Body filler type

[lnfletcher]

This is probably a loaded question because of all of the anti bondo sentiments. What type of body filler did most of you use when filling the mold lines and imperfections? I have used bondo brand in the past on metal repairs with good results but did not have the investment in those vehicles that I do with this one! I want to do it right (within reason!)

[jarendall]

I used a fiberglass filler, it had the glass fiber already in the resin, it was in a tube about 4 inches in dia and had the hardener in a small tube, when you squeezed the handle the right amount of hardener came out with the resin, I think I still have some out in my shop I will look and see and let you know the name

[niles]

First; find your local paint suppliers; not auto or bondo dealers.
The paint wholesalers are always in industrial type building off the main street!
I spent several months seeking these guys out and picking their brains and got great expert advise and I would'nt change a thing that I did based on my "reconing"
1. Get a pro board (about 15 in long) that takes the body strip paper.
1a. Buy a knock off of a good top fed spray gun; about $100. It was so much better that my old 20 yr old Binks, that I threw it out.
2. Sand the bare body twice as long as you think; don't worry so much about mold line(they take care of themselves) get the contours smooth and sand on lines always at 45 deg from contour.
3. Start with a quart of "expensive" black epozy primer. The stuff is great it oozes into all those pip holes that are invisible. I thought I had filled all of them. After the epozy about 300 appeared.
4. For filler I recommend, Rage gold. I went through two gals of the stuff.
5 Get high quality light colored high build primer; shoot two heavy wet coats, start block sanding and you will see the black coming thru on the high spots. Repeat, sand repeat, fill, prime, repeat, repeat,etc.
6 After about 80 hrs of wet sanding, you will magically develope an eye and you can start seeing how bad it is. Your now on your way to get it right.

Is it worth the time? YOUR BET, the paint is the first thing everybody notices and its real neat when the comments come; who did your paint and prep; you can say I did. It was the most time consuming and most rewarding. You just can't get impatient or do well on a tight schedule.
Shoot me a PM if you need more or encouagement
gn

[DavidNJ]

Niles,

Where do you spray your primer? Doesn't it require a booth?

And, do you have a body shop that will paint over your prep, or are you doing the whole thing?

Thanks,

David

[tpiini]

No reason you can't spray primer outside. Heck, some pretty nice finish jobs have been done in driveways.

It's tough to get a body shop that will guarantee anything that they shoot over your work. After all, they don't know for sure what types of materials you have put down or if you gave them all sufficient time to gas out or shrink. The best advice I have been given is to not use ANYTHING that doesn't use a catalyst of some sort. No use-from-the-tube spot puttys, for sure.

[niles]

David;
I did all the work outside under a covered deck.
Just spray when the winds down.
Polyurethan is very easy and forgiving.
My friend, after watching my work, borrowed my gun and did his entire cobra in his garage and it came out great.
The key is to get the clear on smooth with no runs and not worry about the dirt, because most all the defects can be sanded out of the clear. Even with a paint booth, you still get a amazing number of bugs and trash that is sanded out in the final process
gn

[jarendall]

The stuff I used to fill holes miss drilled and to fill in gaps in the fiberglass is called U-POL Fibral, if you need to fill the Gel-Coat then you will have to use something else, it is my understanding that you don't use anything that heats up on Gel-Coat, it may cause it to blister, I bought the Fibral at the auto paint distributor, you can not get it at an auto parts store, ask your distributor what to use on Gel-Coat

[lnfletcher]

Sounds great niles, I am going to have to use some type of filler to build up where the mold did not meet correctly. It is about a 1/8" difference so primer will not fill. Also after sanding some of the seams, I have voids that are pretty large. (head of a Q-tip size)

[Rick Yeager]

