DOING A 58 CHEV CONV THAT CAME FROM A SHOP THAT PUT IN NEW FLOORS AND PAINTED CAR, BUT NO PANELS WOULD LINE UP AND IT LOOKED LIKE SHIT SO I GOT THE JOB TO REDO......WORST MISTAKE IN MY MISPENT LIFE! the shop used the aluminum powder filler called allmetal, this shit is hard as a rock to remove and they even seamsealed with it. gonna be done with this pig in a couple weeks now, just cant believe how bad this stuff is or was. God help us if they still make this mistake of a filler.
that stuff is great for 1st coat over welded seams if used correctly works best if let dry overnight dont know about seam sealer tho lol
Hey, Yeah, that "product" was big in the 70s for a time, it was suppose to replace lead altogether. " AllMetal & "Alumalead" are two I remember. The guys in the restoration shops wouldn't use it, and it retailed for 'bout ten bucks more than regular mud, so it didn't sell very well. I don't think I'd use it beneith a different type of filler, as it is very dense in nature, and would probably expand and contract at a different rate than standard filler, which could lead to serious problems. Plastic filler is for collision repair, not restorations and the building of kustoms! '' The ice cream truck in his neighborhood plays Helter-Skelter "
the shoebox I bought of a HAMBer here in NH this summer was chopped a decade ago and allmetal was used to do the top. Car has been in DP 90 all that time and not a blemish or bubble on the top at all. So I agree with lilAV8, in the right application it appears to be better than bondo. Of course I don't intend to grind it out, just finish sand, seal and paint at some point.
I haven't used the stuff in years, but used PROPERLY...just like any plastic filler...it has its place.
My 51' has had "allmetal" in the roof for around 12 years now, not a crack in it. I also have it around my frenched headlights and tunneled tail lights without a crack. So yes it does have its place but I wouldn't use it on everything! I own a powder coat operation and have used it a few times for filling in imperfections before powdering and it will handle up to 400 deg
I concur, I like that stuff for the first coat. A lot of folks I know have used it for such, dries bullet proof and none of us have ever had a problem with it.
You got the job to re-do and you've never heard or worked with allmetal. Makes me wonder. That's all.
Allmetal should be used as a 1st coat over a weld seam, then plastic over that. The advantage of allmetal is that it will not absorb moisture through the porosity of the weld like a plastic filler would.
id like to explain my reply a bit more, we would use it on welds that were ground and sandblasted or a mac brand resin wire wheel, let allmetal sit over night sand down with fresh 80 grit on da leaving just a skim in the welded seam area never had problems this was a old guy teaching a young guy (ME) lol
Allmetal is still around; I've seen it at the place where I buy my materials. I prefer Duraglass for the first-coat over the weld, but I've used Allmetal with no problems.
I have used it a lot in applications listed above just to seal welds and used in areas where the factory leaded seams had cracked. It has lasted 20 years on a couple of our cars. I like the stuff.
Wait, you're complaining about a filler because it's hard to remove? That would be a GOOD quality to have in a filler. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want my body filler to just fall off and take my paint job with it. The only people I've ever heard complain about all-metal, or Metal2Metal as its called now, have never used it properly. My old man, and I by default, used it exclusively in his restoration shop for years. Unlike the plastic garbage that everyone seems to love, it will not absorb water and rust out your panels. It feathers much smoother than bondo, and as you noted, is a lot harder (gee, more like metal right?). You can wet-sand it all day long, so once you get to finer grits you don't have to worry about breathing it either (and don't kid yourself, a lung full of talc will kill you too). Can't see how anyone can wet sand bondo without having nightmares about their filler falling backward through the hole it ate in their fender. Yes, it's harder to mix because it doesn't change color. Yes, its harder to sand because, well, its harder. But it holds its shape better, can supposedly be drilled and tapped (yeah I wouldn't go that far), and can be finished to a damn near polished looking smoothness. And you won't have to worry about those damn rust bubbles lifting your paint down the road, because they won't be there. Bottom line, if you actually take the time to learn how to use it, its probably the best filler out there besides lead. Is it harder to learn to use than bondo? Hell yes. But its 10x the product. And if this sh*t was easy, everyone would be doing it.
i've heard nothing but bad things about all-metal, therefore i never bought it. but it seems to me, the "harder" it is, the more prone to cracking as it will be more brittle
A buddy suggested I try allmetal for repair of pitted pot-metal trim, that would then be powder coated. I think the idea was the metal in the allmetal would help the powder coating process. Any feedback on that idea?
I've used it to skim coat a cowl vent I welded up on my 40 chev, after regular body filler "shadowed" after a couple of years, I'm glad I did, because I've had no problems since, and it's still hangin' in there
Seems to me the filler isn't the mistake, the alignment of the replacement body panels before they laid the filler on, is the mistake.
used it for years as over welds as stated never had lift or shift filler still use it on some projects.
Years ago, I had an OT late model Mustang that some clown had butchered a big hole in the roof for an aftermarket leaker sunroof. I removed the roof skin via 3/4 million spotweld removal, and laid on a solid roof skin from a boneyard donor. I used Allmetal on the roof seams on the C-pillars, as there had been a factory lead joint there. After finishing and repaint, you couldn't tell it had been done, and it's still driving around my hometown...
There are a lot of up and coming young guys who have mad skills but are too young to remember Allmetal...or lead...or arc welding...lots of other "ancient technology".
Be very careful with it when powder coating. It can work sometimes and can let go sometimes it completely depends on how the powder coater does his work. The temperatures used, how quickly he heats stuff up, cools things off, how thick the part is, how thick the filler is etc will contribute to whether or not it works. There are specific fillers designed for powdercoating that I would use before Allmetal or Metal-2-Metal (which are two different products made by two different companies)
I have never personally used it but dodgerodder on here used one made by Tiger Drylac which is a powder coating company on his RPU frame. They are usually epoxy based and a bitch to sand but are not as vulnerable to problems as the polyester based products mentioned above. I actaully work for one of the companies that make one of the polyester based products mentioned above and we definitely DO NOT recommend using it for powdercoating. It is pretty much a crap shoot as to whether it will work or not even if you know all of the factors involved.
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