Switched to water-based filler for small dents and my sanding time dropped by half

I used to always grab bondo for everything, even tiny dings that just needed a little skim coat. Read a post on here about water-based polyester filler and figured I'd try it on a 2018 Civic door last week. Stuff goes on super thin and dries in like 10 minutes without that hard shell. Cut my sanding from 40 minutes down to 15 because I wasn't fighting with high spots. Anyone else made the switch and found a brand that doesn't shrink after a few days?

2 comments

2 Comments

schmidt.amy1mo ago

Ngl, 40 minutes down to 15? That's insane. I've been cussing out bondo for years on door dings thinking that's just how it goes. Now I feel like an idiot for not trying this sooner.

barnes.brian1mo ago

Nah man you're not an idiot, you just got stuck in the bondo rut like the rest of us. I swear that stuff has a secret marketing deal to make us think its the only option. That first time I used water-based filler on a little door ding I felt like I'd been paying for a gym membership but just lifting my beer can the whole time. The sanding time drop is ridiculous, I was blowing through hookit discs like crazy before. Bondo turns into a rock and you're fighting it for twenty minutes just to feather it out. Now I'm done before my coffee gets cold.