I'm currently prepping my XJ for bed liner. The cargo area is pretty dinged up. Does anyone know a body filler that will hold up to abuse without cracking?

Thanks!

yeah ... Metal. I've done body work for several years and my father has done it for 30 years. All body filler will pop against abuse.

Thanks for replying buddy.

That's what I was afraid of. I was hoping there was some sort of epoxy.

In full disclosure... I did some thing really dumbo today.... I've used dry ice and a hammer to remove tar insulation on several cars. It; normally works awesome with the metal looking flawless. The tar insulation in the back of my jeep was the toughest I've seen and even with 3 bags of ice it wouldn't crack. When I finally removed the tar with a heat gun I saw what I had done. There's about a hundred dime sized little dings.

Do you think with them being small fill areas I'd have any luck with a more crack resistant filler? Or are you saying they'll literally pop out of the holes. lol

if they're just dimples I'd take the time to flatten them out, however if they are actual holes in the floor I'd patch them up. If you're going to bedline the floor, prep work is key. I think you'd be ok with an epoxy.

If its dents and dimples a body hammer and dolly can smooth those out,If its holes or cracked you need to weld that up.

I'd personally use some thin gauge sheet metal and if you cut it nice you could cover the entire cargo area and it will be fresh. Prep and clean the rusted areas and seal them so you stop the rot if there is any. Not sure if that helps but it's what I would do.

Well, that sucks! Knocking those back out would probably be next to impossible without ripping the floor up.

I would probably skip any filler, prep it, and line it. If it looks bad enough to bother you when it's done, cover it with a rubber mat. If not, leave it as is.

Also the third option would be to re-install carpet, even if it's in the cargo area only. That would definitely cover it up.

Good luck.

They made a dent puller that's just like a slide hammer.. Probably way more than you need but I know it would work

Take some pictures show us what you did so we can tell you how to fix it.

Correct!



Yes I believe there may be a simpler answer also.

If you are going to be covering it with bedliner or something I'd probably just use some seam sealer with a spreader.

X-2 on pics. Unless you used a 2lb ball peen, or beat the snot out of it, or have OCD...................

Yes to all of the above! The OCD got me into this mess lol. I should have just left the big square of tar in place... I thought it would look nice without it but ended up making it look much worse.

Here are the pics. This will go down as one of my dumbest moments in the 10 years I've been working on cars.

Are some of those small holes in the metal and small dents? If they are you can build them up a little with a wire feed welder, at least there isn't a bunch of rust anywhere that I can see then go over them with a grinder.


Before you do that though try and flatten the ones that are sticking up till they get close, then weld and grind.


Others here will have some good ideas on the best coating to use on it when finished, have saw them posted before but have never used them.




Or............I would find a coating and if no holes in the metal cover it all, then carpet. Then I would add floor mats and a cargo mat I have the Weather Tech ones in my GC but use the ones that look just like them from Quadratec in my XJ. You can buy just the cargo mat, floor mats or a complete set. They keep everything contained on the mat as it has the edges raised all around them, the driver floor mat holds I don't how many #'s of mud/snow waiting to be dumped as they all do.