I finally tried using a stud welder for minor dents instead of bondo

Swapped out the filler on a 2018 Civic door in Nashville last Tuesday. Saved about an hour on drying time but had to redo two pulls because the metal was thinner than I expected. Anybody else find stud welders worth the extra setup hassle on newer cars?

3 comments

3 Comments

juliarodriguez15d ago

Oh man, you're probably right about the thinner metal but I think those newer Hondas actually use high-strength steel in the door skins which can be tricky for stud welding. The heat from the weld sometimes makes the metal warp worse on those thin panels if you don't run a really low setting. I'd say keep the stud welder for older cars and just stick with glue pulling on the newer stuff.

sethfoster15d ago

You know what, @juliarodriguez just nailed something I've been half-wrong about for months. I always thought those newer Honda doors were just plain thin metal and figured I could power through with the stud welder. But after messing up a 2019 Civic door last week, I'm pretty convinced the high-strength steel explanation fits. The way that panel oil-canned when I pulled on it was totally different from an older Accord I did last year. So yeah, I'm switching over to glue pulling for anything 2016 or newer Honda.

smith.nancy15d ago

Wait wait wait, @juliarodriguez just said high-strength steel? That blew my mind a little because I had no idea Honda was using that stuff in door skins on the 2018s. I always figured high-strength steel was just for the frame and crash structure, not something you'd be pulling dents out of with a stud welder. No wonder I messed up those two pulls, probably heated it up too much and the metal just went "nope." Makes me wonder if the glue pulling option is actually smarter for this kind of panel, even if it takes a bit longer to set up.

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