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Bondo problem

pdplot

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Trying to save a buck and do it myself, I bought for $28 a bumper repair kit for the 02 Accord to fill in some big paint chips. There were four plastic packages all looking identical. I opened one. It said "Exact Mix". So did all the others. What does that mean to you? I knew Bondo needed a curing agent but I thought somehow that it was premixed in the sealed package.I wiped the area with the supplied tiny sponge, getting a sticky substance on my right hand that proved to be almost impossible to remove with everything from acetone and rubbing alcohol to olive oil, then smeared on the Bondo. 30 minutes later, it was still wet. Oh oh. I examined the packages more closely. Sure enough, one of the packages said hardener. I tore it open and smeared it on the already applied Bondo and waited. And waited. No dice. It never hardened. Apparently mixing it on the car doesn't work. Now the problem - how do I get the wet sticky black uncured Bondo off the bumper? It also rained this morning - hard.
 

DrEntropy

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Only way IMO is to mechanically get as much off as possible and wipe the area with lacquer thinner before a re-attempt.

Nasty business, by the way.
 

PAUL161

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Bondo is a 3M product, but the name has become a generic name for a lot of plastic body fillers. All plastic body fillers have to have a curing agent, usually in a small tube in cream form and is mixed in to the filler in small proportions, why, because when the hardener is mixed in you only have a short working period before it becomes unworkable, you throw what's left away and mix another batch if needed, reason for small batches. PJ
 

Popeye

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Ugh. Heat, maybe; using a heat gun? (Watch out it does not catch fire / do in an open area / have water and fire extinguisher nearby!!!) I am not sure what dissolves bondo; the infowebs suggest acetone but sounds like you have already tried that. Similar health precautions with acetone... not nice stuff.
 

PAUL161

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Try finger nail polish remover. It won't hurt your skin either. You can always get the better half a new bottle!:encouragement:
 
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pdplot

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Thanks for the advice. This morning I sacrificed two shop rags wiping the s**t off and finished with paint thinner. The instructions that come with this kit are terrible. Why did they include three packets of hardener and one filler? The box says one filler to one hardener. If anything, it may be the other way around. My previous limited experience with these kind of fillers always used a lot of filler and a small line of hardener.This may have been a defective package. I'm going back to Advance Auto to check it out. Anyone else ever use one of these bumper packages?
 

DavidApp

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It may be that they have the formulation set so you use a 50:50 ratio and the package got 1 too many hardener packages.

David
 

Bayless

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It has been a while since I repaired a bumper but I believe the repair kits are epoxy based and typically are 1 to 1 mix. Another thing to worry about is that paint thinner will leave a residue that may interfere with later repair or paint. The instructions for epoxy primer I just used on the Model A said use only a water borne prep and do not use any solvent cleaners. I understand this is becoming fairly common these days.
 
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pdplot

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With what was left over, I mixed 1-1, stirred with plastic applicator and smeared it on. It hardened in about 25 minutes. After an hour or so, I sanded it down with 3 grades of paper, wiped it off and sprayed. As usual, I was in too much of a hurry and you could see the uneven surface - so - tomorrow, I'll sand some more and hope it looks better. I'm coming down with a cold or something so I don't know how much work I'll do. I'm noted for sloppy work.
 

Popeye

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Try finger nail polish remover. It won't hurt your skin either. You can always get the better half a new bottle!:encouragement:

Fingernail polish remover is acetone with a fragrance; hardware store might be cheaper, without the nice smell (you don't want to smell acetone anyway!!)
 
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pdplot

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It's done. Lumpy but done with two coats of spray can paint. All white again. I'll post photos tomorrow. You would not hire me for your bodywork.
 

DrEntropy

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pd said:
You would not hire me for your bodywork.


:lol:

S'oaky. the efficacy of the vehicle is not impaired.
 

70herald

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You would not hire me for your bodywork.

You wouldn't hire me either. I got three days into starting the body work on the Herald decided I hated body work, couldn't really do it without a garage anyway and was not going to pay what the local shops wanted to do a lousy job. Put it all sort of back together and sold it the next day.
 
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pdplot

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I once prepped a Corvair convertible for painting by Maaco. Wife and i spent hours sanding, filler, sanding again. Felt smooth as you know what. Was warned "Black is merciless". It was. The car came back with wavy body panels like it had been in a total. Never again. The prep is 98% of the job. Anyone can spray paint with a little practice.
 

waltesefalcon

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Black is certainly merciless, you have to really know what you are doing to prep for it. I have done a couple of cars but always light colors.
 

DrEntropy

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Body work is hateful, IMHO. Done dozens of cars, mostly clients' full restorations, a few of my own. Started learning at age 17, after pranging Mom's Falcon into some Armco avoiding a bunny... had a girlfriend aboard. Major points with her, tons of effort for me.

At this stage in life the only body work I've got left in me is for the '67 Elan. A job still in the planning/savings stages. Needs to be a full, frame-off resto job. ugh. Engine and gearbox are out, rolling chassis is in storage while I clear out the home garage for the job. Wishing we still had a shop.
 

DNK

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I don't get it
$60 for a cover
why spend all that time
 
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