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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?
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jake_martin166mo 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.
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haydenp955mo 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.
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faithb786mo 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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