Sick of Bondo - What's better?

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There's got to be something better than Bondo. I filled my trim holes on the front fender of the '50 and then I slapped some bondo on to smooth everything out. I wound up throwing out a half a can of it because I was so frustrated with the results I was getting. Granted, I'm no pro, but there's gotta be another way. What does everybody think?

Thanks.



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I've used duroglass in the past....it's a good filler and flexible too but the only thing is it takes forever to smooth it out.

_T

 

When you say you "filled" your trim holes, you do mean that you welded them, right?

 

Just what kind of trouble exactly is the bondo giving you? Hard to sand? Hard to get spread? Hard to level?

C'mon, be more specific...
And please say you're NOT using "Bondo" brand bondo....

 

sounds like a case of 'sick of sanding'

spread it from the front hole all the way to the back hole & board sand that baby smoooooth. let that bondo dust FLY! - everyone over or under sands when they start out. keep going keep practicing!
every bondo king has done their time to learn to massage it smooth!
Earl will tell ya!!!!!!!

 

if you're just doing minor smoothing work, you might try icing...
comes in a big tube, it's really easy to sand, and is really thin, so it does a good deal of "self-leveling"...good for skim coating stuff.
just go into any good paint and body supply store and tell them you need icing...they "should" know what your talking about.

 

SOS!!! Sick Of Sanding! heh heh heh! Ain't that the truth!

Yeah, sanding is a pain, but that's not the problem. The problem is in the spreading. I did weld the holes shut. The Bondo (yep, using actual Bondo brand bondo) spreads like the all-natural hippy peanut butter my mom used to buy... the kind that tore up the bread because it was so thick... it leaves little grooves and pocks that make it hard to get a smooth finish when I sand it. I didn't really see how bad they were until I primed the fender. And I was spreading it with one of those plastic applicators, and it was nice and smooth and flexible. What am I doing wrong?

 

Practice? Damn!

Nobody told me there would be practice involved. I was looking for something along the lines of "Instant Sweetness." Can I get that in a can?

 

Hippy all natural peanut butter HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA!

now im hungry!

 

THERE'S your problem......
Bondo(tm) is the bottom of the food chain--probably the reason most folks think body filler is total CRAP.

Go to your local P&B supply and get a can of "Rage Extreme" plastic filler. Goes on like butter, sands like talcum powder. It'll CHANGE your life

Use it like 2-toned said--wipe the whole length and block it off. And Icing is great stuff too. Kinda like a cross between filler and primer---spreads like pancake batter and sands great.
Body finishing isn't rocket science, you just gotta use the right tools(yes, filler is a TOOL! )

 

earl

thanks for that info, I've always wondered what the real pros use.
I've got some hood dents to take care of...

Bryan

 

well, I'm (ahem) not a REAL pro,....but I stayed at a Holiday Inn once..

 

HAHAHAHAHA!

Sweet! Thanks for the tip, Earl!

 

I'll have to try the "Rage Extreme", thanks for the tip.

 

Yeah what Earl said....cheap fillers suck...I haven't used Rage Extreme but Rage Gold is super easy to work with too.

 

And this comes from a guy who calls himself Earl Schieb???

 

You haven't answer this yet...
How did you fill your holes??
Weld, aluminum foil, screen, bubblegum???

 

and in an earlier post he said he welded up the holes!!

 

he welded them shut.

heres a bondo trick i want anyone who hasnt done it to do it RIGHT NOW.
grab a big ol handful of bondo dust & hold it in the air, with the other hand light a bic lighter & hold it down low. let that bondo dust fall onto the lit lighter AND LEAN BACK.
WHOOOOOOOOOSH BIG OL FLAMES CLIMB THE BONDO DUST.

it goes out right away BUT BE SAFE dont do it next to your honeys new hair dewwwwwwww!

 

I trust all the repliers above,BUT- I use BONDO-yes I said BONDO= exclusively here and have for 31 plus years.

Just ask-our own OVERSPRAY, here on the HAMB....he knows filler!

If you dont know how to mix filler or apply filler then all filler is shit.
I use what works [and what stays working] for many years.......
It is a very durable product.

If you will check-most fillers are made by a very few BIG companies= Evercoat being one of them- they ARE the Bondo company -if you will read the can........
It may be a little harder to spread or sand- but I have 25 year old tops that are still wearing that original plastic, so how can one say across the board that it is shit......
Its a matter of personal experience I guess.
I noticed a long time ago that some of the "lite" or other 'creamy-easy to spread fillers" are just a sales gimmic like 'ultra light microspheres' that fall to the ground when sanding.....get my drift/ its all about marketing more than reality.......plastic is just that -its plastic- and most of its made by the same three large companies.[[[[[[[Oh-by the way- I TOO hate to sand all plastics!!!! ]]]]]]]]]

 

that is soooo true. Bondo sucks!

use a quality Filler. One important thing to do is. sand the Filler in an X pattern. you'll get better results. not back an forth or down and up.

also if you are going to just fill the holes with filler without welding. place some duct or masking tape behind the hole. that way the filler doesn't go thru and leave a big Bondo snot behind. it will also save you time with haveing to keep putting more on.

good luck.

 

These are both products of the BONDO[Evercoat] company by the way........

 

Use A Mud Hog (8in Da) Cuts That Stuff Quick, Whatever Brand. I Go For The Cheap Stuff Dyna Lite But Ill Use Rage Whenever Someone Else Is Buying

 

i think its better to leave the hole open & spread plastic across it so it goes into the hole & hooks around & hardens giving you an anchor so it dosent pop out.

 

In addition to the other suggestions of using a better product, when you spread it work it in. Don't just throw it on & fill the area, work it in & you'll have fewer or no pinholes to deal with. As for the "Icing"; I've never used (or even heard of) it but if it comes in a tube & is air-dried stay away from it! Always use catalyst-hardened fillers if you want a quality job that lasts & won't shrink/crack/etc. (Everything I use is catalsyt-hardened, except for the base-coat.) Fiberglass Evercoat makes a nice easy-to-sand putty/filler called Metal Glaze (part #416). It's great for that final skin coat to get it just right. It also works well over catalyst-hardened high-build primers for the spots that won't quite block out.
BTW I've been doing this for 30+ years...
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Giggle Cream - it makes dessert *funny*!

 

Iceing Is The Same As Metalglaze Just Made By Usc I Think

 

If you're gonna' fill a hole without welding it (& I understand not everyone has a mig welder or unlimited budget) it's better to dent it in slightly & use a product such as AllMetal - make sure you grind it down to bare metal too. I won't go into the epoxy primer thing again...(since we're talking low-budget).
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

America - made in China!

 

I was able to weld up the holes pretty good. You couldn't even tell where they were except for the first one behind the headlight. That hole kept burning out bigger and bigger everytime I started in on it. Finally I got it under control, but the heat had sunk it in a little. So when I tried to hammer/dolly it, the weld area cracked!!!! I had to drill the cracked area out and do it over!!! Of course, I'm using a MIG, which, I hear, leaves a much more brittle weld than a gas rig. I now believe that to be true.

Maybe if I could hammer it while it was still glowing it would work better? It's not like I just started welding yesterday or anything.

Actually, that's a lie. I did, in fact, start welding sheetmetal yesterday. It's really hard.

Well, thanks for all the help guys!

Later!

 

I agree 100%, the minimal price difference more than makes up in easy spreading, superior stick, and easy sanding! RAGE EXTREME for sure.

As for ALL METAL..I've alsoo had experience with it...its like sanding concrete! and had a rep for craking over time, i would use it sparingly