phyzix525

I am wanting to do some body work. I have never done this and was wondering if anyone knew a good place to read up on how to bondo and prep a car to paint. Thanks

leftturn109

i have done some body work and i would say get a can of bondo sand the spot down to the metal and mix some up it isnt hard and if you dont like it you can sand it off and try again also once you get your general shape you want to use a block with like 180 grit sand paper to get a nice smoth finish then just shoot on some primmer.

phyzix525

Yeah I konda have the general idea on how to do it, I just thought there might be some ticks to the trade or things to watch out for. I guess I can always check out the library for an old book on it.

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Confederate

i've sanded, prepped and painted plastic pieces, that's about it

mazak

what kind of damage ? rust, collision? it helps. determin the best way .let us know!

phyzix525

Well my rear quater panel was hit by another car and was bashed in about 2 inches or so. The fender is slightly bent in, and will need to be straightened in order to replace the bumper. I was mostly wondering how thick you can put the bondo on.

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Confederate

I've only seen bondo used in thin layers or used to plug holes in sheetmetal. With welding being advanced and an art as it is, it's almost cheaper and easier to cut out the old part and weld in a new one. Of course I hang with a bunch of truck and jeep customizers, so I may have a skewed perspective

Spyder_Venom

There are a lot of good books out there. HP Books has several really good books on basic to quite advanced body work. When I was at barns and noble last week there was even one specifically for accident repair, looks quite good! I don't remember who the publisher was though. In all honestly doing the bondo isn't all that hard. Mixing the paint and spraying the car, for me is the PINTA. Finishing work isn't too bad either, just need to be careful not to chew throuh the clear coat when sanding out the runs (ohh yeah, I never said I was good at it when I started). Practice makes perfect though. The more you do it, the easier it will become. Patents is key, and try to start with something small - you'll do fine.

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laconic1

With bondo I've either heard 1/8 inch or 1/4 inch, but no thicker than that because it will break out in a big chunk.

theguyondacouch

What kind of car is it? If it is an older car the sheet metal will be thicker and harder to work with. Putting bondo on 2 inches thick will only cause problems. In reality, you could buy all the tools and nessacary equiptment to do it yourself. I myself recomend you find a good body guy and get it done.

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phyzix525

Well really the point here was just to learn how to do it. Its an old 89 honda Accord LXi, its not worth fixing really, it just a matter of having it availiable to work on so I can learn. The only thing I need is some direction, like a body repair book from the library cause I can't find anything on the internet that gives direction and illustration.

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theguyondacouch

Linky
This site has a few good tutorials

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opey99

as said body filler shouldn't be laid on that thick, the metal should be pulled out close to where it should be and filler applied to smooth things out. hard to describe in type, a few tools that are common are a nail gun, basically a small spot welder that tacks copper(I think) "nails" to the panel, then a slide hammer to pull on the nails. a slide hammer is basically a pipe with a chuck on one end to hold the nail, a weight in the middle and a stop on the end, you slide the weight back to pull the dent out. you may be able to rent these things, not sure. for prepping to do that, the panel needs to be ground to bare metal. when you have a panel close to straight, then load up and spread your mud, when it's no longer soft, start sanding with 80 grit on a block, or if you put alot on you can start with a DA sander or air block, like a hutchins. keep filling low spots, finish with 180 or so, prep the paint around the mudwork with 220-320 on a DA, then prime, block primer with 220 or so with a hand block use a guide coat(a dark color paint with light colored primer, black in a spray can works well) to find low spots in the primer, wet sand with 400-600 use guide coat again to remove all block scratches. then use a grey scotch-brite(wet) to scuff the rest of the panel, and clean everything! before mud blow the panel clean as a minimum, wiping it down with a wax and grease remover is a good ideal, in between coats of mud, blow out all the dust well, before primer use wax and grease remover on paint and metal around mudwork, and wipe off with a clean cloth, also I like to wipe the mud with a clean cloth as well, after primer is sanded would be a good idea to clean the panel to be painted with soap and water, use dish soap, as some car was soaps contain silicone/wax/other things that paint doesn't stick to. wipe entire panel again with wax and grease remover and wipe off before painting.

I hope I've been somewhat helpful

good luck if you should decide to go through with this, I like RM 900 pre keeno for a wax and grease remover btw, any other Q's PM me and I'll try to answer them, and yes I paint for a living

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MrGone

Personally I avoid body fillers and try to use fiberglass as much as possiable.

But as others have said, it really isnt supposed to be used as a filler (if that makes sense), I'd call it more of a finisher. Work the metal out as much as possiable, then apply the bondo to smooth things out.

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