Hi, my left door on my car was smashed leaving about 2 dents. The dent pushed in a portion of the door a little. Bodyshops had told me I can bondo it, but I want some tips from people in here so I can do the job right. I don't trust reading the simple instructions on the bondo box. If anyone out there can help out, please respond. Thank you.

 

hey man, first of all, go to a good auto store and purchase good bondo and hardner.

then buy 200, 400, 800, 1000, 2000 grid paper

Sand the 2 dents wit the 200 grit paper, make it really rough

mix some bondo and put a tinny bit of hardener. If you put too much hardner, the bondo will dry quickly, if you put too little hardner the bondo will take a week+ to harden.

Apply bondo onto the 2 dents and about 2-5 inches radius beside the dents.

when dry, sand with 200 a bit, then 400

apply more bondo to smoth out.

sand down with 400, and if more bondo needed, slap some on.

sand with 400, then 800

sand with 800 untill it's really smoth, then start sanding with 1000 and use water when sanding with 1000+ grit paper

keep sanding till your satisfied.

finally start sanding with 1500-2000 grit paper and job will be really well done.

printer and sand with 2000.

enjoy, don't sniff the bondo too much

 

hey man, thanks for the instructions! that's some good stuff, thanks! I'll try that soon.

 

np, if you need more help, IM me, I work at a body shop so I do this verry often

 

Alright thanks! If I have trouble, I'll talk to ya!

 

i was about to post the same good tips

 

Heh, it's great to know there's people out there who are willing to help people

 

Oh boi....BONDO is a brand name. "Body filler" is the product/material description you want to use shape your panels. Please use the correct terms.

"I need to bondo my door"
"I need to use body filler to shape my door"

Also, I've been in the bodyworking field for 5 years.

>>>>Do not use bondo brand.<<<< Its really low grade body filler. Alot of air bubbles in the filler mixture which causes alot of pinholes in the final stages. Hard and brittle when cured. Hard to feather out when applying. You'll spend more time sanding.

Strictly use EVERCOAT brand body fillers, preferebly the gold series. I swear on my grandmothers grave that you won't be disappointed with this brand of body filler. Easy to feather out when applying. Filler material has much much less air pockets. Very soft compared to Bondo, which is easier to cut down with a cheese grater and sandpaper. Very good adhesion to body panels. Its the stuff professionals use!!

Hope this helps you guys.

 

wow, I know it's Body Filler but I don't want to say Body Filler mainly cause it takes way too much time to write Body Filler and most people won't understand Body filler. A great majority understand what Bondo is.

If you go and purchase Body Filler, say you want Body Filler and not bondo, cause they'll give you the shitty type.

I use Bondo in my sentences just to get it across and it's much convenient to write Bondo then Body Filler.

 

**** man isn't that a little over the top? in auto body class we use 40-80 grit for sanding before bondo (the lower the grit the better the bondo will stick), 80 grit for sanding the bondo, then 320 for sanding before painting (primer and good paint). if its too smooth the paint won't stick to the car.

 

Well, after putting in lots of bondo yesturday, I ran into a problem. There are many blocks that are uneven with every stroke i make. I'm not sure how to say it, but like... it's like spots. I would try to fill in the spots with more bondo but my pedal would just make more spots. Right now I'm going to use Bondo Glazing & Spot to cover up those spots. I have small spots and huge spots, so it's making it hard for me.

Oh yea, I had to go buy 80 grit sand paper, haha, sanding it with 200 was hard.

Also, I just realized I can post 5 times per 24 hours?

 

Dang, this is harder than I thought. Too much sanding and stuff. If only I read EKFerioHawaii's post earlier, I would of bought the other brand of body filler. I'm using the Bondo brand now and he's right, it's hard to get it even and smooth. I'm still working on it as I'm typing right now.

 

this is what i would try first and then i would use mugen85r's steps, see if you caould get to the dents from the inside taking out the interior door panel and that plastic, but try not to mess up that thick black goo that holds it on the tap the dents out a bit with a hammer then they will be smaller, and less bondo is always better to finish the job IMO make sense?

