Bondo woes. . .

Hey guys, I'm looking for a little advice. Recently I purchased a container of All-purpose Bondo from Lowe's Hardware. So far anything I've tried to use it on has turned into a sticky, stinky mess and just looks like something Clayface from Batman puked up. Should I have bought the auto-body filler rather than the all-purpose, or does the auto-body have the same thick, unworkable texture? I've heard fantastic, magical things about Bondo, but I guess I have yet to discover the technique for myself.

Any advice given will be greatly appreciated.

Could it be your not mixing the right quantities of Bondo and hardener? You only need a very small amount of hardener, like a pea size bit for a golf ball sized lump of Bondo

If it's sticky, it's not setting up. You probably need more hardener. Did you get hardener with it?

Or maybe the hardener that came with it was a bad batch. I've had that happen before.

You are adding the hardener aren't you?

Yeah, I'm adding the hardener. I forgot to mention in the original post (really sorry for the misinformation) that it does set up, but its really brittle and flaky. I guess that could be a bad batch of hardener, as Drokkul suggested?

Originally Posted by Murphoid

Yeah, I'm adding the hardener. I forgot to mention in the original post (really sorry for the misinformation) that it does set up, but its really brittle and flaky. I guess that could be a bad batch of hardener, as Drokkul suggested?

Maybe you should try to get the body filler instead. I got that the other day, and it was the first time I have ever used any bondo product and to me it has performed miricales since then..

How long does it take to set up, maybe your mixing it too "hot". Doesn't take a lot of hardener. Make sure your preping the area where your going to apply it, like scuffing it.

Make sure the area getting the Bondo is free of dust so it can adhere. Also knead the hardener tube before you open it. The stuff can settle and separate.

Hi Murph,

If you got the type of Bondo pictured below, then you shouldn't have any problems as long as you follow the mixing ratio on the can.



Hope this helps!
-Gene

I have found that the autobody filler is better than the all-purpose. The main reason?
All purpose has the white hardener, and the Auto Body has the RED. When mixing it is almost impossible to tell if you have gotten a nice, uniform mix when the mixed color is so lose to the normal grey when you use the white. The red hardener however makes the bondo more of a reddish hue so it is easy to see if the mix is not uniform.

Hope it turns out well for you.

AS for the flaking part. When you use that stuff I found you have to let it sit a while. like overnight.

A buddy of mine was putting together a real POS cushman mg34 and the bondo didnt work right until we let it sit over night and really set up. If we did it too soon it just flaked off.

Good luck!

Pete

Thanks for all the wonderful advice, guys. This really helps out. So far, I've added a little more hardener, mixed it extra thoroughly, and applied with a putty knife to try and smooth it out and its turning out much better than before. I guess it wasn't the Bondo so much as my inexperience with it. But, next time, I'll definitely be going with the body-filler.