Creative Bondo Backer?
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,224
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From: scotia. NY 12302
Creative Bondo Backer?
there is a neat thread on HAMB about adventures with bondo. i'm sure a lot of fte's have run into creative bondo backers and sculptural solutions to missing metal. here's a pic of a back of a door skin on my BILaw's 49 C***y AD using blue denim for backer. what have you got? also eligible is excessive amount of bondo per repair. great time to pull out some pics.
Junior User
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 54
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From: Texas
My rear cab corners had paper stuffed to fill the hole and the cavity behind it then they put fiber tape on it then a ton of bondo. The guy I bought it from said they had started fixing the rust. I told him you had to cut the rust out, you couldn't just cover it up.John
Welder User
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 5,269
Likes: 50
From: northwest MT
Wellllllll.....being in the autobody biz for the last couple of decades, I've probably seen most of them. Sorry, no pics. Examples....tinfoil, window screen, wood shingles. gloves, socks, plastic bags, rocks, yes rocks. You name it, It's been tried. They all fail eventually though.
Years ago, I worked for a shop that did repairs for a local used car dealer....you would not believe some of the cobble jobs I saw.....anything to get it off the lot I guess
Years ago, I worked for a shop that did repairs for a local used car dealer....you would not believe some of the cobble jobs I saw.....anything to get it off the lot I guess
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 310
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From: Weston-super-Mare (UK)
The first vehicle I ever did a repair on (well before I was even into restoring old vehicles) was a VW campervan a girlfriend had at the time - the rear arch had rusted out on the lip. As students we didn't have much money so couldn't afford to pay anyone to sort it so I was volunteered. I had no idea how to go about making a crisp edge so started looking for a cheap solution - the answer - a flat backed knife from the cutlery drawer in the student accomodation block kitchen!
I used bondo to stick it at either end then ran a smooth layer over the top to finish it and fill the gaps around the edge. It looked awesome at the time and everyone was well impressed!! It lasted a good few years too but I'm pretty sure that was more down to luck than anything else!
I used bondo to stick it at either end then ran a smooth layer over the top to finish it and fill the gaps around the edge. It looked awesome at the time and everyone was well impressed!! It lasted a good few years too but I'm pretty sure that was more down to luck than anything else!
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,224
Likes: 19
From: scotia. NY 12302
that was cutting edge body work for it's time. i had a '60 comet when i was in college with a rust out on the lower part of the front fender. i used cement to fill it in for a base for my bondo. i didn't see anything wrong with that at the time.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 792
Likes: 3
From: Sandy Run SC
Whem I was sharp enough to plant and green enough to grow, I came up with all kinds of backing for bondo. The worst one I think I remember was drilling a lot of holes so the bondo would stay in place. After seeing it swell up from moisture and falling out from rust I learned a lesson. That is what experience will teach you. It also helps to listen to someone who has also learned the hard way. 
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Fleet Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 27,288
Likes: 1,053
From: NM
My grandpa was fond of real estate agent's signs to patch things... I vividly remember when he brought his brand new Forest Green, 6-cyl/3-sp on the floor '67 Mustang over. "They tried to stick me for $30 for Ziebart'ing it! I didn't fall for it, though!" (This was in northern Illinois)
I later inherited the car 10 yrs later and it had real estate signs on just about every inch of the floor boards, and in the trunk side wells. A great car that just melted away.
I later inherited the car 10 yrs later and it had real estate signs on just about every inch of the floor boards, and in the trunk side wells. A great car that just melted away.
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Elder User
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 693
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From: N E Ohio
Well,
As a youngster, I never used much as a backer for the bondo, but instead used it as an adhesive - sand off the paint around the rust, cut a piece or aluminium siding or flashing (or a piece of galvanized ductwork if I was lucky enough to have some handy) to fit, slather on the bondo and hold the patch in place. Sometimes for latge pieces I would add a few rivets. Then after it hardened, smear some more over the whole mess to even it out.
Now for something really creative, one time I helped a friend repaint his VW bug before he sold it. Got a gallon of beige enamel and sprayed a heavy coat on, then he took sheets of newspaper and stuck it over every hole or pitted area. Smoothed it down real good into the wet enamel. After a day of drying we sprayed on two more heavy coats to cover the newspaper, and some on the back side where we could to sort of waterproof the newspaper. It looked real good.
As a youngster, I never used much as a backer for the bondo, but instead used it as an adhesive - sand off the paint around the rust, cut a piece or aluminium siding or flashing (or a piece of galvanized ductwork if I was lucky enough to have some handy) to fit, slather on the bondo and hold the patch in place. Sometimes for latge pieces I would add a few rivets. Then after it hardened, smear some more over the whole mess to even it out.
Now for something really creative, one time I helped a friend repaint his VW bug before he sold it. Got a gallon of beige enamel and sprayed a heavy coat on, then he took sheets of newspaper and stuck it over every hole or pitted area. Smoothed it down real good into the wet enamel. After a day of drying we sprayed on two more heavy coats to cover the newspaper, and some on the back side where we could to sort of waterproof the newspaper. It looked real good.
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