Changed my mind about using body filler on quarter panels

My uncle, who ran a shop in Toledo for 30 years, always said to cut out and weld new metal on rusted quarter panels, never just fill it. I thought he was just being old school and wasting time. Then I did a repair on a 2015 Civic last month, skimmed over some surface rust with filler, and the whole thing bubbled back through in under 6 weeks. He was totally right. Anyone have a good source for patch panels for that generation Civic?

4 comments

4 Comments

wendym822d ago

Wait, a 2015 Civic? That's barely even broken in (well, except for the rust, I guess). That's the part that gets me, like @valcampbell said, some cars just find trouble. It's crazy how fast that filler failed on you, but your uncle had it right. Rust never sleeps, it just keeps eating from behind the filler. I'd check the usual online parts places for patch panels, but for a car that new you might have to get creative with a donor car section.

jenniferhart2d ago

A 2015 Civic already needs quarter panel work? That's just sad.

valcampbell2d ago

What can I say, @jenniferhart, my car's a bit of a mess magnet.

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kevin_williams2d ago

That's not really a mess magnet, it's just how modern cars are built. As wendym82 hinted, the materials just don't hold up like they used to. It's more about thin metal and bad design than bad luck.