Screw that. Dust everywhere. Go get this: http://www.swingpaints.com/1806us_can.htm Lay it on thick, let it set - say about 20 minutes. Then peel it all off with a putty knife. Repeat if it's really thick. If it's REALLY REALLY bad, score the bondo with an edge first.
i saw a 50 ford that was cut up and put on a vette frame and it looked pretty cool till someome backed in to it and it was a bodo sculpture 2 inces thick really cheaped the car as far as my thoughts
I think its funny that people bag on bondo. Those are the same people that have no idea what they are talking about. It is the industry standard and every body shop i know of uses it. Usually the people that try to come across like they know a lot about building classic cars or hotrods are the ones that say a car should not have any bondo. Building a car without bond died because of lead poisoning.
Isn't there comparable metal fillers which are applied like lead but don't contain lead? I'm a fan of bondo, but I think I've seen other stuff. I've never looked into anything but bondo being that it's a pretty quick applying and activating product. I work construction and use bondo quite a bit as a wood filler too. I love BONDO! The trick is that it needs to be applied properly. It's such a forgiving product too. I've seen the stuff overdone though, so I understand the frustration. My 50 Chevy pick up had two, quarter softball sized dents on the rear fenders, which were filled with bondo. The PO, or whoever did the work, didn't bother to take a hammer and dolly to them before he/she filled em. THAT IS BS!
Ford is about 20 pounds lighter after removing the miracle solution for body work off the fenders and trunk lid.
Some people are a little mixed up here (no pun intended). Using Bondo or other types of filler isn't bad. It's the gross overuse and incorrect use of the product. Smooth out a welded in patch panel is OK. Using to make a patch panel is bad.
Alas, I was an offender. I was restoring an old International Scout, which was my first project. Basically, I didn't have the skills and didn't know any better. The driver's door was caved in and I couldn't get to the inside to push it out. I discovered Bondo and thought it was the pill for all my ills. I still carry the shame and guilt with me, knowing that some day the new owner will slam his door a little too hard and he'll be shocked when half the door falls off in pieces. I'm pretty sure there is an International forum somewhere with a PO thread that has my "work" proudly on display. Now though, I've taken the approach to only use it as a last resort, and to only use it purely for cosmetic purposes. To that end, my current project has maybe a thimble sized amount on it and that was to only fill in some pitting that won't even be seen since it was behind one of the chrome trims. Now, I'll just shuffle back to the corner and curl up.
How much filler you think is in this one ? 1 can, 5 cans, 15 cans ? 90% of it winds up on the floor anyway. Car will be strictly for show. not a daily driver. So far we have close to 6,000 hours in this thing and I'll bet if I look up the build sheet costs we have maybe 20 / 25 cans of Rage written on this one. The guys always mix up 4 times what they need. He wants it 2 tone , yellow and white, not what I would chose but he's paying for it. If it is what a customer wants, it's what they get. I have no problem using plastic.
Was at a Ferrari restoration shop yesterday - all Dinos came from the factory with at least an inch of plop (bondo) in the rear buttresses.
Yep, that was pretty common in the 70's and 80's. as long as they didn't weld the seams it is only a bit more work to bring it back. Guys would probably freak out if they took a close look at a few spots on my 48. My body skills nor my patience level was all that high when I redid it in the early 80's but it has held up pretty well for sitting outside for 30 years.
If you think the fenders are bad just imagine what the rest of the car is like,LOL Probably rot holes in the rockers and rear body panel stuffed with old news paper or screen door material plastered over with BONDO,LOL (Time to sell the car) and buy a new car that hasn't been screwed with. Bondo is our friend as long as it is used properly. You should always weld up seams like this before you bondo to finish off.
I thought my car was solid metal by knocking around in the typical rust areas, then I started stripping it and the bondo was gobbed on to cover the seam of a patch panel that had been tacked over the rusty old panel. They'd banged a dip where old and new came together, then brought it all up to level with bondo. IMO that is NOT the right way to use the stuff. There'was so much mud there to feather it out that it looked like it had been done on one of those TV shows where they cover the whole car in bondo before blocking it.
One of the rear fenders on my Cadillac had a dent filled with probably 4 pounds of lead! The dent was easily accessible from the back and could have been worked out. I did work it out. UNDER the lead was rust! I know how to lead and have done it, but I feel body filler is more compatible with paint. Some cars have all the seams filled and everything smoothed to the point that they look like they were built by a boatbuilder! Some "tricks" get carried to the extreme. The car in the original post looks to be a victim of this. ~Alden
I have many ol cars from the 1930s to the 50s and the bondo falls off in slabs and reveals that moisture was trapped under the bondo. Everything that was covered with bondo is now RUSTY, and Rotted out. Thats what I have against bondo.
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