The moment I caught my filler work was way too thick

I was sanding down a quarter panel on a Honda Civic last Tuesday and noticed the filler was cracking along the edge, which never happened before. Turns out I had been mixing it too thick for years, like a paste instead of a spread, and the heat from curing was causing stress fractures. Has anyone else found that a thinner mix actually saves you time on sanding in the long run?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamie9401mo ago

Yeah I gotta say you're onto something that most people overlook. The real reason thinner filler saves time isn't just about less sanding, it's that it lets the heat dissipate evenly instead of building up inside and cooking the filler from the inside out. I started mixing mine to a mayo consistency a few years back and suddenly stopped seeing those little pinhole bubbles and edge chips completely. Plus that thinner mix actually lets you work it into the metal grain better so you get a smoother first pass without having to lay it on like spackle on drywall.

piperbailey1mo ago

I switched to that mayo mix after ruining a door patch with heat bubbles, and it solved my edge lifting problem too.

elizabethmason1mo ago

Jumped on that train about a year ago myself. The mayo mix is the real deal for door skins especially. Used to fight with bubbles on every single patch job and now they just don't show up. The thinner filler really does seep into the little scratches way better too. Saves me from having to go back and fill the same spot twice.