I think I picked up a little can on sale at Harbor Freight for $5. I can afford some extra labor for that price.
Is this question serious??? Why risk using something that won't adhere properly or crack wide open when it dries?
It is a neat idea and I don't know for sure what costing is like in the U.S. but up hear they sell the cartridges of filler for about $25.00 to an end user and you need a little more than 3 of them to make up a gallon add to that the fact that everytime you use the product you need to use a new mixing tip and they run right around $3.00 each. If you figure you mix somewhere around 20 batches of filler out of a gallon (may be less or more but probably pretty close on average) thats another $60.00 Which puts you at $135.00 for a gallon of filler give or take. Now if a shop is a loyal heavy user of 3M they might get a bunch back in rebates but for smaller shops or individual users it is very expensive and realistically how much time does one save? If it took zero time to set up the gun, which it doesn't, you would be saving about a minute everytime you used it over mixing filler so over a gallon you would save about 20 minutes. I don't know many body guys that are making the $65 difference between a regular gallon of filler and this for 20 minutes of work so you are really not saving much there either. 3M knows how to market and make money.
Replace it. But if you want to try a last resort- take it down to your local paint store and put it on the shaker!
Do the Ghostbusters know their gun is being used to squirt bondo now? How much does that system cost, I wonder?
Not only that, but I got a laugh out of the joker they had showing the "old way" to mix bondo. Who the hell mixes bondo on what appears to be a 'paper towel' . . . any of you guys? It ain't that hard . . . and it sure as hell isn't as dramatic as was shown.
that bondo applicator is slick as ****, but the bondo is terrible. we demo'd one at the shop a while ago. I'll stick to rage gold and allmetal mixed on the disposable sheet boards. I do generally use a bit of honey in my filler, even if its brand new. it makes it semi-self leveling. it does make it stiffer, though, so watch out with anything you need to put on thick or on a spot that can flex. I usually use allmetal for flexy spots, though.
If you want to save a half empty can of bondo you can open the can, place a layer of thin plastic sheet over the remaining bondo to keep the air empty space inside of the can from drying it out.Then put the lid back on tight.Same can be done with paint. Don't try to use old dried out bondo on cars.
Please feel free to show me some of your filler free body work. I am a bit of a ********ter myself ,but every now and then I like to listen to a real expert! Please carry on
Don't know if this works with bondo brand filler, but when we were kids we used to salvage the dregs in the bottom of filler cans by adding a touch of cellulose thinner to the can and stir like mad with an old screwdriver, but i ***ume the formula must have changed over the past 30 or so years and these days I only buy the good stuff not the bargain ba*****t no brand stuff.The giant plastic / bag /tube i get these days also keeps better.
I was enrolled at THE AURORA VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER Aurora Colorado 1975 !! To bring back the life of BONDO there was a product called HONEY for Bondo !!! You mix it In the bondo to bring it back to life!!! Bondo is "A POOR MAN'S FENDER IN A CAN" You can drive your bent beat-up piece of **** down the road--DREAMING about that new quarter panel or fix the bent -wavey ffff-up quarter panel with BONDO and get it ready for the next ***_HOLE to cave in the side of your dream-car!!!! DON'T GET ME STARTED WITH BRAZING THE GOD_DAMN SHEET METAL together 70-Style
I have mixed polyester primer with evercoat to thin it to a more workable consistency and it works great, us your regular evercoat hardener. Gary
oh yeah i meant to say...one way of slowing bondo down from 'turning' on you when your applying it is to spit in it . works only on small bits of filler (unless you got a real good supply of spit! ) . you just spit into it and mix it round and spread it with your finger ...well thats what I do
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