Had to choose between a full quarter panel replacement or a section repair on a 2018 F-150 with a deep crease behind the wheel.

I went with the section to keep the factory welds intact, but man, getting that contour right on the new metal took me three tries with the hammer and dolly before it sat flush, so what's your go-to method for tricky panel sections?

3 comments

3 Comments

michaelk2315d ago

Man, I feel that pain. My buddy had a similar fight with a Civic quarter panel last year. He got so fed up trying to match the curve that he ended up making a sandbag from an old shop rag and shot. He'd rough it in with the hammer, then lay the bag on the backside and tap the high spots from the front. Said it gave him way more control for those final light hits to sneak up on the shape without stretching the metal. Took him a whole afternoon but it finally just clicked into place.

felix14715d ago

That sandbag trick from michaelk23 sounds like a lot of extra work for a curve. I get wanting it perfect, but sometimes you just need to get the metal close and let the filler do its job. Spending a whole afternoon chasing a contour that gets covered anyway seems backwards. A good skim coat will hide a lot if your metal finish is decent.

king.andrew4d ago

Oh man, this is the exact kind of thing that drives me nuts in all kinds of jobs. You spend forever getting something perfect that no one will ever see, just for your own peace of mind. It's like painting the back of a drawer or cleaning the underside of your grill. That hidden effort is what separates a real fix from a quick cover up. Sure, filler works, but knowing the metal is right underneath just feels solid.