I've been hit by a non-consciencious driver in the front right quarter pannel. They are not going to replace the pannel, just straighten it out and repaint. Should I specifically ask the body shop if they are planning to use bondo? Do body shops typically use bondo on small applications?
my pals are scaring me into thinking that they do.

Help, I don't want to be Bondoed!

 

Answer to your question is Yes. The body shop will use bondo, but question is, how much will they use? A good body man will pull and shape the fender back to original and then use a skim coat of bondo/body fillet to even out the fender. A bad body man will just fill the dent with the bondo. Anything over an 1/8 of an inch us too much.

 

Just go off the phone with my body shop, and yes, they said they use a glase compound. However, They connect the fender to a machine that actually welds itself to the fender and will pull out as much of the dent as possible. Then they will use a glase compound to even out the surface. The manager said that there is a lifetime warrenty against anything falling apart ( paint included). Does this sound legit?

 

Sounds correct to me! A friend of mine has that dent puller machine and it does wonders. Good luck with your repair, it sounds like they know what they are doing.

 

Yep, sounds like they are on the level, those stud welders are great tools! It's a handheld welding tool that attaches about 2 1/2" long studs directly to the metal. Then they use a special dent puller that clamps onto these to pull the dent out. It's pretty fascinating to watch and to use, actually. It sure beats when you used to have to drill a bunch of holes to pull dents. Much more professional and clean way of working metal. And yes, if they're not replacing the entire fender, they have to use some sort of filler to even out the metal surface. If they replaced the fender you'd need to blend at least two adjacent panels to match the paint, and even then it may not turn out decent. ALL shops use filler, it's a neccessary evil. Body filler is not the same old crap it used to be either, lots of improvements in quality. The stuff you can buy off the shelf at Autozone is NOT what shops use now. At least I hope not,,,,98