Auto Body?

[Raidergirl]

Whats the best body filler.I'm asking because a forum member I'm currently living with is doing body work on his Pathfinder.He has always used Bondo light duty filler and the fiber glass cloth for dents and rust outs that werent that bad.There is a new type of filler that is called bondo heavy(his words) it has the fiber glass already in it and he doesnt know if its better,or if you have to go over it with light duty/glazing putty.Thanks in advanse for any help.

[Raidergirl]

Also,whats a good way to keeps the dust down and to clean.He is currently spraying starting fluid and wipping the dust off onto a rag,any thoughts on this subject?

[ahardb0dy]

What is he cleaning using starter fluid? I can think of other things to use that are probably cheaper and less flammable to use depending on what is being cleaned.

[nismothunder]

Bare sanded metal,cleaning old bondo and rust duct off of it...

[slade420]

Also,whats a good way to keeps the dust down and to clean.He is currently spraying starting fluid and wipping the dust off onto a rag,any thoughts on this subject?

 

a watered down ammonia cleaner. get a windex bottle with like a 60/40 water to windex solution and a clean cloth, i know it is good for cleaning parts after sanding, before painting. its primer & paint safe. it removes the little particles and makes the paint job look nice. tack cloths work really good too! that starting fluid might react with bondo... im not sure tho. and i use varsol for bare metal only.

[GrimGreg]

The filler with the fiberglass bits in it doesn't leave a completely smooth finish, but it is less likely to develop stress cracks later. It is also harder to sand as the fibers of glass dull the paper quickly. I usually use NAPA brand filler, it mixes to a smoother consistancy and doesn't set up quite as fast.

[OldSlowReliable]

I used the fibreglass stuff to do a little smoothing, it doesn't work mirror finish good, but it bridged a small gap in my steel fab easily!

[nige]

i've also used the short strand fibreglass bondo.

 

I found it very messy and difficult to get smooth. It would be good for patching holes on top of horizontal surfaces, but i prefer to use the plain bondo as long as you don't screw up the mix.

 

if it's big holes, i like to use the fiberglass cloth and brush on the resin. Chicken wire can be used to reinforce it, but it's not really necessary.

[nunya]

If goeing for perfection, I like to use Icing (it's in a white tube with purple writing) as a final coat-or for minute dings.

[MY1PATH]

Body work, part of my job. No, we don't bondo our flying airplanes but we do bondo our museum planes and we have to repair other things like support equipment when idiots crash it lol...

 

small dents and contours, use bondo

big dents or flexible areas, we use whats called epibond I don't know what the outside equivelent is but suppose the short fiber bondo would work

holes and other stuff, full on glass patches

 

If it doesn't have a smooth resin finish (glass only) always use a good filler primer. this Is a heavy thick primer that sprays like mud, designed to fill the porosity of bodo and bad fiberglas jobs. it can even fill smaller dents to be sanded. sand the filler smooth and then cover it with sealer primer (your regular primer) and now its ready for topcoat.

[nismothunder]

Thanks for the help,it has really made things go faster.I'm half way done with the p-side,I stopped painting at the q-panel last night.It should be done today or tommarrow if theres no ran.

[sumguy67]

Isn't the best filler steel?

Then a thin coat of regular Bondo to blend out the surfaces.

And, as mentioned, Icing if you want it perfect.

 

Steel is not easy in some cases... I know I just rebuilt the corner under the rear door.

It ain't pretty... but at least I have a good base of steel and I can hide it with Bondo.

 

Welding in pieces isn't as hard as it may seem.

If it's not structural then there is nothing wrong with rivets. (Bondo covered of course)

Some body shops are now even using adhesive. And why not, car manufacturers do.

 

And if you don't want to pay for a sheet of body steel (which is usually crap steel) just look around.

I did a great body job using the steel cut from the side of a filing cabinet.

[slade420]

i just finished patching the floor and rocker panels in my D21 using the hood from my dead pathy. rivets to hold it together and then weld the seams

[sumguy67]

i just finished patching the floor and rocker panels in my D21 using the hood from my dead pathy. rivets to hold it together and then weld the seams

 

I like the rivets and then weld... especially on long pieces like rockers.

 

I used body caulking on the underside seems of my rocker repairs then asphalt undercoat spray.

What did you use to seal yours up??

[BIGPHIL]

bad thing about rivets is over time they "wiggle" loose so welding is a must.

 

 

think im lying ask any drag racer that has aluminum or sheet door panels that are riveted

[sumguy67]

bad thing about rivets is over time they "wiggle" loose so welding is a must.

 

 

think im lying ask any drag racer that has aluminum or sheet door panels that are riveted

 

 

 

All depends on the application, material and proper installation.

Aircraft use rivets.....

[nismothunder]

Yeah,I agree with the steel part,but if was just a little bit of rust around the rear wheels,I sanded it and found old bondo hidden under it(was freshly painted when I got it).I used some 1/10 stock for the rear rocker rust out and went over it with fiber glass cloth and a coat of bondo,still needs to be sanded.I have so far finished painting the p-side rear q-panel and hit the bottem 3-4 inchs of it with under-coating to kinda prevent nicks and scratchs in the new paint(flat black,not from a can)I still need to finish it but the front fenders are roting out around 2 inchs of bondo,I did hit with a sander and smoothed it out,should look good once I start with the filler putty.