 

I have already. It's actually hard to access it because there's some metal bars in the way, so it's useless to do it.

 

Did you use a cheese grator?

Those things work wounders for evening bondo out....

 

EKFerioHawaii


shut the F up and go do something...

 

great instructions!!

 

Cheese Grator? Naw, I didn't, never heard of it.

Also, after all this is over and I decide to take it to a body shop for a paintjob, you think the bodyshop would care if I got a patch of bondo and they would know how to handle it?

 

I wouldnt bondo a door...or anything that was constantly getting slamed

|eb_CRX

 

another good point, dont want it rotting , cracking and falling out

 

yea, but i got no option. i think it's the only way i can do it and afford. the bondo seems pretty strong right now to me, hopefully it'll stay that way. has anyone ever had problems with it falling, cracking, etc?

 

if its done right it'll last almost forever. our 86 astro has a big area of bondo on the driver's door, we bought it in 91 from an auction. 11 years later its still on and no cracks.

 

Please post something constructive.....

Look at his avatar. Only a donkey would post a reply not pertaining to this thread....God!!! stupid posters irritate me.

BTW HeeroZ: How's the body work going? Just take your time and shape the door... don't be hesitant to feel high and low spots with your hands or finger nails.

High spots: Sand more
Low spots: Apply another thin layer of Body Filler. (Mugen85R: you were right, body filler takes hella longer to type than bondo. 8P )

Also if you have access to and electrical or pnuematic DA palm/long block sanders, that would help out alot. Wal-mart carries a $17.95 DA palm sander. I use 220 grit (25 cents a sheet @ redline) then move to 400 grit. Be careful not to over sand!

Tips on bodyworking:
-make sure you have at least a dust mask on when body working. Dusty nostrils = sneezing.
-Also, in addition to above it wouldn't hurt to have safety goggles.
-Spray some water on the "bondo'ed" area to form a slight reflective sheen. Then look at the reflections on the area to spot high and low spots.
-An alternative method to above. Primer area. Mist another color paint over it. Wet/Dry sand over the area using sanding block. Any left over colored paint = low spots. Sanding through primer = high spots. Try to be consistent with the pressure and strokes used while sanding at this stage to avoid discreptencies in the sanded area.
-Have someone else check and feel the area for smoothness.
-Shape the metal on the damaged area as best as you can before applying body filler.
-Scuff painted on damaged area with 220 or whatever grit before applying body filler.
-Try not to sand down to the metal. May form "islands" which will show through the basecoat and clearcoat. Islands = sanding through all paint, to the metal. If unavoidable, spray high build primer over section to fill up the spot. Wet sand with 600 grit until smooth.
-For molding holes, gently tap the metal around hole to make a slight indentation. It gives more area for the body filling media to "bite" onto thus resisting cracking much better.
-Something I learned over the years. Don't rush the job, take your time. You'll have better results.


This was from the top of my head. Feel free to correct me if mistakes are found. Feel free to add to the list.

Happy Body Working. Happy NEW YEAR guys!!


[Modified by EKFerioHawaii, 12:19 AM 12/28/2002]

 

hmmmm you got one good bodyman...

but mixing it yourself and expecting it to last...i'll just say there's being realistic and being dreamy...and that's beyond dreamy, no way a guy first time he uses 'body filler' (so ek dont get pissed) or anything car body related will get the mix 100% right and be able to make it last

I Dont know, even with a 100000% mix I've heard it wont hold up...but anything's possible I assume...just close the door really softly

|eb_CRX

 

Just get yourself a new door skin now. You should have took it to someone who knew what they were doing before you went out and bought some **** *** Bondo brand body filler. Evercoat rocks. Why dont you post some pics and let us see how big the dents are. You prolly could have taked it to a paintless dent repair guy. Anyways good luck with that Bondo mess you got there.


[Modified by jDmDxTuRd, 9:49 AM 12/28/2002]