Automotive bodyworkers dislike unexpected Bondo application
17 posts across 3 communities in the last 60 days; 88% from r/Autobody.
“People will put bondo on whatever they can stick it on [re: Found this bondo on my fender apron, how serious is this and how do I fix it?]”
“Correction: he wrote about filler and then epoxi or etchprimer. Thats the wrong directiin. The etchprimer or epoxiprimer must be on the bare metal to prevent rust. But a hint... you cant spoly putty / bodyfiller to etchprimer. Ok... you can... but it will loose adhesion. Putty /…”
“Grind it down with a grinder, then add a light skim of body filler aka bond. Then sand it. [re: Messed up big time]”
Bodyworkers express frustration when repairs involve unexpected or poorly applied materials like Bondo. One post specifically mentions 'shittt done bondo,' indicating a low-quality repair, while another references the use of guide coats to improve filler applications.
SOURCES (29)
“People will put bondo on whatever they can stick it on [re: Found this bondo on my fender apron, how serious is this and how do I fix it?]”
“Grind it down with a grinder, then add a light skim of body filler aka bond. Then sand it. [re: Messed up big time]”
“Correction: he wrote about filler and then epoxi or etchprimer. Thats the wrong directiin. The etchprimer or epoxiprimer must be on the bare metal to prevent rust. But a hint... you cant spoly putty / bodyfiller to etchprimer. Ok... you can... but it will loose adhesion. Putty / bodyfiller should applied only on a primer with hardener. Never on bare metal because it sucks humidity and that makes rust. Thats exactly what happened to your car. Btw... bondo is for noobs. Its not really good.”
“First remove that bondo, a wirewheel on anglegrinder can do that. It removes the majority of the rust too. But dont press to much that wirewheel because it can ditch a lot into the metal. It seems that its very rusty and because of this there can be some very thin spots. Try an speedregulated anglegrinder and slow it down to half. WEAR SAFETYGLASSES. The wires will fly at high speed! Then sand down to bare metal to remove the rust. The wire whell will polish rust too, it looks darker or black. B”
Bondo isn’t a bad thing, pdr ain’t touching that unfortunately
“Why fiberglass bondo? Keep in mind I haven’t done body work since ‘92. But I don’t recall ever using fiberglass for that application. Just regular filler with a rust resistant primer.”
“Yes. A cheap electric grinder would work. Option B(for bad idea)would be to beat it in while it’s still warm and then bondo over it. Something needs to hold that crack together though.”
“Drive it to a muffler shop and pay $50 for them to weld that gap up, they weld thin metal and are usually reasonably priced. If that isn’t an option beat it in a 1/4” and tiger hair it. Then do your bondo on that.”
“Honestly thought is that top weld just like... floating there...? Between the panel and the patch... But not actually touching either side..? That's... I don't even... Wtf thats actually so bad it's come back around to being impressive again haha”
“If you know how to weld then finish up the welds. Fiber glass over that. Body filler over that. Prime it. Paint it. And then the most important step…..sell that thing asap. Or section new quarter panel and whatever other inner structure pieces that are not fixed correctly if you plan on keeping this thing longterm.”
“I backed into someone in my parking garage (yes I am already in contact with them) and am trying to get a feel for the severity of the repair. The worst part is that creased area with a pen point hole where it pinched there, and would like advice on how to have this done without spending more than necessary while also making the owner happy. Thank you for your time! submitted by /u/7TrashPandas [link] [comments]”
it looks a little like this has already been done in there loll
“The rust on the inside is not going to cause bondo to flake off "pretty soon" it would take decades for that rust to go all the way through the metal.”
“Pity those aren't readily available for me, but that's exactly what I was assuming - that waxes could match glazes in terms of filling.”
“On the side scoop is just some bondo I accidentally got on there, I’m gonna paint the car sometime in fall so I didn’t really care if I got overspray, the repair is smooth, there is one high spot near the top but that doesn’t bother me much”
“is this too much bondo hardener? I already applied it but just wondering. This is my first time using bondo submitted by /u/Human_Entertainer_33 [link] [comments]”
“It will not eventually dry, or actually cure. It's chemical reaction that requires a particular amount of hardener to react with a particular amount of filler. No, scrape it off and start again. WTF!? It will eventually dry?”
“I put too little bondo hardener what should I do? do I need to take it all off submitted by /u/Human_Entertainer_33 [link] [comments]”
“Your mess up wont bother the body shop much as long as the metal underneath is straight. They're going to sand it down anyway. But if they find bondo caked over dents, dings and holes than that will cost more to fix. So really it depends on how clean the metal under your paint is.”
“I repaired a rusted out section of the battery try in my car and am wondering what's the best sealer for the welds and that entire area? Thanks submitted by /u/damientheo [link] [comments]”
“It would be for me, you don’t know what it’s covering up and how well it was prepped before.”