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Remember when we had to mix all the body filler by hand?
I was cleaning out the back of my shop in Toledo and found my old mixing board from maybe 15 years ago, all crusted over. Back then, you had to guess the ratios and stir it fast before it set up. Now my new guy just grabs the pre-measured tubes and uses the mixing gun, gets a perfect mix every single time in about ten seconds. It's wild how much time that saves on a big job. What's the one old-school task you're glad got easier?
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joseph_green136mo ago
Oh yeah, @hannahj49, I messed up plenty. You learn to keep a metal scraper and a jug of acetone right next to the board. If it starts getting too warm in your hand, you've got maybe thirty seconds to get it spread or you're chipping it off in rubbery chunks.
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lee5826mo ago
Man, reading that brings back memories. I gotta say though, @joseph_green13, if the filler got warm in your hand, you were already way past the point of no return. The real trick was watching the color change as you mixed. Once it turned that even, dull pink, you had your working time. The heat meant it was already curing in the cup. I ruined a few hoods learning that the hard way. The new stuff is a total game changer for sure.
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blake_kelly193mo ago
You're right about the color change being the tell. I used to think guys who insisted on pre-measured tubes were just being lazy, but after a bad batch cost me a whole quarter panel, I switched and never looked back.
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