Acceptable amount of bondo and working metal until smooth?!

[[VU]Juan]

I've read different opinions about what the thickest amount of bondo that can be used is. Everything leads to the idea that the smaller the amount the better and I couldn't agree more.

However, I lack the welding, cutting, grinding, and just overall metal working skills required to make any body part look good enough for paint without any metal.

So far I've used MINIMAL quantities of bondo. Just a film in most occasions, so thin that you can also see the metal behind it. I'm sure this isn't a problem, but it would be great if I didn't have to use any at all.

I have seen many awesome looking cars that have quite a few layers of bondo under the paint. Is this an acceptable practice?

On a related question... what can be done to minimize the use of bondo by making the panel look almost perfect for paint? What's the secret to getting a patch or dent so straight that you can just primer and paint?

Thank you for all the advice!
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Snail Motorsports

[blarneyman]

Sounds like what you have right now is the industry standard for body work (even in new cars). A light skim coat of bondo is perfectly acceptable. On custom work (street rods) you will find a lot more bondo, and for the most part has been the standard for that type of car (not all shops do this). Heavy coats of bondo on stock bodied cars is not quality craftsmanship. IMHO
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69 Beetle
70 Ghia(resto)

[John Kelly]

In Custom Metal Bodywork parts 9-12 I show how to do this kind of work with what I think is the easiest method to learn:

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=GullWingInn

John www.ghiaspecialties.com
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Metal Shaping and Dent Repair videos:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=GullWingInn&view=videos

[faster]

[John Kelly]

I'm no master...seriously! A master takes the time to learn all aspects of the craft. I'm only interested in certain things.

I have not touched any rust repair panels for a Bus in about 18 years or so. Some of the ones available then did not fit very well. The rockers needed more curve.

I use 20 gage cold rolled steel.

Thanks, John www.ghiaspecialties.com
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Metal Shaping and Dent Repair videos:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=GullWingInn&view=videos

[faster]

Your still the Master of sheet metal !! Now if you want to know how to weld up a pullman railroad car let me know. LOL.

[coW]

[volksaddict]

If you don't have a shrinking disc, get one. (John, I hope you're still selling them). Even if you don't think you need one it will help, I guarantee it!! They are awesome.
If you are really talking bondo that's see through, thats got to be less than 1/16". That's pretty good work, and could be handled by a few coats of fast build primer only, you did well. The panels that are accesable on both sides can be finished that good or better, even if they were really tweaked, and it's fun!
Ghia, and bus stuff, that you can only get to one side, they get some liberties. Wish I could keep the filler out of those.

... But I'm no expert, still practicing...

As far as what's acceptable, that's up to you. No filler is best, any will crack if it gets banged, but do what works for you. You're already doing better than what is "acceptable" to many hobbyists

[Campy]

This was extreme and, in fact, it was quite funny: I bought a rare 1958 walk-thru bus that some idiot mounted on a jeep chassis, and the man who had done the body work and painted it didn't do welding. What I removed from the right outer rocker was about a one inch thick and over one foot long piece of filler. I saved it and put it in my garage in case I ever needed a billy cluib. I installed new inner and outer rockers on each side of the bus.
This is a story the instructor, years ago, in an auto body repair class told us: someone, I think one of his former students, had done the body work on his hopped up car and gave it a nice paint job. One day, he was at a service station, got out of the car and slammed the door shut; off came a huge piece of thick filler that he had spread on the door, and it hit the big toe on one of his feet and broke it.
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Don't worry; be happy. (Baba)

[coW]

[Campy]

The front one-third of the rocker, the lower part of the B pillar, and a small outer section at the front of the right cargo floor half had been crunched. The rocker should have been replaced but he is not a welder, so, like a pastry chef, he spread the filler on thick over the rocker and up the B pillar. I don't know why he didn't pull the dent out but the filler did stick, over the years, even though he hadn't drilled holes in the rocker to give it something to grab onto. He is still doing body work and painting, illegally, on his property outside of Chico, undercutting legitimate body shops. I'm surprised that his neighbors have put up with all of the paint fumes.
When I was restoring my 1963 camper, I found that someone had drilled a number of holes in the driver's side door, not to use a dent puller, which would have been dumb in itself, but to give the thick layer of filler something to grab onto. Why he hadn't removed the door panel and pounded out the large dent from the inside and knocked down any ridge on the outside is one of the great mysteries.
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Don't worry; be happy. (Baba)