i have some areas that have really, really shallow dings, to where the only way you would see it is in a certain light, and it is right around the front of the hood around the honda emblem, and the top of the hatch (the part you push on to close it)

i was wondering if it is ok to put some bondo to smooth them out flat around that area, and would it hold up to all the "slamming of the hood" ok?

just wondering if bondo is better off on only areas that are'nt pressed on so much or not.

btw, i am doing this cause i plan on getting my car painted pretty soon

 

yeah bondo is fine for the light dents on the hood, hatch...just try to "massage" the dent out from behind...just don't "massage" any part of the dent beyond the "plain" on the top of the hood, that will give u high spots as opposed to a dent...try to use the least amount of bondo...AND REMEMBER!! THE PAINT JOB IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE PREP JOB!!

 

you have to use body filler in painting a car.....theres not really any way around that, dont get bondo brand, go to carquest or you local automotive paint store and buy Rage Gold Body filler. Like the last guy said your paint job is determined by the prep job. Painting cars and body work is an art. Body filler should never be more than 1/8" thick on a dent/ding. Start sanding with 40 grit and featheredge it, then 80 grit, then 180.

 

use a limited amount of bondo. areas like the hood and other parts of the car that are used often, and slammed, like the hood, are prone to cracking if a lot of bondo is used. it is a waste of a paint job if you use a lot of bondo. my friend bondoed his hood, and a couple months after the paint job, the bondo and paint started to crack.

 

Bondo is used on things that arent easily replaced, you can always buy a new hood for cheap.

 

i don't like bondo, it has cracked and **** on my friends many times!

 

maybe i should say "screw it", and don't fill any dings and just get it painted, cause i am not looking for a show car or anything, i mean this is just a daily driver.

and as far as replacing a hood, its funny you say that, cause this is practically a new hood (in my mind), its only a year old, but the reason those shallow dings formed, is cause i had trouble re-aligning the hood after a wreck, and after shutting it so much, it caused some shalllow dings., but its still a new hood, and really it is nothing really noticeable.

(btw, i have a white crx, and i heard that white hides all the dings, and i was going to do a color change when i paint it, and change it to adriatic blue, so i was just being cautious, since i heard that darker colors show all the little "shallow dings"

but, now that i think of it, maybe its worth just getting it painted with just leaving it the way it is, cause the dings are so shallow, that i probably should'nt worry about it much, and even if it is perfect, there are always those a-holes that slam their car door into your side door molding and ruin it.

the bottom line is, that maaco gave me an estimate of $363 for just filling in the minor shallow dings i had, and so i just thought i would do that myself, but now i am almost thinking that for my needs, i can just leave at least 6 of those dings and just fill the more major ones myself, since it is not a show car anyway.

 

i also did'nt mention, but my dings are about half a 1/4" or less only, so basically they are really small, but i am just trying to make sure everything is smooth before spending money on paint job, but i just wanted to clarify something:

to the people who claim that bondo "cracks" over time:, are you talking about dents that are over 1/4"????, cause if so, ................then it does'nt apply to my problem, cause i already understand that, .............what i was really asking was if bondo was ok on dings that were less than 1/4", (actually, less than half of 1/4")

 

how good is jb weld for filling in holes etc? I have a few holes in the rear of my car from where a stupid wing was taken off, and i wanna fill them in. THanks.. peace

 

Im not trying to steal your post or anything....but i have to ask this. I have a dent the size of my hand and about 3/4-1 inch deep on my drivers side rear panel. It is RIGHT where the lights meet the panel. I tried to find a way to beat it out or something but i cant get in there to get it. How shold i go about repairing it? I was going to get a new panel but the guy at the junkyard told me that he would have to cut it off at the top and i would have to get it re-welded where i waned it on my car. I REALLY dot want to do that b/c i know that it wouldnt come out right. Is there any way that i can fix this? I want to get it fixed soon because im going to paint it soon(either gunmetal or bronze). Thanks for the help...and be sure to answer crxaddikt's questions first seing as this is his thread. Im just too lazy to start a new one

Sean

 

ok your talking about shallow dings in the front of your hood. since you dont wanna use body filler (which is perfectly ok to do) get something called polyester glazing putty. Get it at carquest or whatever place carries automotive painting supplies. Its in a tube usually or a round plastic squeeze container. Glazing putty is for fine finishing and it is applied over body filler to get rid of pinholes and stuff from putting to much harder in the body filler. Dont be worried about cracking and stuff like that; if its done right and Bondo brand isnt used you'll be allright. I think everyone meant to say that fiberglass is what really cracks.

 

guys guys guys,lets get something straight here before spredaing anymore bad info.fiberglass reinforced body filler is what you want to use.bondo absorbs too much moisture hence the tendancy to crack.on your hood unless it is a minuscule dent do not use bondo!i i mean minuscule meaning that 1/4 deep is too deep.a good primer filler will also help in prepping the area.and by the way if fiberglass is used properly it will not crack before bondo

 

you cant paint over fibgerglass filler anyway, so either way body filler or glazing putty must be spread over it.

 

i am done filling them in now, took a few days, took my time.

it looks good and smooth, i did 10 areas (dings), and i did it exactly how it said to do it in the hayne's bodywork book i got.

i let everything dry on each step, and i only used thin layers of bondo, and if it did'nt look smooth, i did it again (really tedious and patient ****), and i also put spot putty glaze on any little scratches or pinholes afterwards, then i put several layers of primer, (not too heavy), and let each coat dry, and i sanded the primer with 400grit sandpaper and i finished right on time, cause today it is going to thunderstorm, but i worked on this the last 3 days, which were perfect spring days.

i felt everything all the time with my hands and it seems smooth enough, but i still won't see how perfect it is until the paint and everything is on, cause then it will show everything, but i am not going to worry.

before painting it, i would like to maybe shave the antenna, mine is about to snap off, its only hanging by a little piece, plus i don't listen the radio almost at all, so if anyone has a link to a previous post about how to do this, that would be cool.

i will take it to maaco the first of next week, i am kind of worried about how good they do the door jams, and inside the sunroof, cause they would really need to tape everything up in detail, cause there are so many little parts, such as the little labels on the door jam, the door latch, etc.....
by the way, the bondo i used were only for dings that were less than a 1/4", cause i was told that would be ok, and i feather edged the lines around it where it meets the bare metal the best i could.

 

Also a technique to help you in feeling if your body work is good or not is to take a paper towel and use that under your hand to feel the repaired spots. It sorta helps you to feel your high/low spots. Take some cheap black spray paint and slightly MIST your primered areas and sand it off with like 180 grit and that also will show high spots and low spots. Your a very brave soul for taking it to maaco. I hope everything turns out ok