Old school filler work vs. the new feathering methods, which side are you on?
I've been doing this for about 15 years now, mostly in the Denver area. Back in the day, I was taught to slather on filler thick and block sand until my arms fell off. We'd use a long board and just pray the high spots came out. Now I use a stud welder and a mini sander to pull dents first, then only use a thin skim coat of filler. The repair is way faster and I don't worry about it cracking later. But I had an old timer tell me last month that my way makes panels too thin and weak, and he still does it the heavy way. I feel like the materials changed so much that the old approach is just waste, but he's got 30 years on me. What do you all think, is there still a place for thick filler work, or is it just lazy? Has anyone else switched methods and seen a real problem or benefit down the line?