You see it on the car related TV reality shows, American Hot Rod, Bitchin' Rides, etc. They usually spread a skim coat of some kind of filler over the entire body to fill small imperfections/scratches, etc then sand most of it off before laying a sealer coat. What is it??? It seems like it's very smooth flowing and very easy to sand off. Is it regular body filler? I don't think it's finishing glaze. Anyone know what they use? Brand name?
http://www.evercoat.com/premium-fillers/us/ I have read the difference but not sure what the pros use.
I think you guys nailed it! I've been doing some research and it looks like it may be the Rage Extreme. Kinda liquidy, smooth flowing, virtually no pinholes and easy sanding. That's pretty much what I was looking for!
Rage extreme may cost more than other fillers but by the time you subtract the difference, the cost is a drop in a bucket compared to the rest of the job and probably saving money in the long run.
If you want an Evercoat product, Rage ultra is probably what you want. The Rage Ultra XTRA is an extended time mix so you can get an entire large panel coated from end to end and smoothed out before it sets. It's has a very low slump so there won't be much fill and if you try to get it to fill it will sag. About $60 a gallon. I've been using USC AG47 filler and out of the can it's probably right between rage extreme and ultra at $25 a gallon. Add a percentage of icing and it's even slicker. It sands super easy and doesn't clog paper. With 2 guys we manage to coat 1/2 a roof or hood. Not bad if the hood has a peak, but a roof with a stop in the center is still a bitch. The rage ultra XTRA has the leg up on working time. Polyester primers are like a spray on filler, good for end to end coats with no spreader marks! I've been using Eastwood contour and really like it. 2 rounds of spraying and blocking over good bodywork and you're arrow straight from headlights to taillights.
A different spin, $20.00 an change a gallon, an a shot of resin, will have the same results, an actually I prefer it over the "enriched" versions mentioned, I have seen adhesion issues from time/time with the rage's, An y a Any filler can, but working in a vette restoration shop on/off 16 yrs, I've skim' coated hundreds of car... What worked for me, An I even used it on my 356, (painted black) Another huge factor no matter what you use drag the filler on the board a couple times to eliminate as many air bubbles as possible! Good luck!
It will largely depend on what filler company has an endorsement deal with the shop and filler companies do actively pursue these deals. If the shop is using Evercoat products and has a deal they will be using Rage Ultra at this point as that is the focus for Evercoat right now. If it is a gold colour and is Evercoat it will be Rage Gold. At their core all lightweight fillers consist of resin, talc and microspheres (tiny hollow spheres). Then manufactures will use other additives to improve certain aspects of the performance but they all share the above three elements. It is a variation of the quality and quantities of these the elements that essentially control the quality and performance of fillers as mentioned some additives will enhance certain aspects of filler performance but the majority of it boils down to the quality of the resin, the consistency of the talc and the amount of each (and microspheres) that are used. Rage is kind of the entry level for the premium fillers which consist of better quality resins and a number of additives for sand ability and adhesion. It is kind of a "economy" premium product is does a bunch of stuff well and better than lesser quality products but doesn't really excel at any one thing. Rage Gold is a better performing product as it is easier sanding and has a little bit better spreadability. Rage Extreme is a thinner formula that is designed to self level better than the other two products which results in fewer pinholes as it allows trapped air an easier path to the surface but because this requires more resin it also means it doesn't sand as well as Rage Gold. Rage Ultra is the latest formulation for the Rage line and it consists of a hybrid resin that combines all of the best features into one product. It is by far the easiest sanding and remains easy to sand unlike regular polyester based resins which get harder over time, it spreads very well and self levels so it reduces pinholes. The one thing to be aware of is that cheaper fillers that sand really well achieve this by loading the product up with microspheres. All companies do this to keep costs down but you are essentially getting a bunch hollow spheres taking up a larger percentage of your product rather than resin and talc which give the filler it's strength and adhesion.
With all the emphasis on "metal finishing" these days, I find it curious that this stuff is mainly sold in gallons. I have had some problems with "old" fiberglass type products and now will only buy new for each project.
One has to understand what market filler companies develop and sell the vast majority of the their products to and it is not the specialty car market.
Yeah, the metal finishing guys are in a completely separate realm. They are not the majority of shops or end users of the product. There emphasis exists in another world. It's sold in 3 gallon pails as well.
If you own a shop, and you have customers with enough scratch to afford metal finishing, good on you. If you are metal finishing at home, on your own ride, that is going to get immediately painted, you may either have an out sized sense of pride, don't value your time, or are of dubious mental soundness.
I just did a O/T GTO that had been skin coated. Had to take it to bare metal to get all the cracks out where it had shrunk and cracked the paint. You can't use a 36 grit wheel and then just fill the grinder marks all over and expect it to last. Had to use a wire wheel to dig the filler out of the gouges the 36 grit wheel left that they did not even knock the tops off. An all over skin coat is not a cure for poor prep. I like Rage filler in moderation.
I tried and tried and tried for myself- I was unsuccessful at getting the perfect metal finish. I stand in awe of the guys that can. For me Finessing The final 10% takes 90% of the time and although different it really wasn't any better. The Net gain was not a total waist but close. Now I struggle with calculating the difference in job quality if there's 1/8" of mud or 3/16" of mud. I rarely see any.
yep, the small stuff is easy the big stuff is crazy helping a shop with a 59 impala, the qtrs were all chicken wire and glass welded new pieces from door to tail light the question I asked is how much is one shim coat worth its worth a lot with zero effect on the cars value thankfully they decided the skim coat was more than good enough this thing kicked my butt I have worked on a few hand built European cars all of t hem had a very thick layer of primer with grinder,file and hammer marks underneath
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