Author Topic: Bondo Tips (Read 2224 times)

DodgeFreak · « **on:** September 07, 2004 - 11:23:36 PM »

Hey guys and gals...i'm gettin ready to apply some bondo to my doors and was wondering how the best way was to apply it...how to get it smooth and what not ...pretty much need directed...

Steve · « **Reply #1 on:** September 08, 2004 - 04:00:08 PM »

Always follow directions exactly

Seriously, you might experiment with adding in some additional resin. You can get a can at the body shop supply store. This will make the filler a bit more thin and a bit easier to smooth out. You can add this stuff to fiberglass fillers, AM, M2M, etc.

HemiDog · « **Reply #2 on:** September 08, 2004 - 04:22:02 PM »

Make sure your surface is clean before spreading the bondo. Just as you would when you are painting.
If you have large ridges after you have spead the bondo and it has started to harden, leave it alone until the bondo is "almost" hard and is slightly tacky to the touch. Then you can take a "cheese grater" file and get the large ridges smooth to the point you would be able to use sand paper. The file works best at this point and saves you lots of sand paper.

torredcuda · « **Reply #3 on:** September 08, 2004 - 06:14:25 PM »

Use a grinder to rough up the area as most fillers need a mechanical bond and will not stick well to smooth sufaces.Then follow Hemidogs advice,start with 36 grit paper and work down to 80 then 180.

360 'CUDA · « **Reply #4 on:** September 08, 2004 - 08:18:27 PM »

My mama sez bondo is the devil

I wouldn't know 'cause my car doesn't have any bondo on it

kidding of course

DodgeFreak · « **Reply #5 on:** September 09, 2004 - 12:03:27 AM »

hey 360 cuda.... :Plol...my cars gonna have some bondo for the little dings and here and there i can feel with my hand...but i'm going to get rid of alot of bondo by buying quarterpanels...so

Thanks for the tips...anything else you can think of??

HemiDog · « **Reply #6 on:** September 09, 2004 - 09:55:26 AM »

Only other thing I would say, but you probably already know, is to try to get the metal as close to original as you can to limit the use of the bondo. Body hammer's and dolly's do wonders and you can find cheap ones pretty easy. They just don't work great, at least for me, in the hard to reach areas.
Last thing I would say on this, is if you want your body work to last, don't use bondo to fill holes!

Steve · « **Reply #7 on:** September 09, 2004 - 06:48:12 PM »

There's nothing wrong with body fillers in limited amounts. My other piece of advice would be to take the repair areas down to bare metal and apply your filler directly to the metal. Make sure that the metal surface is properly prepared. you need to get wax and grease off (obviously), but you also need to make sure to get any residue from products such as Ospho and similar phosphoric acid products. I can tell you from experience that the hammer and dolly works great to a point...but getting that final finish perfectly smooth is beyond my level of patience!

DodgeFreak · « **Reply #8 on:** September 09, 2004 - 06:58:56 PM »

I've stripped the whole car down to bare metal becasue after stripping some of it where the rusted surface was i found out most of the rear quarters were bondo and most of the primer had been applied over paint and then underthe paint was more primer then under that primer was rust...dont' know how it was rusted but it was...nothing major though...

Street_Challenged73 · « **Reply #9 on:** September 09, 2004 - 11:32:21 PM »

I have just one extra tip to add to the already great advice. If you do decide to try to lessen the dent to use less filler, just be careful to not overstretch the metal or else you'll really be into some body work. (That's just a good tip my bodyman told me before I started finishing up the smaller things still left to do on my body.)

miketyler · « **Reply #10 on:** September 13, 2004 - 06:50:58 AM »

You can also use a straight edge to make sure your work is conforming to the plane of the body. Take your time, and constantly run your had over the affected area checking height. Bondo will work down very quickly. If you have large affected areas, consider getting a DA (dual-action) sander. Again, frequently check the work for proper plane. Once you think you have it work the surface with 180 grit. Spot in the area with a good surfacer-primer spraying past the work. After it dries ck for any pin holes or fine inperfections and fill with spot putty. Wet sand the entire area with 320 or 400 grit. tack off the area and paint

There are other pro grade fillers that are much easier to sand than Bondo. Also, as mentioned earlier use Dynaglass or resin/fiberglass based filler if max adhesion is required or working in a high vibration area

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Author Topic: Bondo Tips (Read 2224 times)

DodgeFreak

Bondo Tips

Steve

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HemiDog

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torredcuda

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360 'CUDA

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DodgeFreak

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HemiDog

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Steve

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DodgeFreak

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Street_Challenged73

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miketyler

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