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My nephew asked why we still use body filler when he saw a 3D printed bumper part online.

I was showing him some work on a 2005 Silverado quarter panel, and he pulled up a video of a shop printing a whole replacement piece. It made me think about how we used to spend hours hammering and filling, but now some jobs are just a scan and a print. What's the oldest car you've worked on that still needed the old-school metalwork?

3 comments

3 Comments

jake_martin1623d ago

Wow, that's a great observation from your nephew! I just finished up a 1972 Chevelle that needed a full quarter panel patch. We had to shape the metal by hand and use a ton of filler. It's wild to think that kind of work might not be needed for much longer on newer stuff.

haydenp954d ago

Check the factory service manuals for those newer trucks before cutting. Some rocker panels are structural now and need specific weld-through primers and adhesives along with the welds. Got burned once on a 2020 F-150 because we just replaced it like an old truck.

faithb7823d ago

Actually, that kind of hand work is still super common on newer cars after a crash. Modern unibody frames get pulled on a rack, but quarter panels and rockers on a 2020 truck still get cut out and new ones welded in. The big change is more about aluminum and high-strength steel being harder to work with, not less metalwork.

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