Bondo Alternative?

[wonderalex]

Question - is there a less "stinky" alternative to bondo or PC-Woody?

My "workshop" - actually an unfinished portion of my basement - doesn't have good ventilation.

Last night I tried patching-up a severely battered CP using Bondo - despite the mask, open windows and having the family out of the house - it really stank-up the place and I still have a lot of holes to fill.

So, is there an alternative? 

I'm considering using the old sawdust & wood glue method.

Be seeing you,

WonderAlex

[Spock]

I used wood filler on my project.  Seemed to work very well.

[HatTrick77]

i'd use some "hot mud".  I use Durabond quite a bit as a filler on wood projects, i've found it shrinks less than a typical body filler.  the stuff is plaster tough, but can still be sanded rather easily.

[wonderalex]

The problem with regular wood filler is that it shrinks - so it's not that effective for big and deep areas like those I have to deal with.

HatTrick77: I did consider quick set compound (miracle mud) - but wouldn't that be too brittle and crack when drilling? How did that work out for you?

WonderAlex

[orchidius]

I'm in Belgium, and when shopping DIY we only have one chain of stores which are all rather small stores. You'll find the very basics, but mostly not exactly what you're looking for... So when I went out to buy bondo or anything related to fill the holes/gaps in my cabinet, the only thing I could find in my area was woodfiller. I've used it because there was no alternative, but I will NEVER use it again. Heck, I'll drive to the UK to get some decent stuff, but I will not use that filler again. As noted by wonderalex, it shrinks and it's virtually impossible to get a decent, flush finish with it.

[Spock]

Yep, with the wood filler it's a multiple step process.  I filled in the recesses on my joysticks that were flush mounted.  That's approximately 3/8" x 3" x 4".  The wood filler dried and cracked a bit, but I sanded that down and used wood filler on the cracks, then it was good.  It may not be the best, but it worked well for that size.  Plaster sounds like a good way to go, or possibly drywall joint compound with some mesh tape.

[Vigo]

Heh. I've grown to enjoy the goold old smell of Bondo.

You can maybe try doing small batches of bondo with additional hardener added so it will dry really quickly. 

Or maybe you could try a low odor epoxy. I bet that plumber's epoxy would be perfect. It's sandable and paintable, but hard enough to withstand drilling. It's that epoxy that looks clay, and it should generally be in the plumbing section of hardware stores.