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Hot take: patch panels are a scam on small repair jobs

I was doing a rear quarter panel on a 2018 Civic last Tuesday and the customer wanted to save money by using a patch panel instead of a full replacement. The fitment was garbage, I spent 4 hours fighting with it and still had to do a bunch of body filler work to get it straight. Ended up costing the shop more in labor than if I just pie cut and welded in fresh steel from scratch. Has anyone else found that patch panels from the big suppliers just don't line up right anymore?
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2 Comments
the_jana
the_jana1mo ago
Gotta disagree on pie cutting being faster, that sounds like more work honestly.
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troyreed
troyreed1mo ago
The real issue is nobody pre-forms the metal before welding.
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