Ok, here's the next one: My car has a very shallow crease on one side where some "person" swiped it lightly. Is it ok to use Bondo to deal with this sort of a a problem?

If not, how would you go about repairing it? It's long, but only about 1/8" deep & wide

Thanks, Kurt

Kurt,
How long is the crease, what body panel is it on (fender, door, rear quarter?). Remember, panels are soft, an 1/8th " crease will probably be 3 or 4 inches wide by the time you feather the bondo back. I guess the most important question is what can your budget handle!

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Steve
1965 Chevelle Malibu convertible, 327 4 speed.
1969 Dodge Super Bee, 383 4 speed.
"No, he didn't slam into you, he didn't bump you, he didn't nudge you, he "rubbed" you. And rubbing, son, is racing".

You may want to try this topic in the body shop area.I hear those guys are good over there.

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Dean Ciampi
Team Chevelle Gold #52
Aces #3094 MY LS6 CHEVELLE (http://community-2.webtv.net/SS454chevelle/1970LS6CHEVELLE/)
My Z28 (http://community-2.webtv.net/LS6-M22/2000Z28Camaro/)

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by LS6-M22:
You may want to try this topic in the body shop area.I hear those guys are good over there.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yup Dean, you're right. I miss-posted this after reading the other question. I'll ask to have it relocated

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by SteveW:
How long is the crease, what body panel is it on (fender, door, rear quarter?). Remember, panels are soft, an 1/8th " crease will probably be 3 or 4 inches wide by the time you feather the bondo back. I guess the most important question is what can your budget handle!
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It's near the bottom of the door & rear (front) 1/4. It's more or less the length of both.

Money? That's not really an issue as I'm more interested in doing it right v. doing it cheap. If I have to set the painting back another 6 months to save the cash, so be it.

Thanks, Kurt.

Kurt.. If it's a slight crease.. can you get to the back of these panels? if so I would suggest banging it out from the back, then smoothing over with "Filler" than proceed with your normal body work.. The less filler you use they happyer your paintjob will be!

I always try to keep the bondo to less than 1/16" thick.If that means hammer dollying or dent pulling then the filler will stay better and I also put it on bare metal.If it is thicker than this it will stand a good chance of cracking later.Could be months or years.I don't use bondo brand anyway.I use the newer polyester type filler now.Much easier to use and doesn't swell as much as bondo.Whatever you use,if if gets wet for whatever reason,you need to let it dry for at least 3 days(no rain,dew,etc.)to let it completly evaporate and have less chance of swelling after it is painted.Use a 2 part primer so it will be better sealed against the elements.


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John 67SS
ACES #2887
Team Chevelle Gold #127

[This message has been edited by 67ss (edited 06-29-2001).]

Whoa guys, we are talking to a guy that is new to body work. A hammer and dolly can create MUCH more damage than the panel has now! http://www.chevelles.com/forum/eek.gif

Kurt, if it is only 1/8" then fill it. Using a straight edge you can see how deep it REALLY is. If it is deeper, than push it out very delicately from the rear. You are MUCH better off having a little more filler than you would like than stretching the metal. Using the staight edge you can see how much you have pushed it out. Just remember the panel is not straight when undamaged so don't make it straight, just use the straight edge as a guide. Check the other side to see how it is supposed to look. But 1/8, though not being the target for most pros and is just fine from a durability stand point.

Give the dent the respect it deserves and strip the paint well past where you think it is dented. I can assure you that you will be filling past where you think.

The info below is sort of my "plastic filler basics"

What ever tools you use the trick is to not ad the last "skim coat' till you KNOW that it is
all you need. Don't try to block out that first coat, just use it as a base for the LAST skim
coat.

I was taught this procedure after doing body work for a number of years and it really
works well:

Just apply a nice coat of filler (what ever brand, what ever style, we will put that aside
right now). Cut that coat NOT to make it perfect, but to get the basic shape and filling you
need as a base for the skim coat. You can cut it with 36 40 or 80 depending on how big
the area you are working is. In other words, if you can cut it fast with only 80 then do it.
But I would say that this would be limited to an application that is no larger than about 8
inches.

If you happen to have a few high spots, see if you can tap them down.
If you have a few low spots add a bit more filler to ONLY those spots.

Re-cut these last low spots you have just filled with the same grit you have been using
(most likely 36).

If you now have a surface that ONE skim coat will fill, then apply it. If you don't work
with it a bit more, but NEVER add a little here or there and think you will finish it
without a skim coat.

If you have a surface that is very close with only a few VERY MINOR low spots like
poor feathering onto the metal, poor transitions from one application of filler to another,
or from the metal that is "pokeing" up here and there you can do the LAST skim coat.

This skim coat is very important, you want it to extend over the COMPLETE area, this is
well past the damage you have been working. Maybe as much as 3 inches past the plastic
that you have applied to "rough" it out.

This skim coat can be regular filler or a polyester glaze like "Iceing" or "Polyester glazing
putty", that is your choice, I use both depending on the size of the area being worked.

You now run a block, long board, or hog even over this skim coat with a little bit coarser
paper than you plan on finishing with to cut off the resin that has surfaced in the filler. I
usually just use the 36 or 40 or what ever I have been on the "rough" work. BUT take
CAUTION not to cut much off, you want to JUST take the very top, don't really sand AT
ALL.

