Who hates bondoing?!

[cghstrojan08]

I am bondoing a tailgate today and since it is cold, it is taking forever to dry. I want to jump in there and keep working but I have to wait forever for it to dry. I have done my truck in the past and I have really hated doing it and sanding. My problem is that I don't have the patience to do it.

[1971ford]

i have never done it and hope not to do it. i want my trucks bondo-free.

[foghorn]

When its cold out use double the hardner with a heat lamp and it will dry just about as fast. I also like to use a cheese grater to kinda shape it. But you have to be careful you can take off to much with out knowing. Thi also takes away the top layer that always seems to clog the sand paper. I always made me a beater to slap the paper when it got clogged to make the paper work longer. A peice of lathe works great or a 5 gal bucket size paint stick.




Foggy

[cghstrojan08]

I know, I use more hardener. I usually use a salamander but didn't feel like it today. I still hate to do it though. I love painting.

[1971fordcustom]

How bad shape was the tailgate? On mine we are going to fiberglass it Its a lot better then bondo

On my truck the body man took a lot of time to hammer out all of the dings but once you get them so far there not going to go any more. So there is about 5 places on my truck that has bondo and its only paper thin.
So bondo is ok if you use it Rite. You can all ways try LED!!!!!!!!!

[cghstrojan08]

The tailgate wasn't that bad. There was about 4 or 5 rust holes on it more towards the bottom.

[fordman]

i would have ground at it and then tried to just weld a bead into the rust area. then grind it smooth. it mihgt work if its not all rusted out more than you can see.

[cghstrojan08]

I did that too.

[67 ford f100s rule]

ive worked with bondo. i like the purpose. not the applying. i had a hard time with it.

[Bartman]

Yuck, total PITA. learned a long time ago, I am far more proficient at other things. Find a good body/paint guy you like and trust and pay him! Later, Bart

[69bumptruck]

Like anything, bondo has it's uses. The secret is to work the metal close enough that you only need a "thin" coat of it. You should never try to fill a major hole with it. Idealy, you're going to sand off most of what you apply. Its good for getting panels nice and straight before painting.

[Galaxie64]

I don't mind it. I spent a good amount of time with my new front fenders making them right after I welded in patch panels. One fender only took a few coats and looked great, the other is a nightmare that still isn't perfect. I am going to have to buy some of that final coat stuff to finish off the second fender.

[Steve302]

Hello,
i know im a little late on this post but i need to mention some things..
Double the hardener will cause adhesion problems, you will notice this the most around the filler edges, they will kinda break away rather than feather in, way too much will cause the filler to not totally cure and have a tack feel to it (you can dig at it with your nails)
Adding a heat lamp against cold filler and cold metal will cause chemical flash off at the surface and as a result retard the dry time underneath, again causing adhesion issues. There are many types of filler out today ranging from fiberglass reinforced to 2 part glaze putty, no need to mix resins with fillers anymore, the new bodyfillers have micro balloon plastics that dont take well to addition of polyester resins.
Steve

[Steve302]

Hello,
Sorry Foggy i never meant in any way to bash your opinion or methods.
What i took into consideration is that most people who are inexperienced with bodywork are known for using too much hardener anyway, so i pictured in my head someone darn near doing a 50/50 mix of filler and hardener then throwing in a quart of resin and then baking it at 500+ degrees. I know my idea there is a bit extreme but i have seen it all!
I have been in the custom/restoration business for 15 years doing body and paint and i have never seen 2 bodymen with the same methods, as long as its straight and lasts a long time then i guess it doesnt matter how its done.
Some see my methods as extreme, When i need a car arrow straight i grind the entire car with 50 grit and glaze coat the entire body with filler including areas that may be perfectly straight.
I love to see the owners face when he sees his entire car looking like it has cake iceing all over it then when i tell them it has 2 gallons of filler on it they have a nerveous breakdown everytime, i then explain to them that 1 gallon will end up on the ground and only 1 gallon or so will remain on the car and thats not much when you figure it corrects every bodyline, dent wave even distortion in the metal that may not have even shown from the factory.
It cracks me up when people badmouth bodyfiller, they want the least amount of filler possible yet at the same time they have no problem blowing 3 gallons of primer on it, primer has a much higher failure rate than bodyfiller.
Steve

[foghorn]

I remember when my little brother was mixing some one summer and it hardned up before he got to the car. It was also super hot out. It seemed like it was around 105 in the shade that summer. My dad and i both busted out laughing and told him to use about hald the hardner next time.




Foggy