Customer brought in a 2005 Civic with a dent the size of a dinner plate

Before was a crumpled mess on the rear quarter panel, after 4 hours of pulling and filler work it looked like nothing ever happened. Has anyone else had a repair that seemed impossible but turned out clean?

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan.rose1mo ago

Man I used to be the type that would write off quarter panel jobs like that as a lost cause. But damn, seeing stuff like this really makes you appreciate how much you can save with patience and good technique.

wood.eric1mo agoMost Upvoted

Oh man I totally get that but sometimes you're just better off swapping the whole panel for the money.

markh851mo ago

Yo honestly that's wild because everyone talks about the labor time or panel replacement cost but nobody brings up the structural integrity of the metal after you pull that much damage out. I've seen cars where the quarter panel looked perfect after a big pull but the metal was so fatigued it started cracking along the edges six months later. My old boss used to say you're basically playing roulette with the unibody when you stretch it that far back. Not saying it can't work, just that a clean finish now doesn't always mean a clean finish down the road lol.