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I stopped using a DA sander for small dent work and switched to hand files
Everyone says to grab the DA and feather the edges when you're doing a small dent repair. But I started noticing I was burning through too much filler on the smaller stuff. About 4 months ago I tried using a long board hand file for a door ding on a 2015 Civic in my shop here in St. Louis. The control was way better and I actually saved myself a round of glazing putty because I didn't overshoot the metal. Now I only use the DA for big panels or heavy rust areas. Has anyone else ditched power tools for hand finishing on quarter panels or is that just me being old school?
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jessica7072d ago
Ha, I tried that once and spent ten minutes just staring at the dent wondering if I was doing it right. Now I’m all about the hand file for small stuff too, my DA just sits there and collects dust for the little dings.
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nguyen.morgan2d ago
Oh come on, it's not that deep. You stood there for ten minutes looking at a dent? That's just overthinking it. The DA sander is fast for a reason, even for small stuff. Who cares if you mess up a little, it's just metal you can always sand it down more or start over. Hand filing takes forever and your arm gets tired. Just hit it with the DA and move on with your life, it's not brain surgery.
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