Just wondering how you guys remove large quantities from a project, I finally started working on the coupe tonight trying to get it down to bare metal when I hit the bondo lottery. I knew there was quite a bit on it, but not quite like this. I've used a body grinder and barely made a dent in it and wore out two disks, the wire wheel works ok, and I used an air chisel to bust off the thickest chunks. Sandblasting is out, becuase I don't have a blaster yet, and the metal is already pretty thin in alot of spots so I don't wanna blow it apart blasting out the filler. I still can't figure out why people like to use aluminum facing w/rivets and bondo to "fix" a car!
Trya little heat from a torch. Go easy and it will fall right off. Either from the outsidre or the inside of the body. jerry
Will one of those little propane torches work? or a heat gun? that's all we have right now. Having to stock up on tools bit by bit. Hoping I'll have my welder by the time I get this thing down to bare metal, which will probaly happen since it looks like that might take awhile!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- A GOOD THICK-BODIED PAINT REMOVER WILL TAKE THE BONDO OUT OF THE DENTS. (Like Kleen Strip Aircraft Paint Remover)
You don't nheed too much heat. You have less chance of warping it with a propane torch. Work from the backside, it'll just fall off. jerry
I don't know if it's the quickest method or not, but I use a wire brush attatched to my big Makita grinder. You'll have to gear up with all the proper saftey stuff and go to town on it. The downside is that everything within 15 feet is going to be covered in dust.
Yeah -HEAT with that propane torch is the way ta go..... Use a putty knife and hand wire brush with the heat to keep it dust free and get it out of the " dimples"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- BODY FILLER IS A FORM OF PLASTIC, AND IT WILL START FIRE AND BURN, AND IT SMOKES LIKE A BITCH WHEN IT DOES. AS I SAID BEFORE, I HAVE USED A GOOD PAINT REMOVER (liberally applied)AND IT DOES A GOOD JOB OF REMOVEING BONDO. good luck
I've been using one of those twisted strand wire wheels in my 4 1/2 inch grinder. Works well, is controllable, but it makes a miserable mess of the whole shop.
I've found paint remover softens it up pretty good but it would probably take at least a couple of applications where the bondo is really thick.
FLAME! only way to fly. I jump around a big panel to spread the heat out. Don't let it get too warm or you'll end up putting more filler on then you took off. Most of all...BREATHE deep, it builds character. -r
hmmmm i think im gunna try this flame technique on my quick bondo fix i did on my merc when the time comes
HAHAHAHA.... thats my old coupe. i used a air chisel to remove about 20 lbs of bondo, before i traded it with hex. evidently it was a old jalopy race car and saw a lot of abuse.
I've used this method to remove THICK layers of bondo extremely quickly! Use the air chisel. If you lay it so the angle of the chisel end is parallel with the sheet metal, you can chip off huge chunks of the filler, and not damage the sheet metal. you'll have to grind, or wire wheel off the thin sections, but the thick ones come off FAST!
if you don't have heat (just for others reference now, as obviously you do), a normal wood-chisel is a good option where it's thick. you can angle the blade away so you don't damage the metal, and it takes off nice big hunks without the mess of the wire wheel debacle. you can go fast once you get the hang of it too...
What are you replacing the bondo with-lead? After you dig it all out, you might end up with swiss cheese and your effort will be wasted time.You could always cut the pieces out and weld in new patch pieces....
I thought this was th eone you posted about a long time ago zgears.....it has been through LOTS of abuse. Theres enough to work with though..... Jeepers, I'm just tryign to get all the CRAP off of it so I can see what I'm working with. There's LOTS of unneeded filler, and holes that are just filled in with the stuff. I ain't lookin to have a perfect body when it's over, just want something that's solid steel. I used the torch method for awile today and it seems to be working pretty good. Would work even better if I could find my scraper.....the screwdriver ain't cuttin' it!
Ditto, I had to use that Aircraft remover stuff to get some of the old paint off the body on my truck. That paint had setup like concrete from it being repainted years ago. After that my Milwaukee grinder and a sanding disk took the old bondo that once was like JB weld right off. If I would have had a torch setup at the time though that sounds like the way to go. To bad I have it now after the fact. Oh well, story of my life.
Yes I agree no dust just use a little flame( handheld propane works great) and it drops like butter with a little scraper!
This is how I get mountains of that crap off in a hurry. Do yourself a favor, and wear a respirator if you're doing more than a little bit.
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