Same here,,I have ask myself every time is this guy just messing with us and really wants to built a RR? Obviously,your not doing that,so do it right! HRP
Yes that is true back then and you will only have a mechanical bond if you do this. However, today's new fillers will chemically bond to the curing epoxy if applied with-in the time frame indicated by the epoxy mfr. For example, I use southern urethanes products and they work great for this.
I bondo on bare metal, not over primer. Reason: after you sand the bondo out, you will have sanded the primer to bare metal around the perimeter of the bondo'd area. Not you have another low spot to deal with. I avoid this extra work by applying bond to a bare metal panel. It works for me, YMMV.
the best way to sort this out is to follow the manufacturer's instructions on paint and mud---after you get the bodywork sorted out---takes time but you can do it
Not sure if this has been mentioned yet or not, but another option is to get the sheet metal as close as possible as you can, then epoxy prime, then use a high build primer or a slick sand primer. This way you can fill your small imperfections with a chemical paint bond and then sand the whole care evenly. Like mentioned by VoodooTwin, bondo on epoxy can create low spots around the dressed area if not careful. Metal work as best as possible epoxy prime high build or slick sand
Pull it or hammer it out first,,, Grind it with 36 grit or worse to make scratches for the filler to stick... DONT EVER USE BONDO its junk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Use a quality filler from a paint supply place... bondo is for taxidermists and people who dont know any better.
Well, I straightened her out as much as I could, then, went and got some RAGE, pricey but nice to use. I also tried some z-grip, also from evercoat. The rage was better over all, but the z-grip was thinner and eaiser to spread, but didn't sand as good. but it was also half the price. I also got some of the evercoat body putty, pretty awesome stuff. Goes on super smooth ans self levels. Well, thanks for the info, I appreciate it. Here are some pics of what I have so far., jon
Its them damn high spots that ruin your day !!! I was explaining to my buddy the other day about this. Told him to picture his nice flat kitchen table, now stick a penny in the middle and make it flat again. Well you'd have to raise the entire rest of table the thickness of that penny for it to be flat again ”OR REMOVE" the penny/ high spot. Then I said pictures a hand full of change on the table. You'll fill and sand 0nce to find the damn quarters may even hit a penny or dime depending on its location and your block. Then you'll fill and sand again just to find the quarters and nickles again. Then you'll fill again to try and get things flat. Then you'll skim coat and sand to get smooth and flat. Better to take a few extra hours or days metal working than to do all that filling because of some high spots. Looking good
Well as always a thousand opinions....PPG a top brand recommends application of body filler (bondo) pick your brand, over their epoxy sealer. This is the DP line, DP 40, DP 90, etc. for maximum adhesion. It chemically bonds if applied in the proper time window. Eastwood Company has a good pamphlet called The key to metal bumping. It has some good pointers for stretching and shrinking metal. If you're not very careful, anytime you're working "on the dolly" with your hammer the metal wil be stretched. Not the end of the world. Break out the torch and wet rag and shrink it back and go again. Coarse discs can make thin spots in a hurry. Stay away from them except for removal of excess body fillers. Good luck!
There are products like USC All metal and feather fill metal to metal , that are aluminum based body fillers . They can be applied heavier than bondo type fillers . The right way would still be hammer and dolly until fairly smooth . But these products do have Their place and do work exceptionally well .
And the body work...... it's perfect for what it is. I drive her daily an hour each way to work, smiling the whole way! She is a 10 foot car, but she is the best looking 1930 model a in the parking lot at work! And it just makes people happy. Kids don't wave at me and people don't come talk to me at the gas pump or the parking lot at Wal-mart when I drive my pick up truck! She may not be perfect, but she is perfect for me! Thanks for all the help guys!
This response is great! It makes you happy and others smile, exactly what I hope mine will do when my cars done! Job well done, sir!
Well a professional body and fender guy would hammer out what he could and mud the rest. of course if you just want it to look like shit leave it rough.
Take arms against a sea of troubles.. 10 footer sounds generous but if your're happy.... Like the color and the Cragars.
