So in doing my Willys project the body was solid but had about, ohh i don't know maybe 2500 deep pits. Seeing that Featherfill II is made by Evercoat and I've had great luck with their other products, i went for it. The stuff works great but boy does it reek. Now for the big question, who else has used this and any kind of long term durability results? Thanks.
The can reads Premium Polyester. It's basicly Bondo that you spray. Hardner comes in little plastic tubes similar to fiberglass hardner.
I used it on a really badly pitted hood.It came out real good, but like you, its my first use of it and I only sprayed it last summer.Still haven't put a top coat on yet, but so far it hasn't shrunk or cracked.
I have not used Featherfill but I have used Slick Sand polyester primer by Evercoat since 2004 in my shop with no problems.
Years ago i used the original stuff and the only rap that had is it seemed to keep hardening over time and then cracking. Evercoat makes Rage Gold filler and that stuff has worked out great for me for years. Hope the same holds true for this stuff.
Thanks thats what I'm looking for. Figured that there has to be shops out there using this stuff on a weekly basis. As for me i only do bodywork when i have to. But being cheap that means on ever car i do.
We use it at our shop for the last 3 or 4 years. No problems to speak of. Fills great sands good. It is a porous primer meaning it will wick in water. So don't us it as a top coat. We usally epoxy seal then base clear. Doesn't shrink much ether.
I used it for years while doing fiberglass cars. Worked perfectly because it was basically the same core materials as the bodies it was going on and got them lazer straight. I then went to use them on steel cars and thought everything was cool but ran into problems and stopped using on steel cars. Problems: Even though all mixing directions were followed to the letter sometimes it would dry faster or slower than what was ideal regardless of weather conditions. Sometimes even though it was sprayed in a thickness that is recommended, it seemed like on steel it would seperate between coats after curing. There IS cracking in the product over steel that I never saw over fiberglass. One example was over an area that was welded and ground smooth. Months after the car was painted it developed a large blister. It had to be repaired so I dug into the blister and there was clean shiney steel under it but it peeled off like playdoh. And yes I know how to keep myh hand prints and grease and oil off a car before priming. It would hold moisture and not dry out without heat lamps if it ever got wet. It would act like a sponge and soak in water so if you ever sprayed it over bare steel it would start to let the moisture rust the steal. So of course there should never be wet sanding of the product. And last but not least, I found out the hard way that if you covered a STEEL car after it was painted, cured, sanded and buffed with a plastic car cover (like the ones you use for dust protection or to mask off a car) and the car got wet, it would cause the moisture to condense between the paint and the body causing blisters anywhere where the moisture was trapped under the plastic car cover. Based on this info I quit using anything other than a true epoxy primer over raw steel or for high build applications. I would still use it on old corvettes or boats though.
I've used slick sand for the past couple of years in my shop. No pitting cracking or shrinking, and most of which I used on black shinny cars. Its a good product I like it because its a urethane so you can wet sand it if you want.
I hate to say it but you did just about everything you could to use the product incorrectly and had it fail for those reasons. The issues with hardening may have been a result of the hardener either being bad (old) or another manufacturers. I know a lot of the time jobber stores just throw hardeners in a box and grab whatever hardener for whatever product but there are differences and they do go bad over time. FFG2 is not designed to go over bare steel. That is the advantage of Feather fill G2 over Slick Sand is that it can be sprayed over epoxies and etch primers so that you have a good adhering base under it. Although I have heard of a number of guys who have used it this way with no problems but unless you are in a very dry climate and get it topcoated ASAP it is more than likely going to fail with nothing underneath. It should never be allowed to get wet just like body filler. It has a talc base just like fillers so yes it will wick up water just like baby powder would(also talc based) and the expectant results are exactly what you described. Pretty hard to condemn a product when it has not been used properly.
The only bitch that I have with either product is you need a paint gun with a 2.0 or larger tip for even coverage. Plus after I shoot either primer I let it "cure" for about a month before I sand it. so shrinking seems to be at a minimum.
Funny thinmg is it never said ANYTHING about ANY of those things in any of the literature. It probably still doesn't! lol Also it was by jobber supplier that recommended the product specifically to go over bare steel. I guess at the time we were just the product's guinie pigs. The hardener we used was the correct hardener for the featherfill and even had the company name on it. Product was mixed using our own shaker too. We had two complete mixing machines and mixed all of our own color so we knew our way around a mixing cup. But someone has to figure out when the jobber is lying! lol As far as getting it wet, having 30 cars under repair at the same time sometimes means one gets wet every once in a while when you don't want it too. A car in full primer should not be so sensitive to moisture. To me, that IS a defect of the product.
My experience with K-36 is it shrinks worse than feather fill or slick sand. But James 427 is right put down a nice coat of epoxy primer first other wise it will peel on any edge that you have sanded to bare metal.
I spray SPI epoxy first do my bodywork and than another coat of black epoxy. Wait an hour or two and spray 2 coats of Slick Sand and block the next day and have had no shrinkage. After I have the panel straight another coat of SPI epoxy this time reduced and I'm ready to paint.
Thanks to all, i now believe I'm on the right track. Keep in mind that the majority of this produce is being used to fill pitting only on my application. So the proof will be in the final product. Thanks again, Scruffy.
Well unfortunately I think that is where you are wrong. Would you allow a car with just filler on it get wet? You would have the exact same situation if you did. Feather Fill is not a sealer it is a polyester high build primer. It is sprayable filler. Any product with talc in it is going to absorb moisture that is what talc does. Again you are not using the product correctly if you are allowing it to get wet. Not a defect in the product but a mistake or the use of the wrong product for the called for application by the user.
Featherfill II is one of those products that folks seem to either love or hate, I know it is relativly cheap, and the shrinkage is about nonexistant. I allowed about a half a quart to set up in a gallon can, never even shrunk away from the edge of the can (at ALL) even after over a month. Try that with $300.00 a gallon primer... For me it is hard to look at it differently than filler because it is filler...
We've used Slick Sand (anyone know the difference between it and FF?) with great success so far. Here's a thread with just a couple of 'em. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=293869&highlight=black+friday
"shiny bare steel" is a problem, any non etch primer will need some mechanical "tooth" or scratches, I like 180 grit. Then feather fill G2 light on the metal, but then again I put body filler right on metal too. Epoxy under filler just didnt work for me (edges swelled). Also If polyesters are allowed to cure they MUST be sanded, or they will peel.(just like body filler). I have been using it for years, yes the rules are a little different, but it has worked great for me. 300.00 a gallon primers may be better, but their not 5 times better, and I have seen them fail too.
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