Picked up a tip about filler shrinkage from a retired body man yesterday

I was talking to a guy named Hank at the NAPA counter in Springfield. He told me to always let my filler sit for at least 20 minutes after mixing before applying it on a cold day. Tried it this morning on a 2010 Ford F-150 quarter panel and the shrinkage was way less noticeable. Has anyone else heard of doing this or am I just late to the party?

2 comments

2 Comments

elizabethn561mo ago

Yeah, that's a good tip. Letting it sit a bit really does help with shrinkage.

alicew681mo ago

Funny you mention that because I was just reading up on how the temperature of the metal itself matters more than the air temp when you're letting it sit. If the panel is still cold from the morning air, that 20 minute rest time might not be enough to bring the filler up to temp. I wonder if anybody's ever tried warming the panel up with a heat lamp before they mix the filler to get a better result.