Bondo Jobs

[Scrymerr]

How close to perfect can one come when working with bondo. My car got a little dented up, and its in the shop for repairs. Can anyone post before/after/under construction pics so I can see how well bondo worked to fix the damage??

Thanks,

Dan

 

[IMMORTALSPYDER]

It can come out flawless, if you know what you're doing and do it right. I worked at a shop and body filler is used al the time.

 

[Slipstream]

Agreed. Bondo usually gets a bad name from improper use and or unskilled use.

 

[Defiant]

Any perfectly smooth automobile you see at a show usually has a thin layer of putty under it. Getting metal like glass is seldom possible.

What gives Bondo its bad name is shops who use it over a wad of newspaper to fill a rust hole, or apply it over metal that's not properly prepared.

Still, I hate the stuff, too. Bad surprises at an early age.

 

[Scrymerr]

I understand, thanks for the replys. The shop I took it to somehow managed to put a series of dents across my trunk lid, which they say cannot be fixed with bondo as it will crack when I shut the trunk. I am pretty pissed at the shop right now for causing more damage to my car than fixing it, and I got quoted $603 for a new trunk lid thru mitsubishi. Any other way these dents could be fixed without buying a whole new trunk?

 

[Eagle_Summit]

I understand, thanks for the replys. The shop I took it to somehow managed to put a series of dents across my trunk lid, which they say cannot be fixed with bondo as it will crack when I shut the trunk. I am pretty pissed at the shop right now for causing more damage to my car than fixing it, and I got quoted $603 for a new trunk lid thru mitsubishi. Any other way these dents could be fixed without buying a whole new trunk?

uhmm, maybe its me, but i would probably get yourself a nice lawyer and take them to court for not fixing your trunk, when they are the ones who did the damage. Just my .02 cents.

 

[devlish]

yeah, if they damaged it, they are responsible. i had the same thing a few years back, took my Probe GT in for a tranny flush and got a foot in the front quarter panel! their shop fixed it for me w/ no hassles. you should be in the same situation.

if not, i agree, have a lawyer write a letter about them denting your car and trying to charge YOU for it... that's not right

however, if done *properly* it won't crack when you shut your trunk. i've opend & closed my doors THOUSANDS of times with my shaved door handles with NO problems, and that's pretty much the same thing. filler was used to smooth out the metal that was welded in.

however, maybe your choice of shops was not the best... don't know.

good luck with your problem!
~Kurt

 

[GSXpower]

I think my hatch lid was $50 from a salvage yard. Check around. Also If you grind out those dents and use fiberglass filler, I doubt it will crack at all, maybe like 10 years down the road it will.

 

[lasteclispe]

i will NEVER buy anything from a junk yard. they are more expensive than fu(king dealers. i went to one looking for the flip out cup holder and the left fog light holder for my eclipse and and out of about 11 junk yards here in ny. the lowest price was $230 for the two parts. and the fu(king parts was old and busted. then i checked the dealer the flip out cup holder was $20 and the fog light holder was $30. thats $50 for BRAND NEW parts compair to $230 for old busted parts. thats the first and last time i will ever even check the junk yard for anything from now on its only dealers for me.

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

i will NEVER buy anything from a junk yard. they are more expensive than fu(king dealers. i went to one looking for the flip out cup holder and the left fog light holder for my eclipse and and out of about 11 junk yards here in ny. the lowest price was $230 for the two parts. and the fu(king parts was old and busted. then i checked the dealer the flip out cup holder was $20 and the fog light holder was $30. thats $50 for BRAND NEW parts compair to $230 for old busted parts. thats the first and last time i will ever even check the junk yard for anything from now on its only dealers for me.

Dude I think you are trippin. Just cause you got jacked once doesn't mean it will always be more expensive. Especially with things like headlights, fenders, trunk, hatch, ect. 2g headlights are something over $300 dollars at the dealership. I got mine from a junk yard crystal clear for $100. Perosnally I will go to a junk yard to save $200.
I am sure his trunk lid would be the same.

Scrymerr Don't let that shop get away with that man that's messed up.

 

[igopoopy]

if you ever watch american hotrod on discovery they put a verry thin layer like 1/8 then sand till it is like glass then paint
i dont think the bondo will crack unless your hach struts are bad and you slame it closed

 

[wafflez66]

Don't use bondo, use a different filler, bondo is a company and from my experience its garbage. Filler is fine to use and any car that's ever come off from any assembly line has had some kind of filler in it whether it be lead filler, fiberglass, allmetal, epoxy. I think that corvettes that come off the line now have 12 hours of hand filling and sanding.

Next thing is that i agree that salvage yards aren't always more expensive because i just got 2 fenders, 2 power doors, a hood, and deck lid (all with minimal to no scratches, and absolutly no dents) for $185. You can't beat that!

Good luck!

 

[igopoopy]

the first vett was fiberglass

 

[Scrymerr]

OK, well, either way I am NOT letting them use filler on my trunk, or any other half ass methods to repair what was once PERFECT. I reported them to the better business bereau, as it has been 6 weeks since I first brought it in.

If the BBB does not come through with my expected settlement, I was thinking about swaying them some other way.

The shop the used to paint my car did NOT have a booth or proper ventilation. It was completely illegal for them to even paint my car there. Does anyone know the state or federal agency I could notify about their dangerous work habits??

Thanks for the replys. No matter how much they may think they are going to get away with playing a 17 year old, they are wrong. I have been through too much with this car to accept anything less than perfection.

--Dan

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

OK, well, either way I am NOT letting them use filler on my trunk, or any other half ass methods to repair what was once PERFECT. I reported them to the better business bereau, as it has been 6 weeks since I first brought it in.

If the BBB does not come through with my expected settlement, I was thinking about swaying them some other way.

The shop the used to paint my car did NOT have a booth or proper ventilation. It was completely illegal for them to even paint my car there. Does anyone know the state or federal agency I could notify about their dangerous work habits??

Thanks for the replys. No matter how much they may think they are going to get away with playing a 17 year old, they are wrong. I have been through too much with this car to accept anything less than perfection.

--Dan

You can try contacting industrial finishes, dupont or someone like that to find out about the laws. I know when we wanted to paint my girlfriends car Industrial finishes wouldn't sell us their paint because you need the whole painting setup, so we got som different paint, I think acryilic enamel that isn't as bad so it might depend what they painted your car with. Unless you genuinly feel they shouldn't be painting cars I wouldn't bring this up, if you do genuinly feel they shouldn't be painting cars you shouldn't have taken your car there in the first place. Stick with the fact that they took your car in a certian condition and returned it damaged.
They painted your car and dented it at the same time? Something seems weird, I was thinking it was a mechanic or something. Did they paint it then dent it, or did they dent it then paint over it?

 

[Scrymerr]

Well, I think the situation may be on its way to becoming fixed, I will post more when it all unfolds. The only part that was undamaged that they dented was the trunk lid, which I think was dented from either leaning on it to reach part of the roof, or excessive pressure with the sander when they strippedthe old paint.

--Dan