Now finish sanding with your longboard or block or hog or what ever using the finer
paper like 80 on a large area or 120 on that small 8" sized area. Block it out to perfection
with a nice feather edge to the surrounding metal.

I can't stress enough, the trick is to know when just ONE LAST skim coat will do the job.
And apply it COMPLETELY over the surface. If you only one little low spot in the
middle, DON'T just do it, skim the ENTIRE thing. You HAVE to have one LAST skim
coat over the ENTIRE thing every time. If you get in the habit of this you will do it over
and over on every dent you repair and find that you can do just about any dent with just
two applications. Good luck.

A little added note, I have found that I don’t use 36 or 40 grit at all anymore. I went to
work at a shop that didn’t use the coarser grits so I had to learn not to also. I have found
that using just the 80 and then finishing the Skim coat in 120 works great, even on large
panels.

At this shop it was the first time that I wasn’t doing my own primer work. This ment that
I couldn’t “cheat” with a lot of primer and blocking the body work “one more time”. I
found that I had to get the work PERFECT, then give it to the painter. I did this in an
interesting way, I look at the last skim coat as even a more “final” step. I now look it as
“primer”. You see I have used polyester primer, which is like spraying “bondo”. They are
both plyester resin based and act and sand very much the same. So, I figured why not just
“spread out my primer” as the skim coat! It has worked GREAT, the painter jokingly
says, “do you think I’ll need to prime this or just paint it?” I tell him, “Just clear it, it’s a
shame to hide that work under primer”.

This method has worked great for me, it’s more of a state of mind than a procedure.

And don’t be afraid to buy the best sand paper and use a lot of it, the cost of the paper
will be nothing next to the time and muscles saved. Find the paint store in town that
services the PROS the Body shops in town, that is were you will get the right stuff and
the right info.



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1965 Buick Gran Sport Convertible
1965 Buick Skylark H/T
"Fan of most anything that moves human beings"

If you have, or access to,a stud gun you might try pulling the crease or mabey a Body shop will just do that for you
as allways don't pull too far and stretch the metal to much same as working it out with a hammer and dolley as mentioned before in this thread keep the filler thickness to a min. and I agree with MARTINSR's post for technique ( he obvioulsy knows what he is saying )
and I might add, a guide coat before final seal and topcoat works wonders for finding those everlast imperfections

MARTIN's post above needs to be archived. Thanks for the advice. I printed that one out.

Of course, that's archive, with a "c".

[This message has been edited by Randy Mosier (edited 06-30-2001).]

Sorry for the layout of that info, I copyed and pasted from MS works and the text gets jumbled up. http://www.chevelles.com/forum/frown.gif

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1965 Buick Gran Sport Convertible
1965 Buick Skylark H/T
"Fan of most anything that moves human beings"

I'd like to add that I found I get a much better surface if I use a good stiff applicator (get a metal filler knife about 8" wide) and keep spreading the filler until it begins to harden and won't spread anymore. If I just spread it out soft and left it to harden I'd get more ridges and wavyness.

MARTINSR is right that you shouldn't need anything heavyer than 80 grit if you spread the filler correctly.

Peter

Peter, it's funny you should bring up the metal spreaders. For those who don't know, they make metal "bondo" spreaders just like the plastic ones. I have never gotten used to them. I use only the plastic, in fact I get ribbed at work because I don't us use the metal ones like a "pro" should http://www.chevelles.com/forum/smile.gif Oh well.

There is one thing you need to watch out with "spreading the filler until it begins to harden and won't spread anymore" When the filler is almost hard and you run the spreader over it, it can pull it off the metal. This may not even be seen, we are talking very little small areas where you have lost adheasion. The filler manufactures recommend that you spread it out once, and don't even go over it.

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1965 Buick Gran Sport Convertible
1965 Buick Skylark H/T
"Fan of most anything that moves human beings"

One thing I commonly do when spreadin "mud"
is slap the first coat on evenly and concentrate on villing voids not making it smooth or free from ridges. I wait approx 5- 10 min (depending on shop temp and how hot I mixed it),until it is just past being tacky, and go over it once with a cheese-grator file and shape it a little. This saves sanding time and and speeds the process a little. Just be able to walk away from it It is real easy to take too much off
and I never use this technique on the final
coats of filler.

Everyone, tank you for the info and advice.

I guess I should have been more clear: I'm not going to do this myself (a man's got to know his limitations http://www.chevelles.com/forum/wink.gif ). A local bodyshop will be doing the car, but I'm trying to learn about what needs to be done before I take it to them. I fully trust the shop I'll be going to down the road, but I just feel better having a bit of knowledge on the topic.

I'm thinking that it could be pushed out from behind and tapped flat from the outside. It's not that deep at all and I would like to avoid the use of filler if possible.

Thanks again,

Kurt

[This message has been edited by Byfield (edited 07-02-2001).]

This one's worth bringing back to the top.

Thanks for pointing this one out for me Randy. I know MARTINSR is an experienced body guy. I always trust his word here on Chevelles.com. It's great having resourse like this available. I wish I had them when I painted my car 10 years ago though. I guess I can start over again :?)