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Thread: Bondo

  1. #1
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    Bondo

    Auto Body Filler has it's uses in my shop. When a mortise is good on the surface but oversized in the center, this stuff is easily formed to provide a more sturdy fit, unlike most epoxy which tends to run out. Also, it sands easily and it's inexpensive.

    It can also be used to fill voids under paint and probably under veneer though I've never tried it.

    Anyone else use it?

  2. #2
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    Could you clarify how you use it in M&T joinery? How well does it take glue? Never heard of it being used like that, and would be concerned about it with glue.

  3. #3
    One of my favorite uses for bondo is repairing holes and chips in MDF

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Bender View Post
    Auto Body Filler has it's uses in my shop. When a mortise is good on the surface but oversized in the center, this stuff is easily formed to provide a more sturdy fit, unlike most epoxy which tends to run out. Also, it sands easily and it's inexpensive.
    Tom, I'm sorta tagging on to Matt's question. I'd be concerned about creating a weaker joint than if you filled the gap/void with veneer? I say that because bondo is pretty much just talc in a binder. It sands easily because it isnt very hard or strong.

    Fred
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  5. #5
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    A guy told me once that he bought some to work on his car with. He got a gallon can. It was a nice warm day. He mixed the whole batch up, and then went in the house to eat lunch before he started to work on the car.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom M King View Post
    A guy told me once that he bought some to work on his car with. He got a gallon can. It was a nice warm day. He mixed the whole batch up, and then went in the house to eat lunch before he started to work on the car.
    Did it burn the house down?

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom M King View Post
    A guy told me once that he bought some to work on his car with. He got a gallon can. It was a nice warm day. He mixed the whole batch up, and then went in the house to eat lunch before he started to work on the car.
    That guy wasn’t very smart.

  8. #8
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    I used it in place of timbermate or DAP wood filler to fill areas of wood rot on the trim of my house (hardware store ran out of the others). Its held up OK for three years or so. I give it a poke every now and then and it's stayed solid.

  9. #9
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    While I understand your approach & its' ease... personally, I am more of a VE or epoxy resin w/ microspheres or other thixotropic additive. Habits from the boat repair days.

  10. #10
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    Bondo is great when filling dents in items you want to paint that day.
    But I use SculpWood putty for large voids and SculpWood paste for checks and cracks in charactery wood when it’s going to be clear-coated. It sets up overnight.

    It’s a two part epoxy and has a much longer open time than Bondo, 20 - 30 minutes. It also sands well and doesn’t stink. The color can be modified with powdered colors.

  11. #11
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    I once (20 years ago) rebuilt some sections of a wooden window sill that a Pitbull ate. I still have the rental house, and the window sill is as solid as it was then. I also used it to repair superficial termite damage (after tenting the house).
    Rick Potter

    DIY journeyman,
    FWW wannabe.
    AKA Village Idiot.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Tom M King View Post
    A guy told me once that he bought some to work on his car with. He got a gallon can. It was a nice warm day. He mixed the whole batch up, and then went in the house to eat lunch before he started to work on the car.
    Did a job once using anchoring cement. Told helper to get water from drinking fountain to mix it. He got water from hand washing station, and mixed it. To say the least, it made a"cute little mound" when I tried to pour it out of mixing pail.

  13. #13
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    No I wouldn't expect it to work well with glue, have to test that. I have used it as filler/glue where glue strength was not critical.

    And my garage floor has some spalling and stone pits from salt and freezing. Plan to epoxy it someday but in the meantime I have patched with any excess Bondo I have mixed up. It holds up perfectly some, 20 years old. (maybe next summer I'll get to that project)

  14. #14
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    I was a scenic in tv/min ovie art department for years some decades ago and bondo was our go to for so many things. The obvious was filling voids and cracks, because it can cure so fast, sands easily, and takes paint really well. Works really well with fiber glass too. The most interesting thing we ever did with it may have zero application to anybody here, but food for thought. For one job, we built these ornate picture frames with a plywood base and then poured A/B foam on top. This stuff bubbles up when mixed together and expands to some 30x times in a really cool way. Then hardens almost immediately. Once it fully cures after a couple hours, you can then sculpt it to whatever shape you want -- like carving wood, but foam. However, being foam it's porous and can't take paint, unless you seal it. So we took Bondo -- with very little hardener, thinned out with acetone to point it could be brushed on. then applied it to all the surfaces. Dried in little time and was paint ready pretty quick. These frames got banged around a lot on set, and to my surprise, after three season of a tv show they still looked really good. I've used this same technique sealing plywood cabinet/shelves, where the final look needed to be smooth and plastic like.

  15. #15
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    Jan 2008
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    Columbia, MO
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    I used Bondo to fill in the edge of plywood before painting. It was a slight rounded edge and worked beautifully for the preparations. It was a piece of furniture for my daughters room. The one surprise came with use: when the edge got some nicks they showed as in the bondo pink on white. I first though my daughter had gotten some nail polish on it... something to keep in mind. For the repairs I now used some white 3M glazing putty.

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