Bondo, bondo, bondo!

CuteLucca

Jr Hunter
So I know a lot of work gets done here with bondo. My question is-- what exactly is it and where can I get it?

Any tips to give a bondo virgin? I have extensive experience sculpting with softer materials, like clay, but from what I can tell you just sculpt the general shape with the bondo then sand it down to where you need it.

It seems to be the perfect blend between a solid, tough finished object and ease of workability, so I really want to give it a shot.
 
I'm not sure you're on the right track with this, but then I may be wrong.
From what I understand "Bondo" is a brand of auto body filler and is used by folk to patch up gaps or imperfections in castings or scratch built items. I'm pretty sure you can't sculpt with it. I know when I have a job that someone says requires "Bondo" I use body filler and it all works out fine.
 
bondo was born automotive body filler. there are a couple of variants now, but i couldn't tell you the difference between them functionally.

you can get it at home depot in the adhesives area or any auto parts store.

as far as sculpting in it, that could be a challenge. it starts off as a paste, maybe a little more workable than cake frosting. when it starts to set up, it goes REALLY fast... from paste to rock faster than you can say "grrr! all this bondo wasted!!!"

how big a piece are you looking to sculpt? my favorite quickie sculpting medium is epoxy putty, available in the plumbing section of home depot. it's about $6 for a tube that's about 1/2" diameter and maybe 7" long. you cut a slice off, knead it together, then go. you get about 5 minutes where it's easily workable, then by 10 minutes it's solid as a rock.

for small stuff, it's awesome.
 
the expoxy putty can it be sanded and used on fiberglass also the diffrence in resin .i have a small crack in a helmet that was given to me also a few gaps in the helmet what is the best material for that
 
Agh darnit, I should have been more specific. I'm not looking to sculpt objects (I do most of my objects from wood already, and it works great) but I would like to add a 3/16 height 'mohawk' to my helmet. I figured making a cardboard template which laid on top of the helmet then filling the hole in the template with the material-- in this case, I was thinking bondo would work, considering what I understood about it-- then sand it uniform once it hardened.

Epoxy putty would work for this as well, I know, as I *have* done some work with that before, but I'm not sure how well it would adhere to the dome in a big, flat sheet like that.
 
Well you could use expoxy putty and then rivit through the dried putty and then use bondo. But I think that would be a bit on the crazy side. I think it would be best to use sentra or some other plastic to build up the mohawk and then smooth it out with bondo or some other filler.
 
so far that putty has seemed to adhere pretty well to everything i've used it on.

but that's a lot of putty!
Yes.. and it seems like it would be a lot of Bondo too. It would probably work well if you're using it to fill in a hollow piece. It's not very heavy once it sets either.

I just used some Bondo today for the first time and it really does set fast!
The description of it being like cake frosting is very accurate! When the two parts are blended together it takes on a consistency almost exactly like cake frosting... and when it sets it's like frosting that's been left out for a few days... a bit brittle... but easy to sand. It's really just intended for patching holes and cracks I think.
 
i love bondo's spot glaze putty. pre mixed in a nice tube it dries fast and smells nifty.

4 bucks at any auto shop.

just look for the spot glaze putty. black/red tube.

rocks hard. dries clean sands crisp.. sexy.
 
Yea, it should work for you. 3/16 inch high you said? Thats a very short mohawk, and it should be no problem if your just going to use bondo for it. How wide is it going to be?
 
Im thinking this thread is dead-ish, as she ordered two domes, and used the second dome (from bradleyfetts vac'd helmet kits) as the mohawk, then filled in the gap.
 
IT'S ALIVE~! My Bondo question is this.... which is the best Bondo to use? There's general purpose Bondo, and Automotive Bondo. Which is better and why? And the glazing Bondo I take to be a thin fine coat after the major work is done?

 
I've used the BONDO that comes in both the red and teal tubs and it always works the same.

All you have to do is make sure you get the putty mix and not the polyester resin you used with fiberglass weave.

I would recommend actualyl buying BONDO and not generic autobody filler. i just like the way the bondo sets
 
I botched my first attempt at a pepakura Boushh helmet (air bubbles in the fiberglass inerts) but proceeded to bondo it to test the stuff out...

Now we can only get Isopon here which I imagine is the same thing but for doing an entire lid in it it gets rather heavy and I can only think that getting the finer details is gonna take a LOT of sanding... SOoooo...

Is there a filler/resining/whatever product that is easier to spread??? Something paint-on/brush-on or at least with the consistency of spreadable butter or thick oil? I think Im a gonna loose a LOT of finer detail with auto filler...

Oh - this is the Isopon stuff:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...ategoryId_70054_crumb__parentcategoryrn_70054

Thanks folks!

Dave
 
If you use epoxy clay, it hardens over a 4 hour period. And its smoothable with water.

So you can sculpt it to a nice shape, then use a wet sponge to smooth it and your fingers to adjust it. Get it close, then sand it, it sands like bondo creme.

I bought a gallon kit (2 gallons) for a hundred bucks, but they sell a small kit too.

Its a little brittle when it dries, it doesnt flex much, but its rock hard and adheres to about anything. I highly recomend it.

I think mine was called 'magic sculpt'
 
Hey Stormrider!

Thanks for taking the time! This stuff sounds like just what Im after - certainly until the confidence builds up a bit to work in 5-10min stints before hardening a la bondo!

I would be building in card, and fiberglassing the inside so brittle and no flex should be fine!

Thanks again - off to google I go :)

Dave
 
Another question: what sort of prep/materials should I be concerned with while working with Bondo? For example, I've read that good ventilation and a breathing mask are required. Does this mean a paper mask type, or heavier duty facemask with filters? And is working outdoors best, as opposed to in a garage? Is the harm from the fumes of the agents themselves, or post-curing dust while sanding? I know I can just google Bondo, but I prefer the Fett community's advice! :D
 
Hey mate!

I ALWAYS use a respirator with changable filters & have a fan on in the garage Im working in... IMHO a paper mask is worse than useless as its basically as dust mask... nothing more.

Some folks will say your fine without it but as someone who has had problems with their health suddenly sneak up on them (Ulcerative Colitis) it is not worth the $40ish a filter costs to risk your health!!! Once the damage is done there is no going back...

So Im new to the whole thing but ALWAYS use the hospital type rubber gloves (the ones with talc on them - a couple of quid for 5 pairs) and a respirator... its not too obstructive and the alternative scares the willies outta me :)

HTH

Dave
 
Sweet Jeezus! That's a freakishly horrible disease to risk getting! :O That might even put me off bondo altogether! At the very least, I'll work outdoors, or with my garage door open!!! Again, is that in the chemical fumes, or sanding dust? Just wanna know what's worse. Is there any safer filler/glazing compound out there? I've been using epoxy putty so far, but for my JP body I'll have to use something much heavier duty. Yikes! Just... yikes!
 
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