well ive been trying to finish the body work on my camaro so i can paint it.i have two areas that need work, the rear quarter panel on the passenger side and the rocker panel on the driver side.i have pulled the dent the best i could on the quarter panel and have used bondo, but most likely will be removing the bondo and using a different kind of filler, and as for the rocker panel i just added body filler as im not sure how i can pull it.im trying to do the work myself as it would be cheaper and i dont really trust someone else to do a quality job as i would.i talked to the auto body teacher at my school and said its best to use a 1/8 inch of bondo or body filler, and said its just meant to fill or smooth out small dents rather than to fill a big dented area.also said since its a plastic that it will expand in the heat, and i live in the desert where it gets very hot so im not sure if it will be a good idea to use a bondo type filler, what do you guys think i should do ?

 

Its always best to work the metal as smooth as possible before going with the filler. As far as the bondo holding up in the heat, most likely it will srink back and you will see your sanding scratches. Its always best to let your body work sit b4 you paint it. This way it has time to cure and srink back, then you can sand it with 600 it b4 u paint. I've let body work sit for weeks sometimes months b4 I painted over it

 

so how much filler would be too much ?

 

get the panel as good as you can and try to use as little filler as possible try not to use more than a 1/8 of an inch and make sure you finish sand with 220 or 320 before priming so you will not see any sand scrathes

 

1/8 is max for me. Remeber its a filler for shaping and contouring .

 

Go up to 600 grit when wet sanding the primer before paint. I use as little bondo as i can to get the job done. Than let it sit for a few days. It needs time to settle and maybe another thin coat of it.

I filled in my camaro lettering on the back and it settled and you can faintly see the trunk keyhole and lettering. Needs to be re done.