bondo tips for cheap A$$s

[LINUS]

i HATE rage, it is like sanding concrete and it clogs the hell out of paper!
more tips:
*buy good paper, it may seem like a big expense at first, but a good paper wont clog as easily and the grit will stay in the backer longer and will stay sharper longer too.

greg

So could you recommend a brand or 2 of good paper?

Aside from generic stuff from Shuck's, the only decent place around here is a Parts Plus store that has 3M brand paper - they were the major paint / auto body store before becoming part of the PP chain, so I use them - is 3M worthwhile? It's what I use, never really had any other brand autobody paper in my hands.

[trent]

the black 3m wet/dry paper

that is what i use..fucking awesome.

whenever sanding bondo or high build I ALWAYS keep my air gun close, and when it clogs, you just spray, and then clean..

[LINUS]

^^^ Cool. Good to know I've been using the good stuff. ^^^

[backtrail69]

We use rhinodry and 3M at the body shop I work at. Evercoat Fillers and Dupont Paints/Primers.

[REVHARD05]

3M paper is the way to go...i am having better results now i have used the high build primer... the expensive stuff is better.... my big problem was me being lazy and trying to use a electric sander .... i got out of that habit real quick when i found out how much easyer it is to shape the filler with a wood block.... there was just so many places on my car... just little dings and shit that i wanted to be perfect...... i probaly have about 90hrs in the whole thing so far 60 in the last 2 weeks..and about $300 in primer, filler, glaze, and paper

[O 16581 72452 5]

Make sure it's absolutely perfect before painting, painting is one of those things that can either cover anything or show everything.

What i do is use gloss spray paint the spot when i'm done, let it dry, look for imperfections, if there's any, either sand more, or build up more.

I'm sure there's better stuff for coating bondo for testing, but like i said it's what i use...

[808BMW]

black primer on grey/yellow primer works well.

After you primer something, hit it with a light coat of black (not total coverage, just some light zigzags back and for) and sand it with a decent sized block. If you sand off a quick layer, all the black spots are low spots.

[O 16581 72452 5]

I meant gloss black in my post.

What he said about the low spots, i forgot to add that, if i can't visually see anything, i run over it a few times with a light scuff anyway, usually never shows anything, but it needs to be sanded a little before painting anyway in that spot.

[backtrail69]

black primer on grey/yellow primer works well.

After you primer something, hit it with a light coat of black (not total coverage, just some light zigzags back and for) and sand it with a decent sized block. If you sand off a quick layer, all the black spots are low spots.

That is called guide coat. It really helps you see the lows/highs. Make sure you don't overdo it and you have a nice sanding block.

[MR 325]

That is called guide coat.

Just what I was about to say. SEM makes guide coat, it does the trick.

[der affe]

So could you recommend a brand or 2 of good paper?

Aside from generic stuff from Shuck's, the only decent place around here is a Parts Plus store that has 3M brand paper - they were the major paint / auto body store before becoming part of the PP chain, so I use them - is 3M worthwhile? It's what I use, never really had any other brand autobody paper in my hands.

FANDELLI is what we are using at work right now, not too bad and supposed to be pretty cheap
MIRKA also very good mid priced
NORTON ok, but shitty backing with the sticky back and it comes off in 100 pieces.
KLINGSPORE best bang for the buck that i have found
greg

[der affe]

3M paper is the way to go...i am having better results now i have used the high build primer... the expensive stuff is better.... my big problem was me being lazy and trying to use a electric sander .... i got out of that habit real quick when i found out how much easyer it is to shape the filler with a wood block.... there was just so many places on my car... just little dings and shit that i wanted to be perfect...... i probaly have about 90hrs in the whole thing so far 60 in the last 2 weeks..and about $300 in primer, filler, glaze, and paper

for guide coat you can go a couple of ways....cheap way is to mix some scrap paint in a can you can tip (like old small thinner can) then thin it out with reducer/thinner, dump it on a rag then rub it on a panel. it dries really quick and no need to mask and cheap to make!
at work we just started to use 3m DRY GUIDECOAT pretty cool shit! kinda like powdered graphite, shake it onto the aplicator(sp) and rub it on no mess/no overspray.
greg
ps just go to a paint supply sture and buy a set of durablocks insted of a block of wood less headaches many different shapes for different situations and only around $40 for the set!

[Fanzotti]

Der Affe

I wish you would have PM'ed me! I didn't know you were still at it?

First off stick with evercoat and 3m paper works fine. Second you cant use an electric sander to save time??? YOU HAVE TO BLOCK SAND. If it looks good before the paint this way it WONT when you paint it. You'll have a thousand mistakes and flat spots that will look like shit. On top of that you have to block sand the proper way, cross hatching , so you don't get any flat spots.BLOCK SAND!

As far as guide coat goes there are many different types but basically a can of cheap spray paint in a contrasting color is all you'll need. just mist it on LIGHTLY. Then sand till all the little spots are gone.

I hope to god that you sanded the area under the filler to BARE METAL preferably with 36 grit paper? If you sanded it with a much lighter paper take you electric sander and sand it out and RE-DO IT. I know this sounds harsh but the shit's just gonna come popping out one day when you hit a pot hole. It needs the heavy grit's big scratches to bond to the metal.

