My advice is to find a good body shop and have them do the work. They have
the expertise and the tools to do it right � you don�t. I don�t have the
skill either but my Uncle did before he got older � he�s in his 80s now -
and I�ve seen him work miracles with many cars. He worked with Bondo or with
lead, depending on the car.

 

Here�s how it�s done.

 

You need to pull / hammer out the steel until it�s just barely below the
original. You can make a template from the other side to serve as a guide.
Then you apply a very thin coat of body filler to bring the outside surface
back out & sand smooth. This last step is usually done twice � one layer to
get close and a second finish layer. Then they will computer match the
paint, prime and spray. If done right you won�t have Bondo any thicker than
1/16� anywhere on the panel. Also, if done right it won�t look repaired,
even to a body man.

 

But I�ve owned over 40 cars and have looked at probably thousands and I can
say most don�t do it that way. Most would hammer in the ceased areas that
protrudes out like the one next to your tail light. They will pull out the
caved in area until it�s �close enough� and then they would just fill. The
problem with doing it this way is thick Bondo cracks. I�ve peeled cracked
Bondo off car�s that was over �� thick in some areas!

 

Tom

www.towercooler.com

 

 

From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf Of
Rob
Sent: Saturday, January 29, 2011 6:49 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Body work question

 

I know very little about bodywork but I'm going to learn.
I just put a question and photo on TheSamba about a dent in my left
rear corner, feel free to take look.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5100715#5100715

Rob

becida@comcast.net
Western Washington State, USA 

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