsblown34

Brian, I see you're a substantial distance from the site you linked to. Do you have anything to do with it? The information is worded like your posts on here and is obviously from a professional bodyman. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.

Those "Basics of Basics" on that site are all mine. Autobodystore.com is the first forum I ever went on and he has kept many of my "Basics of Basics" on there. Autobody101.com is another, they have some different ones and Camaros.net is another one where I think there are a few different ones as well.

Brian

[Old Fool]

Originally Posted by Daz_uk

One little trick is to turn you sandpaper over with the grit side facing your hand and pass it over the repair.
For some reason you can sometimes feel it better than with just your fingers

Put you hand inside a plastic sandwich bag then rub the car and you will feel things you would swear aren't there!

[swvalcon]

Sand paper, plastic bags, The best thing is a piece of silk cloth or a silk glove on one hand. Try it you be amazed at how it shows the waves.In a pinch you can borrow the girl Friends undies.

[MARTINSR]

Honestly, I have never found the rag or cloth or anything to work for me. Tried it a number of times over the years, it did't work for me. One thing that does is using some 320 paper and doing a quick rotating motion like a da with my hand and smooth the surface a little so you don't feel the sand paper pattern made by the courser paper.

Brian

[tech69]

that's true. The finer the better. I also never found paper towels or anything like that to work either. I have to rub it raw dog (no gloves).

My thing is how you rub it. Rub it at all angles, feel it with the bottom of your knuckles, and at times rub FAST. Rubbing fast will tell you right away. I also find the way the filler looks helps a lot but what works best for me is a culmination of all things combined...how it looks, what the guide coat is telling me, and how it feels. The looks can help you find stuff very quickly and pin point areas without wasting time. For body lines forget about it!!! Those either need primer or spray on surface cleaner and have a real good look while it's wet at angles. The worst part is thinking everything is good, and it is, except that stupid body line, in which you'll know right away as soon as you lay down the primer.

I'm hoping my next video is on bodylines on wheel wells. I have a really good technique for those and it's easy as pie.

[taylorb2053]

thank you for all the responses