Naked trunk.

[Matt Johnson]

I had a very reputable body shop tell me that they would not take the job of filling and repainting my trunk lid after I took my rear badge off because they would not be able to warranty the work. I was told that the filler (whatever kind of bondo or resin they would use to fill the holes) would start to shrink in about a year and create dimples on the trunk.

Huh?

I can't figure out if this is true, of if I was just getting the shaft because it's a big shop that does a lot of volume and they weren't going to be able to bill an insurance company for hundreds/thousands to take on my trunk.

Has anyone who had a body shop fill and paint their trunk lids after taking off the rear badge had this "dimpling" issue come up?

[Rider90]

There will only be a problem if it was not prepped right, or too much was applied. Any good "Bondo" job can last five or more years if done correctly, from what I've seen. The key is not to use too much.

Back when I was at Tech Campus learning Collision Repair and Technology we had a truck that the students all worked on. Well we all worked on different parts of the truck and in the end painted it red and white, it looked nice. I mean except for the ocean waves on the side :rolleyes: Oh and it was the instructor's idea to use nearly half a gallon of Bondo on the drivers side door - man was that thing heavy and hard to close...I don't see that lasting a year or even 6 months in the elements :shake:

[SergntMac]

Try another shop, Matt, obviously the shop you visited does not want your business.

This isn't a high tech repair, we don't hav carbon fiber trunk lids, or aluminum hoods. Indeed, it's so low tech and inexpensive, that most shops do not want to be bothered with doing just this mod alone.

We get so full of ourselves at times, that we expect such treatment. Just have it filled and painted, you'll not see any aftermath.

[txkent]

What about having the holes fillled with weld? I see them do that sort of thing on "Overhaulin'" on TLC regularly. They sand the paint off, fill up the holes with metal, grind it smooth, then finish it.

[ckadiddle]

I was wondering about that. Bondo is wonderfull stuff, but these are fairly small holes, right? So why not fill 'em with metal so it's good for the next thirty years or so?

[MENINBLK]

This isn't a high tech repair, we don't hav carbon fiber trunk lids, or aluminum hoods.

The Marauder hood is made of aluminum...
I thought you might want to know...

[Matt Johnson]

I'm shopping around until I find someone who can do it right for the right price...

[Smokie]

The Marauder hood is made of aluminum...
I thought you might want to know...Perhaps Ford used aluminun on your hood, but my magnet says.....steel on my hood and trunk lid.:)

PS: forget about bondo, fill the holes with brass or lead, it's so easy is painful.

[carfixer]

I had my trunk badge removed and holes filled. The filler they used took less than a month to "settle". You can now see a slightly raised area where the holes used to be. They will be re-doing it soon.
I was hoping they would have welded the holes but used filler instead.

[Tallboy]

If they bondo the holes up, make sure they get to the back of the repair and seal the bondo from the inside. Bondo is like a sponge. Left unsealed it will soak up moisture and the repair will show, sooner or later.

[Directedby]

Matt -

Holes need to be filled with metal (welded).

I had mine done in LA and FORD paid for it. Seems like my paint was blemished on the trunk, so it had to be repaonted under warranty. They filled the holes for free.

One drawback was that the body shop was where my car dealer was in Valencia.

Good luck...

[klmore]

I'm shopping around until I find someone who can do it right for the right price...
Matt the proper procedure is to remove the emblem, remove the paint to bare metal, weld the holes up, grind the welds smooth, and then use filler if necessary. Of course the backside of the welds need to be coated for rust protection. I used very little filler on my deck lid when removing the emblem.

If you just remove the emblem and fill the holes with body filler it will leave a dimple. Some fillers (most) tend to shrink back with time and will leave a dimple look in the paint if not done properly to begin with.

Sometimes, depending on how thick the clearcoat is on the repaint, the dimple can be wet sanded out after the body filler has done its thing and then buffed to remove the dimpled appearance. I wouldn't recommend this unless you know the body shop sprayed on enough clear.

Unfortunately some body shops choose to cut costs by cutting back the amount of product sprayed, like clear. It will look good for a year or so, but if you go to sanding, buffing, or even waxing too much it will cut through a bad clearcoat job.

[Matt In Detroit]

Yes without a doubt, The holes need to be welded closed to do the job right. It really isnt a whole lot more work to do it correctly.

[jgc61sr2002]

Perhaps Ford used aluminun on your hood, but my magnet says.....steel on my hood and trunk lid.:)

PS: forget about bondo, fill the holes with brass or lead, it's so easy is painful.



What Javier said. ^^^^^^^^