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Antique Tractor Paint and Bodywork

any tips for bondo?

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Tim Shultz

06-12-2006 08:41:55




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I am working on my 73" pick-up, I have welded in some new tin where it was rusted out, now it needs some bondo.. any tips for that? never used it before so anything you can tell me would be great. and whats a good welding rod for thin tin like that? I was useing some 6013 rods, but it seems like there would be a better one to use? and I know mig or tig would be a better way to go, but all I have is buzz box.. THANKS! Tim Shultz

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Brad_bb

06-14-2006 09:16:34




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 Re: any tips for bondo? in reply to Tim Shultz, 06-12-2006 08:41:55  
I prefer Evercoat Z-grip filler. Buy a 12"X12" black ceramic floor tile at the homecenter to use as your mixing board. It"s cheap and it"s very hard and pretty flat and makes an excellent mixing board. You can also clean off the filler residue (which you must do just after you finish sprading the filler on your parts) with lacquer thinner, which will not affect the tile. Use Nitrile gloves when working with the filler or lacquer thinner. I prefer Dynagrip large lightly powdered from Napa. $12 for box of 100.
Good luck with the buzz box. I think that will be difficult at best. Remember that welding creates oxidation and acids. You need to properly prep the metal afterwards with a mild phosphoric acid solution commonly referred to as "metal prep". PPG DX579 is one version. Dupont and all the other auto paint companies sell their version. It then gets rinsed and dried quickly with compressed air. Then you are ready to apply your filler or epoxy primer. Use 80 grit paper on a standard sanding pad (not a really soft one) to start roughing it out.

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CNKS

06-12-2006 13:57:41




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 Re: any tips for bondo? in reply to Tim Shultz, 06-12-2006 08:41:55  
Get everything as level as possible before using bondo. Think of it as a finishing product to fill very small depressions that you can't get perfectly straight. I try not to get it any thicker than 1/16 inch, maximum 1/8, and I consider 1/8 too thick. It won't help, other than temporarily, to put it on thicker in thin coats, it will eventually crack.



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mjbrown

06-12-2006 13:09:06




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 Re: any tips for bondo? in reply to Tim Shultz, 06-12-2006 08:41:55  
Polyester based products such as bondo do not have the best adhesion properties. If you have to fill any thing more than scratches you are better off using epoxy. I use West System resin and 403 microfibers to make high streangth filler that will stay stuck and won't crack or peel. After it cures warm it up good to eliminate post cure shrinkage then shape it. I use an inline air sander for that. Bondo is good for dealing with the scratches from sanding. I use Dolphin glaze wet sanded with 600, prime, wet sand with 1000 then paint. Epoxy is pricey but if you value your labor use good materials.

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souNdguy

06-12-2006 12:43:47




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 Re: any tips for bondo? in reply to Tim Shultz, 06-12-2006 08:41:55  
I have a small buzzbox, and have welded up plenty of tractor shetmetal... It's touch and go.. so you have to have a steady hand. make short stitches to decrease heat.

I usually like a 1/16 or 5/64 6011 rod. You can get these at walmart believe it or not.. from the CH brand. i have one of their little 70a stick welders. It has a 0-30 and 30-70 power setting.. i use the 1/16 on the 30 and the 5/64 on the 70 setting. 1/16 and 30a setting should be more than sufficient for thin stuff & under 3/16.

Soundguy

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steve from mo - dangit!

06-12-2006 10:33:36




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 FWIW. in reply to Tim Shultz, 06-12-2006 08:41:55  
Bondo doesn't stick to rust very well or very long. You need to cut away all the bad parts and sand to shiny metal before you weld new tin into place, then seal both sides. Front with bondo, back with primer/undercoat.

With half-cured bondo you can use something like a cheese grater to do the rough countour. Then apply another coat. After a couple rounds, you can start to sand it smooth and use spot putty to fill any holes in the bondo. If you sand too deep and get a concave surface, you can put more bondo on.

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Errin OH

06-12-2006 09:41:42




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 Re: any tips for bondo? in reply to Tim Shultz, 06-12-2006 08:41:55  
Hey Tim, I am no body man but I have had fairly good sucess when I have done it. Keep it thin. As in thin coats. Don't try and get it all at once. Don't try to just fill the low spot either (feather it out). I'll put on a rough layer and form it down with like a 60 grit to get off the high spots. Do another layer and form it again. Once I got the basic shape I move up on the paper and keep going until it is right and I am up to a 200 paper. It cures real fast (mins) so just make what you need for the layer you are applying. You can make another batch for the next spot, but you can't apply 1/2 cured bondo.

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cj3b_jeep

06-12-2006 09:48:35




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 Re: any tips for bondo? in reply to Errin OH, 06-12-2006 09:41:42  
you could use the bondo glass product also, it has fiberglass embedded into it to make it stronger.



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