What's the best way to sand bondo? My uncle has worked autobody for 6 years and he said the best way to get everything done evenly is to block it......what i want to know is what's the fastest way because no matter what....it's not going to be done right the very first time....so i'lll block it when it's just about right......should i buy an electric sander?
NEW SIG COMING SOON FOR 07'!!!
ok and why wouldn`t it be done right the first time?? ok there is no fast way really, and when sandinf any body filler ya need to take your time so it does get straight and your not goin to do it over and over and over
i like to sand the body filler with a i call it a chesse grater right as it is dryin so i can shape it then my block a long block short block curve block what have ya
or i also use a mud hog or the 8 ` D.A.
but, if your uncle is a body man why are you askin this question??? wouldn`t you want to ask your uncle for help and have him help ya or teach ya???
i am confused
can i haz bondo
yea i dont understand how it wouldnt be right the first time. you want things to be done right the first time so you dont have to keep redoing them. when it comes to sanding, theres no quick way. sanding is very time consuming
I think he means layering the bondo. If you are doing a deep dent/hole/etc on the side of our cars, it is hard to layer that much stuff to get the curve right the time. Plus, I always sand it even before the next layer, helps fill it more evenly.
Failure is not failure if you learn from it
Yea, i have a z24 and i shaved the wing and the antenna, and the antenna has a tiny little groove in it, and the trunk had a whole bunch of little hills in it because the wing was tightened down too much, so i had to put body filler over the intire trunk and it's kinda hard to block it right the first time, and i learned my lesson of jumping the gun and sand it a little bit while it's still wet because it got really rough and i couldn't sand it out to be perfect so i had to put another really small layer over that area......sanding sucks!
NEW SIG COMING SOON FOR 07'!!!
you didnt fill the holes in w/ just bondo did you?
For a large flat area best thing to use (if you have access to one) would be a fileboard... not a DA. (not saying you can't use one at all) DA's are good for smaller areas of body work (as long as you know what you're doing)... but if you had to put filler over your whole trunk, I'd use a fileboard... and keep it moving!
only thing power tools are good for are knocking it down.
the only way to get filler straight is hand sanding
make it 3 techs
i didn't mean by hand (sounded different than what i typed in my head) i ment with block but not pnematic tools
So, the best way to do it is to use an electric sander until it's almost done, and then block it by hand to get it perfect?
NEW SIG COMING SOON FOR 07'!!!
Buy some bondo spot putty too, it really helps for the little scratches and stuff that you end up with at the end.
I always put the bondo on real heavy, then sand it with a belt sander till it's down to about the same level as I want it, then I go with the 40 grit on a block till it's flat, and work up to 150, then do the spot putty. I use 320 grit on the spot putty between coats.
When it's all flat and perfect, prime it 2 or 3 coats, and go over it with 600/800 grit or something.
Then I put on the paint, a couple of coats, waiting a while to let it dry well. If it's bumpy or dull looking, I go over it with 1200 grit and wet sand it till it's smooth, then buff it with some polish.... and if it needs it, put on some clear coat.
It took me a few times to get the system down, but practice makes perfect... and having a cruddy old j-body to learn on is good.
Quote:
practice makes perfect.
But why practice if noone is perfect?
LOL.. jk
good points guys and girls!
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....And I was amazed at how good the spot putty works, don't forget to buy it, it's like $2 for a decent size tube and it is really good at hiding the small scratches.
I used to do bondo without it, and could never get the same good results.
where do you get good spot putty for 2$ a tube i pay 12 for mine
sndsgood wrote:belt sander? how high are you laying your filler? 1/4" is the most i'd go and even if it was built up that high i dont think i'd use a belt sander.
IF they're referring to a fileboard... it doens't have to be thick to use it. A Fileboard (a back and forth motion sander... approx 8" long and 2" wide) is used to keep flat areas flat when sanding... works better than a DA for larger areas of repair
big daddy wrote:
wow?!?!?
Answering the question he asked in the uh.. thread title, you know? Does that make sense to you?
sndsgood wrote:maybe he was, i hope he was because the diffrence between the two is huge.
heh heh I hope he was referring to a file board too lol
do you mean a "air file" no the "wow" part was they way he thought sanding filler goes
"WOW"!!!
can i haz bondo
10 Steps for a super-flat show car quality panel
1. Cheese grater just after it kicks
2. Air file (straight line sander) w/ 40# to shape it
3. Another bondo layer if needed, never apply thick coats, ever, ever, ever, it's stupid, stupid, stupid
4. Longest block that fits w/ 40# to flatten it
5. Skim coat of bondo reduced with acetone
6. Air file w/40 to take off the edges and high spots
7. Long block w/ 80 to get it super flat
8. Long block w/ 110 then 180 (I have lots of different size blocks for different abrasive sizes to save time made out of MDF)
9. Primer-surfacer
10. Block with 400 finishing with 600