NEVER use spot putty. If you have sand it all off. That stuff is shit, it will bubble all over the place sometime after you paint your car and ruin your paint job.

Don't sand your car with a wood block either??? Go to the body shop and buy some blocks, a couple different ones. At least get a 9 inch hard block, some different sizes of dura blocks, and for sure a soft block for the curvy parts.

I spent months bodyworking my car and it was mostly small dents. If your not willing to put in the time go pay somebody money. If you want to do the bodywork good it takes time to do it right. If you haven't done it right start over from scratch, it's the only way. When I was learning I re-did shit multiple times until I got it right. Just accept that it sucks but if you want it done right well, start over.

I was doing a little write up, Ill put it in the post below. Its not done yet but make sure the work you've done up to now follows these methods, if not start over. I will add more to the write up later.

If you have any questions PM me!!! And find someone with a digital camera and start taking pictures??? Trying to explain bodywork without pictures of the repair is like trying to locate a girls G-spot with a catchers mitt on???

As far as quicker results...it takes alot of time and if you do it right by learning from others you'll get there quicker instead of re-doing mistakes!

[Fanzotti]

I hope this helps DIY painters. I can't tell you how many times I had to re-do shit before I learned along the way from a handful of pro's how to do it the right way. Once I got one step right I messed up the next one. Many problems come about due to the way that you sand your fillers and primers. even though they seem smooth and flat there are probably pitts and low/high spots in them, no matter how well you can wet/color sand you wont be able to overcome this. what you need to do to avoid this is properly block sand/contour your filler then block sand your High build primer with a guide coat, only when this is perfected are you ready to use sealer primer then base coat then if you desire clear. Don't want to get yelled at for writing too much but here it goes.

First off bondo isn't really that great of shit, and never use spot putty from an auto parts store, that shit will eventually bubble and haunt you in the future. The best thing you can do is save money by spending money at a legitimate auto body supply store on quality product. There are much better fillers than bondo, did I say bondo is shit? A great brand is evercoat and they have a product called metal glaze that is awesome, look into it, stay away from pep boys.

I'll do a write-up on this when I can and include pics, The sanding methods I'll talk about here apply to sanding filler, high build primer, primer and wet or color sanding the final base/or clearcoat.

First thing you need to do if your working on metal is to shape it the best you can with a hammer and if you have one, a dolly. Sand this area to be filled with thirty six grit, then fill it in with some filler. You will not fill it in one pass so don't even try. Fill it, rough shape it with a block and 80 grit,(see sanding directions below) in spots you may sand through to the metal, this means you have high spots, you'll need to tap these down with a hammer and then re-apply filler, keep rough shaping it to the contour until there are no high or low spots. do not try to fill in small areas, If some needs to be added cover the entire area or you will create flat spots in the surrounding areas trying to sand the small areas. when there are no high or low spots put a nice topper on it and give it the final filler sand.

When sanding fillers use 80 grit, you can go up to 220 but usually 80 is enough. You are not trying to get it perfectly smooth and perfect, you are not going to sand it down to 400 grit and then cover it with a sealer primer then paint. What you want is a nice area of filler that covers over the area beyond the dent, you are not feather edging it in to make it smooth, you do not want to san so much as to see the outline of the dent, the filler should cover that area.( there is a write up on making us trim into eurotrim by ritalin kid, look at how he sanded that, that is the correct way) your just gonna sand to the contour of the piece, less sanding here is more..don't over-do it, don't try to get the filler pefectly sanded into the dent, you want the filler to slightly cover the area around the dent, filler should overlap onto the un-dented surface.

Another thing is that you HAVE to use a block, the bigger the better and in the tight spots/contours use a soft block which is basically a piece of foam that will bend to fit the contours, if you use your fingers you will sand in ridges that will create waves in your paint job.

On top of all this you need to block sand in x's or cross hatch,what does that mean? say on an e-30 your sanding the rounded top part of the door just below the window, you'll usally use the block lengthwise meaning the long edge/ side is lined up to the front and back of your car. You'll sand from the bottom edge to the top in this> / direction, you'll start at the left and go all the way over to the right making your passes about 8 inches until you reach the end of your piece. when this pass is done you'll have one side of the x all the way down your door like this////////// then go in the oppostie direction and do the other side of the x. If you do it correctly you'll see x's all the way across your piece. do this until the filler mimics the shape of the contour. The reason for doing this instead of sanding back and forth or in any direction you please is that that kind of sanding will leave lines and flat spots that will jump out and look like shit when you polish your base/color or clear coat.

When you've gotten the filler countoured all the way around the car, PM me, snap some pics and then we'll move on to High build primer and guide coating. Do not rush to get it done or you will be re-doing it once you think that you've finished. I'm happy to help but you have to realize it will take some time and some work but will go a lot quiker.better if you learn the right way. PM me with pics and questions. If you have to re-do shit practice sanding X's in the old shit!

[der affe]

actually i am always still at it...i do it for a living. i think you got me confused with the orginal poster maybe?????? good tips for those who don't know though.
greg