From Matthew Wright,
Your Guide to Auto Repair.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

Sometimes your car will receive a dent or gouge that's too small to justify the expense of a full body shop repair but too big to simply ignore. You can cut your repair costs by doing the body work yourself.

Body filler (known outside the professional realm buy its popular trade name of Bondo) has a bad rap, but used correctly it can result in a well done repair. There's not a body shop out there that doesn't use a little body filler. In the old days, body filler was made of lead, but the resulting loss of brain cells and reproductive acuity sent the use of this material packing. Aside from a very few holdovers, body filler is a plastic resin that is sandable, adheres well to metal, and lasts a long time.

We'll show you how to properly use body filler to repair a dent. The main ingredient you'll need is patience. A rushed body repair never ends well. Take your time and you'll have great results.

What You'll Need:

• sandpaper - 150 grit, 220 grit, 400 grit wet/dry
• body filler (with hardener, usually included)
• glazing and spot putty
• rigid plastic spreader
• flexible plastic spreader
• automotive primer
• patience, patience, patience!

Be sure you block out a few hours (at least) to do a proper repair. It's hard to stop in the middle without risking a screw-up.