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Warning: Cheap filler on a cold day in Buffalo cost me a whole quarter panel
I was finishing a repair on a 2018 F-150 bed side last February, temp in the shop was maybe 55 degrees. I was in a rush and grabbed a tub of that budget all-purpose filler off the shelf, the kind that sets fast. I mixed a big batch to skim the whole area. About 20 minutes after I applied it, I heard this quiet cracking sound, like ice settling. By the time I sanded it down, the filler had shrunk and pulled away from the edges, leaving a hairline crack all the way around the repair. I had to grind the entire section out, re-metal work a small part, and start over with a proper filler, wasting half a day. Has anyone else had a filler fail because of the cold, and what brand do you trust when the heater's struggling?
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wren3016mo ago
That cheap filler is a nightmare in cold shops.
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sam_harris686mo ago
Oh man, "nightmare" is the perfect word for it. I swear that stuff turns into concrete the second the temperature drops. You spend more time trying to smooth it out than actually getting anything done. It's like working with cold toothpaste mixed with sand. Just use the good stuff and save yourself the headache.
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grant_torres5mo ago
That cheap patch stuff reminds me of those $2 caulking tubes that split open on the second squeeze. You pay less but end up spending twice as long fixing the mess. @wren301 nailed it, cold makes it even worse.
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