10 footer- 20 footer- 100 footer- you're driving and enjoying and that is what counts- great hot rod-
Since this topic will entice others with filler questions, and as usual it's my take on the topic, but I avoid fillers over epoxy like the plague. Especially the DPLF formula, the solvents in the filler (polyester resins) can soften the epoxy below. "Well I call BULLSHIT! It's cured epoxy so WTF?" is the normal response in the field so here's the scenario. You feather your filler back to perfection showing beautiful "whiskers" in the sanded surface, all looks perfect within the world of cured plastic coatings and you can't wait to get it final primed and blocked. Not that you hurry, you just anticipate that perfection you worked your fingers into blood for. Now comes that dark maroon, Washington or Packard blue, or the most evil of all evils, black. If you're doing base clear it's going to be worse. That hot summer day without a cloud in the sky, you could cook an egg on that panel. Over 60-90 days the finish heat cycles over and over, that polyester resin still alive and "wet" below all that final finish medium you chose. Like a fuckin pimple on prom night that repair will ghost up and for the life of you you don't know why. You followed all the pro recommendations, the manufacturer said do it, WTF happened to all my work? The epoxy and resin have swelled and shrank enough to remind you of what you didn't need to be reminded of. You carefully block it back with 12-1500, then out to the final polish you had. If you're lucky you won't have to redo the whole car because that spot, now harder than the hinges of hell's door, might be even better than the rest of the finish that has also heat cycled several times. if it's under clear you'll level that, but the ghost will remain below it and NEVER go away short of a complete redo. And putting it on in that 36 hr window of DPLF where it's non-sanding (72hrs on Shop-Line epoxy) makes it worse because it's still in it's thermoplastic phase (wet and curing). I know many will claim that it can't and will never happen. Good for you, do what makes you happy. This old gray bastard won't do it. Bare clean metal, a good mechanical bond, it will NEVER have a chance to fail. Lastly, filler perfection is when a fridge magnet will stick to the panel through the filler. Time consuming? Fuckin eh. Expensive to a client? Well, yeah. Worth the effort? You decide, but from lacquer through the glory days of DAU, and here right now with all the "4 to 1" stuff, the solvents need time to purge and not many liquids will purge as slow as catalyzed polyester resin. And if you doubt that then let your fill dry for a week and try to level it. That really sucks, the worst of them all is Duraglass. Shape it now or you'll pay in angst and labor if you don't actually rough it way back and start over. Just a FWIW to those interested and not 1 iota of smack or disrespect to those who go the other way. I learned not to trust it, and not right then but weeks or months after the whole car's done. Good luck, ask questions, do some trial and error for yourself. This shit costs so much $$$$$ now it's not worth the risk to do less.
Don't settle for less than the very best you can do. You already have shown you have the basic skills. Now, just develop the patience. Otherwise, you will regret it.
+1 on the All U Need. It's a polyester high build and it contains no iso's so you can shoot it safely at home. By all means keep going on the metal work, don't beat the crap out of it or you will end up stretching metal and you'll be looking for a place to lose it. When you have the "figure" of the panel where you want it, then you can apply a little filler and work on the "finish". When you get that far, then you can apply a high build primer and block it. It's lots of work but a paint job is not going to hide bad body work. Take pride.
One of my pet peeves is seeing really nice cars with bodywork that was done by people, amateur or professional, who refuse to use body filler to straighten out wavey panels. The car can have the very best of everything else, but those undulating quarters and doors spoil it for me - especially since they could have been made arrow straight using body filler, long boards and a little more time. Today's materials are so good that, unless you've failed to prep properly, it's unlikely that even an excess of body filler will "fall off when hitting a bump" as some who post here have claimed earlier in this thread. In fact, if used correctly, nobody will ever know how much or where you've used body filler unless you wreck the car . Follow the manufacturer's instructions instead of paying attention to the keyboard experts here on this forum. If in doubt go to the company's website and ask. They've got real experts just waiting to help guys like you and me who want to use their products but don't know how. The last thing a guy should do is leave his car wavey just because somebody on the internet told him that the use of body filler was somehow sinful and that he'd end up in some kind of hot rod hell if he used more than a quarter inch. So...mud 'em up and board 'em straight boys. Once the paint's on nobody will ever know and you'll be much, much happier with the results.
Oh yeah, mud em up (sarcastic emphasis added ) Perhaps you've seen my thread? It Is a real life example of your post and the car was a steaming turd under the polished surface.
Well, I guess I'd better get my seat in hot rod hell reserved, but least my quarter panels will be straight until I depart.
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