I swore by filler over welding on quarter panels until a guy in Fresno changed my mind
I used to just pack filler into quarter panel dents and call it done, figured welding was overkill for anything under a fist size. Then last month a guy brought back a 2018 F-150 I fixed 8 months ago and the filler had shrunk and cracked right along the wheel arch, cost me $600 to redo for free. An old timer at the shop in Fresno told me "you're not saving time, you're just delaying the comeback" and that stuck with me. Now I'm welding a patch panel on anything bigger than a golf ball and my redo rate has dropped to almost nothing. Anyone else switch over after eating a comeback job, or do you still reach for the filler first?
Had the same thing happen on a silver Silverado about 6 years back, cracked along the body line after one summer and the customer was not happy. Now if the dent's deeper than a dime I'm cutting and welding, takes longer up front but I haven't eaten a comeback on a quarter panel since. Filler still has its place for skim coat after you get the metal close, you just can't use it as the fix itself.