Bondo on wood?

[halibuthitman]

I recently decided my driftboat needs a paint job, previous owners must have thought the same cause there is at least 7 colors on her... the problem is after 2 poorly done glass jobs on the bottom the lower edge of the hull is pretty lumpy.... if im gonna paint it I want a smooth even glass finish, not just new paint. I could really tune her up if I make use of bondo, but I don't want it cracking or falling off when I true a nice rock or hit a pot-hole with her on the trailer, so am I looking at a mountain of resin work or will the bondo stick??? any expirences? thanks. Wouldn't mind a suggestion on brands or kinds of paint either:think: ( the boat is a wood Don Hill... I think she deserves whatever is the best and if the bondo is sub par I won't do it, but hey.... if its a common thing to do..)

 

[frodog]

I don't now about for boats but i have a cnc router at work and it was crashed by by a co worker it uses a very large and dexpensive piece of mohagany for the table which is supposed to be perfecly flat. We used bondo to fill in the damaged areas in the mahagony and dmachined it flat again. the bondo held up to being machined.

 

[Markcanby]

Yeah bondo is not the crap it was 20 years ago I have even seen car resto. show saying that its OK to use bondo cause it much better than it in the old days.
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[Chromatose]

halibuthitman Check this out.

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/

Click on the wooden boat repair, Then click the giving Bounty hunter a new skin. Scroll down to hull preparation. Might just be the hot ticket for your situation. Personally I would not use bondo on wood, cracking and shrinkage + under water = problems. A lot of work just to have it fall apart. Just another opinion for you. Good Luck with your endeavor.

 

[Raincatcher]

Sounds like it might work for you

Sounds like it might work for you

Might check this out,I found it at www.woodweb.com Hope it gives some insight to the problem.
6/17 #6: bondo vs. epoxy w/fillers ...
Adam

Bondo is a tradename for a common automotive filler that is polyester resin and typically talc.

The Bondo name is used like Kleenex to refer to any mix of polyester filler.

Epoxy is not polyester.

Both are excellent for use as filling agents with wood.

Epoxy is an excellent glue, and when mixed with the appriorate filler materials like wood dust or microspheres is a good filler for wood.

Good polyester fillers are made by Bondo(available at pro autobody stores), NAPA, 3M, and Evercoat(marine).

They use glass microspheres as the filling agent versus talc(typ. Bondo).

At $12 a gallon it's hard to beat NAPA's MicroLight.

Minwax sells their version for big bucks and is a waste of money.

"Bondo" is also known as Architectural filler in the Woodworking Industry.

A couple of things to consider when using "Bondo"

1. Bondo will not stick to paint.
2. Do to density differences and absorbtion it helps to spot prime with BIN shellac primer when topcoating.
3. If it sticks to steel it will stick to wood.

Polyester resin sticks well enough to wood to be used as a filler. It does not adhere as well as epoxy(the perfect bond?). I is just as stable and fillers in wood do not have to be "strong"

We typically use 3 fillers in the shop.
1. Pinholes-Muralo brand Spackle
2. Nail holes-Zar waterbased woodfiller(much better than Elmers)
3. Screwholes, big gouges, missing wood,etc.-NAPA or 3M polyester filler.

 

[halibuthitman]

thanks all, I think im just gonna go with epoxy and filler.... very interesting links... picked up some info I was wondering about.

 

[GDBrown]

Repairing Wood Boats

Repairing Wood Boats

thanks all, I think im just gonna go with epoxy and filler.... very interesting links... picked up some info I was wondering about.

I'll just add a note if it's not too late. Having used both filler types I found that it was best to do the larger fills in multiple steps. This allowed the filler to harden sooner and the shrinkage was easier to control. Whenever you are using a two part resin mixture watch the ambient temperature and adjust the hardener accordingly. Lastly remember that with any resin system the resin has an infinite shelf life, The Hardener DOES NOT!:shock:

Good luck,

PM me if you need any help. I love working with wood.

GD