Civic EG

I have heard people say no to bondo and yes to it. I guess it is all in the preparation. I am about to get a honda with the rear rust and do not want to sink money to remove it all in a daily driver. There have been people that have used it and has lasted past 10 years with no problems steps to do a great job would be great!

if its already rusty and you dont want to spend the money to have it fixed the right way you might aswell leave it alone. if you slobber it with bondo its just gunna look bad and it will keep rusting

Its a waste of time, if you sand it back and fill it it'll last about 6 months at best before the rust is back. They rust from the inside out, so sanding it back is just the tip of the iceberg... If you want to fix it, cut out the rust and weld in new metal, otherwise just leave it as said

I think most people don´t believe in 2 component polyester resin putty ( Bondo ), because they have seen what it will look like if it is used in a way that is is not intented for.
They have never seen a really nice body repair with Bondo, because, if it´s done right, you won´t see it.

In many cases people use it as some sort of "magic in a can" and slober it all over the place , to either hide bad rusty areas or to avoid any serious bodywork.

I work in a body and paint shop and you would not believe the things I´ve seen that have been bondoed

Since RSuave asked for some how to steps (and I guess some other folks might find this interesting as well) I´ll write a little bit about the do´s and don´ts when using Bondo /doing bodywork in general.

Apparently some people believe in order to do bodywork on a vehicle (or any other thing that is receiving a paintjob) they need to be buying about 20 cans of Bondo, the same amount of Milwaukees Best and two cartons of some nasty generic Cigarettes.
Now all we need is a nice shady place underneath a tree and a hydraulic jack.

That´s definately not the way to do it!

Bondo is not the ultimate solution to all bodywork problems, it is only a little help.

Since the rear wheel wells really like to rust I will be using those as an example.

- remove all loose paint (use an old flat tip screwdriver or something like that)
- sand the rust down to the bare metal with some coarse grid sandpaper and a sanding block ( a little bigger than the rust, to find hidden spots as well)
- remove all of the rust (and I mean ALL OF IT) with a nylon fibre disc and some wire brushes that attach to a drill ( eye and hand protection )
- little dark spots in between the metal crates mean that theres still rust, keep on
- flatten the bump between paint and metal mit 240 and 320 grid sandpaper and a sanding block
- sand a larger area, the Bondo will not really stick to an unsanded surface
- clean the area with silicone remover
- mix the needed amount of Bondo with about 2 to 3 % of hardener ( the hotter it is, the faster Bondo will dry)
- apply the Bondo ( You have about 5 minutes to do that)
- after it´s hardened sand it with 320, 500, 800 grid sandpaper and the block
- apply primer or primerfiller
- wet sand with 800,1200 grid
- paint

if the rust did not come out completely or if theres a hole

- cut out the rusted area
- weld in some sheet metal
- straighten out the welded area and follow the steps written above

Put some wax on the backside of the area that you worked on afterwards to prevent further rust.

Working with Bondo is just like welding - it takes a lot of practice!

I hope this might help a little bit , it´s only a little explanation though, not a complete foolproof how to.

Greetz

Granini

great post

Also with bondo you get what you pay for. There's cheap bondo from autozone (you've seen it, with the red mustang on the front of the can) and there's professional stuff.
I've used USC filler and USC icing and both of these products have held up great for over 5 years. No shrinking or cracking. Of course, I didn't bondo over rust and I took my time.
But my point is with Bondo and filler, you get what you pay for - just like with anything else.