Bondo Questions

[brock.sampson]

I'm building a cabinet for a friend of mine.  It was originally an NFL Blitz cabinet with the full vinyl side art.  The original owner of the cabinet already removed the side art and just painted the particle board so it looks pretty bad.  I bought the same cabinet when I built mine.  I removed the side art with a hair dryer and scraper.   I filled the sides of mine with drywall mud.  I recently read a post that is a very bad idea and I should have used bondo instead.  I have never used bondo before and I see there are several different kinds of bondo.  Are most people using the auto body kind or the rotted wood kind?  Also is there a minimum temperature for applying bondo?  I'm in Nebraska and the highs are only getting to the mid 30's and my garage is not heated.  Man I need a real shop.

[WaRpEd]

With Bondo or any epoxy of that type you'll need to raise working temperature to at least 68 degrees or you'll get a bad or never cure situtation.
Bring it inside and let warm up for awhile then applly the Bondo.
I've used Bondo and the wood epoxy, the Bondo cures quicker and is easier to shape and sand.
Just my 2 cents

[brock.sampson]

I thought the fumes from bondo were pretty toxic.  I'm not sure if I'm too keen on doing that in the house.

[sstorkel]

I thought the fumes from bondo were pretty toxic.  I'm not sure if I'm too keen on doing that in the house.

Yep! I always wear a respirator when working with Bondo and I do all of my work outside. You really need a well-ventilated area! It's not like the fumes will kill you, at least not quickly, but they will give you a headache in short order... Unfortunately, you do need the temperatures to be decent if you expect the Bondo to cure.

[Daniel B.]

The colder it is, the more hardener you need. I've had no problems with bondo curing in the cold, although you need more hardener. If you are really worried about it - you could put a space heater in front of the spot you are working on, or sit infront of the bondo with a hair dryer for 30 minutes, lol.

I'm not saying this all as fact, but I haven't had an issue yet.

[DaOld Man]

So when you guys say Bondo, do you mean the auto kind? if so, what name brand, so I know what to ask for at autozone next time..

[fjl]

Bondo is made by only one company so there is no name brand. There are varying types though. I bought me a bucket of the stuff. Works great. I got the original bondo. There are other types, I even hear they have one made one just for wood but I'm guessing its probably the same thing as the auto type so they just changed the heading of "auto use" to "wood use." Never tried the wood one, but the auto one works great on wood

They also make fiberglass bondo which is stronger and better for filling gaping holes. But from my experience, the regular bondo does the job pretty nicely. for toughness and ruggedness I recommend bondo. Don't ever use that drywall stuff especially on areas where there is going to be many busy hands. You can easily dent that spackle stuff by dropping a coin on it or pressure from a fingernail. Bondo will resist a coin and more. And when you sand it, it comes out really nice and smooth. Just be sure to have proper protection when sanding, that includes goggles(goggles, not safety glasses) and face mask. Paint glides on smoothly on bondo. You'll notice that you'll only have to paint the area with bondo only once but usually you can't because of the surrounding wood.

[bigh4th]

Couple of things worth mentioning about bondo that hasn't already been addressed...

Don't mix a huge batch of it at one time.  As soon as you put the hardener in and mix it, the glob starts to harden.    Since this is your first time working with bondo, I would expect to only be able to do 1/2 or more of a pannel on a fullsize upright cabinet per glob, before it starts to get a dry dough consistancy.  at that point, it won't spread easily at all.  Guys who have been using bondo for years (like my brother) can coat full cars before it hardens, but it takes a LOT of practice to be able to apply it that fast.  It looks like they're frosting a huge cake.

Also, regular automotive bondo should not be used for filling holes (it says this on the can).  Cured bondo is very brittle and will eventualy crack if there is nothing behind it to grip.  It could be a matter of weeks, or a matter of years, but it will eventualy fail.  I found this out the hard way.   The bondo with fiberglass is a good option for filling in holes.

Lastly, the guys who are telling you to wear a respirator when you use bondo are not kidding.  That stuff is rank.  I also would not use it in the house because it will take forever to get the fumes out.  I made that mistake one time working on a small part for my astro van.  It was bad.

-Harry

[brock.sampson]

Thanks for all the advice guys.  Making a short shopping list let me know if I'm missing anything.

Bondo
Hardener
Spatulas
Sand Paper
Respirator
Goggles
Space Heater

[bigh4th]

the hardener should come with the can of bondo.  It will be in a little toothpaste tube under the plastic top.  However, its always a good idea to check it before you buy the bondo.  I have seen a few where people have stolen hardener and left the bondo behind.

I would also add a sanding block to your list, if you don't already have one.  Hard to get a level finish without one.

Other than that, everything looks good.

-Harry

[brock.sampson]

Can you buy additional tubes of hardener?  I was thinking I would add a little extra since it's going to be kind of cold.  I was planning on using my orbital palm sander to sand starting at 80 grit moving up to 200 or 220.

[bigh4th]

Honestly, I'm not sure if you can buy extra hardener or not. 

Didn't realize you were using a powersander.  You should be fine then.

-Harry

[fjl]

Yeah, you could buy additional hardener seperately. Not all stores carry them though.

Best mixture is to get it a rosy perhaps pink color when you mix the bondo and the hardener. If its red, then you added too much. It'll still work but its a waste of hardener.

[Daniel B.]

I realize you are probably already at the store before the storm really hits tonight, but if you get the bondo brand spreaders, the color of the spreader is what you are shooting for colorwise in relation to bondo/hardener. That said, you want more hardener than normal because its so cold here, as I mentioned before. I think the tubes of hardener were like $1.80 at wal-mart. I wouldn't spend too much time on it with the 80 grit. My palm sander with 100 grit knocked it down really fast, like 20 seconds or less and I ended up making a bigger mess due to the existing laminate on the cab. Sometimes for the small fine work its better to get a sanding block so you have more "fine control" over what is going on. Finish it off with some 200(+) grit and it will be as smooth as glass.