Auto body shops use filler to hide dents
11 posts across 2 communities in the last 60 days; 91% from r/Autobody.
“Saw those exact ones at a truck meet last month, guy said he got them from some seller on Amazon but can't remember the shop name now. The plastic gets cloudy real fast if you park in direct sun all day, maybe the ones with glass lenses hold up better. [re: Anyone know where to…”
“The issue will also only continue to get worse if you use body filler, that hole will continue to rot and increase in size. But if that’s what you wanna do go for it”
“Ok then stop being cheap and take it to a proper body shop. If you can't afford that then you are living beyond your means and should not have a new truck.”
Several users express concern that auto body shops are using filler instead of proper dent repair (PDR). Some believe the filler is visible and question whether the vehicles were purchased from dealerships. One user suggests those who can't afford a proper shop shouldn’t own new trucks.
SOURCES (18)
“Lol no. I worked with pdr and auto-body guys who would recommend me for auto detailing. I've seen the damage where customers would buy these kits only to end up damaging the dent to the point where pdr guys can no longer service that spot.…”
“Why shouldn’t I use a door skin? [re: Should I buy a another door or just let the shop use body filler?]”
“That's also the passenger side [re: Should I buy a another door or just let the shop use body filler?]”
“How would I go about getting this dent out of my metal truck? (not fiberglass) submitted by /u/Soft_Dealer_929 [link] [comments]”
“Saw those exact ones at a truck meet last month, guy said he got them from some seller on Amazon but can't remember the shop name now. The plastic gets cloudy real fast if you park in direct sun all day, maybe the ones with glass lenses hold up better. [re: Anyone know where to get these lights?]”
“My Tacomas rear bedside got hit a bit ago and this is what the shop gave back. I haven’t worked in a body shop in about a year, but I don’t think that body line is prominent enough. It also looks like some of the damage is still lingering from them not replacing the bedside. It looks like it has 3 angles rather than a prominent body line with a slope behind that. Should I go back and press to get this redone? I am hoping to sell it soon as well, so if we think people wouldn’t notice, I wouldn’t.”
“The issue will also only continue to get worse if you use body filler, that hole will continue to rot and increase in size. But if that’s what you wanna do go for it”
“Yeah unfortunately you can literally see the filler was not sanded smooth completely on the edge. I would bet it has a giant chunk of filler right there.”
“Yes, but the minute you have to do any touchup work with paint it isn't really PDR anymore. I've seen the touchup work from PDR shops before and it wasn't any better than the owner could have done.”
“Pdr could def fix that. Then touch it up to protect the metal. Repaired this same dent many times with a little touch up. If he wants it factory looking then body shop is the way to go. Clearly he's not looking for factory finish if he's thinking of mangling it himself.”
“If they have someone who is good at PDR it's an easy fix and it will look good when it's done .”
“Regardless of what happened before or during the “PDR” work, that cab corner will likely have to be replaced, and the door and very possibly bedside painted (blended) to match.”
“Maybe it's my screen saturation but pics 3-4 look just like filler underneath to me. Did you buy it off the lot?”