Take what I suggest with a lot of caution I am not a professional and I did not sleep in a Holiday Inn last night. What Niles said is very close to the way I was doing it when I finished but not what I started with. I think I learned a lot. A friend, Barry, recommended the Evercoat body filler. It seemed to work smoother and more solidly than the Bondo brand products. Most of the body men around here seem to use it too. Stay away from the simple fillers in tubes. My car was so bad that the first time Barry saw it; he said that it could not be helped. About a week later he decided he would like to try. We actually cut the doors into pieces and reconstructed them to try to make them fit. The rear deck and trunk gapped about ½ inch--vertically. Unfortunately, Barry moved away before we could do very much of the filling process so I had to learn on my own. Many of the low points were too far off for simple body filler and had to be fiber glassed in. I bought a cheap paint gun from Wal Mart and applied the primer in the garage. If you mess the Wal Mart gun up you can throw it away and go buy another cheap one—no big loss and it shoots primer good enough. As Niles mentioned, the Evercoat Rage Gold seemed to work the best. I think that my final tally was five gallons of it. (Probably a world’s record ) No, the first time or two did not go smoothly but gradually it became fairly comfortable and even fun to do. Each time after I had come to what I thought was the last place to do, I had learned more to realize that the body was still not right and would start over again. Putting water on a surface and looking at it in the light helps but after a while you will really learn to “read” the surface with your hands. Like Niles mentioned, it is something you just learn by doing. Little lines make such a big difference when they are made right. One thing that might be mentioned is use a paint stick or sanding block when you are sanding-forming; do not do it with your bare hand. It will have you going in circles. Each time after I had come to what I thought was the last place to do, I had learned more to realize that it was still not right and would start the whole car over again. It took a long time but it added immeasurably to the value and appearance of the car. You will take more effort to make it right than most professionals can afford to take time to.

Do not hesitate to try it. It’s a lot of fun and besides what is the worst thing that can happen with filler and primer if you mess up? It’s not like brakes or mechanical or electrical do-it-yourselfing. If you mess it up with primer you won’t run through a stop light and have a wreck or have to tow your Cobra two hundred miles to home or watch it turn to flames and smoke the first time you hit the wrong switch. No, with primer or filler you just sand if off and do it over. And if you’ve done it right what do you do? You sand it over again too. It’s a kind of no-brainer side of the hobby. that everybody keeps a secret.

Yeah, fool that I am, I was so confident with the primer that I tried to paint the car in the garage too. That did not work too well. Maybe if I had used a better gun--any way I sought professional help. The professional painter commented on how smooth the body was after he had painted it. He did not have to do any body work on it at all.

Like Niles said…it’s worth your time. And it is something that you can do.

Good luck the guys here in CC are good help if you have questions.

Rick

[Snakebit]

Contacted Evercoat, they recommended filling the seams with Fiber Tech. It's a filler with strands of Kevlar and fiberglass. For thinner build up use Evercoat Rage Gold body filler. The Fiber Tech came in handy for filling the gaps around the doors, trunk and hood.

[SkipB]

OK, in defense of Bondo products.

The company "Bondo" markets under several names. Retail chains (home centers, auto parts stores, etc.) often have Bondo branded products.

At the professional level (automotive paint suppliers) they have Marson and Dynatron brands.

Stick with Marson brand for reinforced fiberglass filler (Mar-Glass) and body filler for the top (Platinum or Platinum Plus). You can also use a finishing putty/glaze to cover the fillers ( Platinum or Platinum Plus Glaze) All are excellent products.

Equivalent products are also marketed as Dynatron brand, Dyna-Glass fiberglass reinforced filler, Ultimate body filler and Ultimate glaze.

All work great and sell directly against Evercoat and other branded products.

[FFRBob]

This should help:

http://www.ffcobra.com/FAQ/body2.html

[onefastmustang]

What about West Systems.. Has anyone used them?? I have a friend that works at a Marine place and get me the stuff at like 80% off so I was gonna use that.. But if its crap then never mind..

[lnfletcher]

Well I bought a gallon of rage gold and a long sander ready to dive in! I'll look for the Fiber Tech when I get to that point I guess.