One of my summer projects is to try and get the rust and dents out of my truck and tractor. I've never used Bondo. It says to sand the rust out, apply the bondo, sand, prime and paint. Is it really that easy? For those of you who have experience, is there any DVD or book for Dummies? And what advice do you have? Thank you. (On the truck, can I just apply the mixture right over the dented area without sanding the paint off?)
- Thread starter KA in NY
- Start date
Uncle Ernice
Member
Grind 'er down to bare metal, beat the dent out as much as you can and use the least amount of Bondo you can . Otherwise the PROCESS is that simple. Getting a good looking job, well THAT is another. More of an art form than a mechanical process. Some can and some (like me) cannot without lots of do overs and frustration. Just don't have the patience!!
Goose
Well-known Member
You need to grind down to base, unrusted metal.
The first coat of Bondo can be leveled with a DA sander. Subsequent coats, (and there WILL be subsequent coats), can be leveled with an air file. Final coats need to be done the old fashioned way, by hand with a sanding board long enough to cover the entire area.
When you think you have it level, prime it and apply one or more coats of spot putty. The spot putty will fill minor imperfections and sand scratches. You may have to apply several coats of spot putty, using increasingly finer sand paper.
Then build up several coats of primer and sand again. By the time you're ready for the finish coat, you'll be up to 600 to 1,000 grit paper.
Keep in mind automotive finishes are contrary by nature. They just love to show off sand scratches and imperfections when you thought you had perfection.
It's a painstaking and time-consuming process, but after 30 years of involvement if there are any shortcuts, I've never found them.
The first coat of Bondo can be leveled with a DA sander. Subsequent coats, (and there WILL be subsequent coats), can be leveled with an air file. Final coats need to be done the old fashioned way, by hand with a sanding board long enough to cover the entire area.
When you think you have it level, prime it and apply one or more coats of spot putty. The spot putty will fill minor imperfections and sand scratches. You may have to apply several coats of spot putty, using increasingly finer sand paper.
Then build up several coats of primer and sand again. By the time you're ready for the finish coat, you'll be up to 600 to 1,000 grit paper.
Keep in mind automotive finishes are contrary by nature. They just love to show off sand scratches and imperfections when you thought you had perfection.
It's a painstaking and time-consuming process, but after 30 years of involvement if there are any shortcuts, I've never found them.
Absolutely not! You will not get the adhesion you need. Bare, rust free metal (and coats of bondo) is the only thing to start with. If there is any rust left, even a little speck, it will eventually work it's way through and ruin your new paint job. It does take a lot of time to do it right. And it IS an art form, something that can only be perfected through lots of practice and patience. I spent 3 months of evenings and weekends on my truck. It came out ok for a first timer but you can easily see that it's not a professional job.
You could but it won't last.
I watched a local body shop "fix" some rust in a car for a dealer back in the early 1990s. They simply pounded a dent where the rust was and filled it with bondo - about a gallon behind every wheel. They went right over the paint and rust with no grinding or cleaning. Sprayed the "repair" with paint and it looked great. The guy who bought it (1970s Cadillac El Dorado) kept it in his garage. He had the car for years and only drove it occassionally on weekends if the weather was nice. 8-9 years later it still looked great.
He sold it to a guy who drove it more regular in all kinds of weather - the rust was bubbling around the bondo in less than a year and started falling out in two years. The bondo hid the rust but made it worse once it saw some weather. Instead of rust the size of your fist there were huge holes a foot across behind all the wheels.
I watched a local body shop "fix" some rust in a car for a dealer back in the early 1990s. They simply pounded a dent where the rust was and filled it with bondo - about a gallon behind every wheel. They went right over the paint and rust with no grinding or cleaning. Sprayed the "repair" with paint and it looked great. The guy who bought it (1970s Cadillac El Dorado) kept it in his garage. He had the car for years and only drove it occassionally on weekends if the weather was nice. 8-9 years later it still looked great.
He sold it to a guy who drove it more regular in all kinds of weather - the rust was bubbling around the bondo in less than a year and started falling out in two years. The bondo hid the rust but made it worse once it saw some weather. Instead of rust the size of your fist there were huge holes a foot across behind all the wheels.
If I was going to do the job----I would, at least, try to do it right.
I would cut out all the rusted metal, weld in a patch, and then apply bondo to needed sections. I would rather just apply a backing sheet of metal to the back side and level front side with bondo rather then apply filler to rusted metal.
I have not done a lot of body work but learned from what I tried.
I would cut out all the rusted metal, weld in a patch, and then apply bondo to needed sections. I would rather just apply a backing sheet of metal to the back side and level front side with bondo rather then apply filler to rusted metal.
I have not done a lot of body work but learned from what I tried.
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