Using Filler on Edge/Lip of Panel

[LittleBritishCar]

I have a quarter panel that is dented up where the lip/edge of the door jamb is located. I cannot get behind it to get the right shape so it is rounded off in that area, rather than having a nice radius. I am pretty sure filler will chip off if I use it to get the right shape. Any ideas?

Attached is a photo of of another car - the way it should look - so you can see the area I am talking about. I will post photos of mine later when I get home.

[Len]

I have a quarter panel that is dented up where the lip/edge of the door jamb is located. I cannot get behind it to get the right shape so it is rounded off in that area, rather than having a nice radius. I am pretty sure filler will chip off if I use it to get the right shape. Any ideas?

Attached is a photo of of another car - the way it should look - so you can see the area I am talking about. I will post photos of mine later when I get home.

Yes, standard body filler can chip easily in that type of situation, I would use a short strand fiberglass paste because it's much harder than standard talc based fillers. Be sure to prep the surface by sanding it with some 80 grit or coarser and press the filler into the scratches on your first pass then lay it on more heavily.

LINK

[LittleBritishCar]

OK, thanks! I bought some metal to metal filler thinking that might be the best thing to use but I'll get some Fiberglass filler instead. It seems like this may be a vulnerable place for chips, etc., so I want to do it right the first time!

[Len]

OK, thanks! I bought some metal to metal filler thinking that might be the best thing to use but I'll get some Fiberglass filler instead. It seems like this may be a vulnerable place for chips, etc., so I want to do it right the first time!

Actually M2M is no harder than standard filler.

[Chevman]

I think you should post some pictures of the actual damage, its hard to recommend something definitely without seeing how bad the damage is, thats a large area you marked out.

[LittleBritishCar]

I will try to get some photos tonight.

[LittleBritishCar]

OK, this is it. As you can see the edges are rounded off.

[Bob K]

If I were doing it I would install the door if it’s off the car and fit the latch so the door gaps are the way I want them on top and bottom. Then I would put two or three layers of duct tape on the edge of the door to protect it from tool damage. Last bit of prep is finding a piece of plastic that I could fit into the door gap to take up the space. It should be pliable plastic like what spreader tools are made of. You could get several big spreaders and use them. Now I would start thinking of adding the fiber glass filler Len talked about. With the door open force some filler on the inside of the jamb to get it covered, close the door and quickly fill the gap with the plastic sort of covering the filler you just applied then with a spreader push more filler on the outside surface of the quarter forcing it into the space between the plastic you defined the gap with and the quarter. You will use the outside of the quarter to guide your spreader to get the face shaped. Let it set up, open the door and remove the plastic forms and the filler should be close enough to start sanding to the final desired shape.

If you are worried about the filler breaking why not fit the door and build up the quarter with steel with a MIG welder? There is enough structure that shrinkage will not show up like it would in the center of a flat panel. I’ve done that and I shape it with a die grinder.

Bob K

[Chevman]

Nice explanation of the filler method Bob, but I think I would vote for your second method of welding up the edge. I just wonder where that displaced metal went to.

[Len]

If I were doing it I would install the door if it’s off the car and fit the latch so the door gaps are the way I want them on top and bottom. Then I would put two or three layers of duct tape on the edge of the door to protect it from tool damage. Last bit of prep is finding a piece of plastic that I could fit into the door gap to take up the space. It should be pliable plastic like what spreader tools are made of. You could get several big spreaders and use them. Now I would start thinking of adding the fiber glass filler Len talked about. With the door open force some filler on the inside of the jamb to get it covered, close the door and quickly fill the gap with the plastic sort of covering the filler you just applied then with a spreader push more filler on the outside surface of the quarter forcing it into the space between the plastic you defined the gap with and the quarter. You will use the outside of the quarter to guide your spreader to get the face shaped. Let it set up, open the door and remove the plastic forms and the filler should be close enough to start sanding to the final desired shape.

If you are worried about the filler breaking why not fit the door and build up the quarter with steel with a MIG welder? There is enough structure that shrinkage will not show up like it would in the center of a flat panel. I’ve done that and I shape it with a die grinder.

Bob K

I'd recommend using EZ Edge to create a barrier for the filler. It's a recent method of ours, we cut the proper length of EZE and tape it to the panel to give us the initial shape then fill up to it with glass then remove the EZE while the filler is still a little soft. We added resin to the fiberglass paste so that it is a little more liquid and get into the surface scratches by brushing with an acid brush and without having to push with a spreader.

If we would have known that the grill needed the spokes recessed we would have used this trick before we started the filler work but it's working quite well on top of the filler. After we finished roughing it in with the glass we finished it off with Rage Gold and Quantum-1 before applying Slick Sand.

[LittleBritishCar]

OK, cool, so I will order the EZ Edge and short-strand paste. What resin do I use to thin it and brush on over filler? If I use Everglass, can I use the Plastik Honey with it or is that a different type of resin?

[Len]

OK, cool, so I will order the EZ Edge and short-strand paste. What resin do I use to thin it and brush on over filler? If I use Everglass, can I use the Plastik Honey with it or is that a different type of resin?

I don't know about Plastic Honey, I've been using Evercoat's Fiberglass Resin and acid brushes.

LINK


LINK


LINK


LINK