IML: Thickness of bondo

["A. Foster" <monkeypuzzle1@xxxxxxx>]

Hi all;
  Just to clarify here, when we are referring to Bondo are we talking about
the cheap polyester filler that they sell at every hardware store or are we
talking about fiberglass filler? If we are talking about the polyester stuff
then anything thicker then 1/4 inch is not recommended, and even that maybe
too much. I don't know about the more southern climes but polyester body
filler has a habit of cracking and flaking off in my part of the world if
it's put on too thick in that it does not flex.
 Body filler can also make the steel underneath rust out if the filler is
not sealed properly. I saw a 55 Windsor that had it's front fenders ruined
this way, rusted right through the top, to repair a fender bender. I know
this because everything from the cowl back , except the rockers under the
doors, was quite decent. The rear rockers in my 75' Newport had the rust
filled with bondo and it is falling off, it only lasted as long as it did
because the person appling it stuck to the 1/8 to 1/4 inch rule.
  I am not against body filler in general, it does definitely have its
place, but I am against bad workmanship. It is good for eliminating surface
ripples along the body line for a dark paint job, but I think that they have
newer substitutes that don't absorb water. If the metal is stretched there
are ways of shrinking it again, you could never get it perfect but you can
get it down to where 1/8-3/16 inch of filler is needed instead of 1 inch. In
the case of this car I think that a roof transplant, or at least a
windsheild header transplant might be the best course. One good thing, in
this case, about the car is that the roof was damaged by something falling
on it rather then through a rollover. If it was a rollover the fenders,
doors, and roof would have been wrecked to boot.
Best Regards
Arran Foster
1954 Imperial Newport
Needing A Left Side Tailight bezel and other trim parts.




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