My uncle told me to stop using filler primer 10 years ago, he was right all along

I was 22 and fresh out of trade school, thought I knew everything. Uncle Ray ran a shop in Phoenix for 30 years. He saw me laying down thick coats of filler primer on a dented fender and said "you're just making more work for yourself son." I ignored him for almost a decade. Last month I finally tried doing it his way - thin coats, more metal work upfront. Saved me about 45 minutes per panel. Anyone else have an old timer give you advice that took years to actually listen to?

2 comments

2 Comments

john_murphy16d ago

Did you notice any difference in how the paint laid down on those thin primer coats compared to the heavy ones? I'm curious if that cuts down on orange peel too.

xenan6417d ago

Man, that Uncle Ray sounds like he knew his stuff. I was reading an old panel beater's blog last year, he said the same thing about filler primer being a crutch. He had a shop in Ohio for 40 years, swore by doing the bodywork right from the start. Took me three fenders to learn that lesson myself, each one ended up with fish eyes or sand-throughs. Thin coats and a good metal file before any primer is way faster in the long run.