Bondo

[pennsy484]

I just ordered some Tamiya putty to fill and finish seams in a cabin car roof. Is regular bondo a good option as well? I am interested in type of fillers for models.

I ordered the tamiya on Amazon and it's coming Tuesday, but I am impatient and was thinking to just go to the auto zone for bondo today.

Thoughts of one versus the other, or other options?

If I would have used just a bit more of the epoxy I used for the joints, I probably could have just sanded that down to the desired smoithness, but I came up just a tad short. I suppose I could just slather more over the seam and out further, but it is messy.

[pennsy484]

https://www.flickr.com/gp/49205964@N07/fw23yd

[chuck]

The only issue I've had with "Bondo" is the size of the tubes. Once you open it, it's going to start hardening. The solvent in Bondo is also pretty aggressive as far as polystyrene/ABS is concerned. Make sure you are using "spot" putty and not the stuff in the tub that you use a spatula to apply.

I've used multiple thin coats of spot putty for larger fills and then switched to Tamiya for final fill. The color change can help with sanding as you have visual cues as to how deep you are sanding.

[jlong]

I have used Bondo quite a bit for restoring rotted sections of exterior wood trim and it's great for that. I just can't imagine using it for model work. It just doesn't have the right characteristics for lack of better terms. And yes, you have to work with it real fast. Like 5 minutes or less a batch.

[E7]

One of the primary uses of Bondo a few years back was for repairing car body panels. I haven't messed around with cars in quite a while, so I don't know how prevalent it is these days, what with all the "paintless" dent repair. It will definitely stick to metal, and Like John says, I have used it to repair wood (that is to be painted).

I don't see why it wouldn't work for plastic if it (the plastic) is roughed up for the Bondo to grip. but I can't say I've ever tried it on plastic, at least as best I can remember.

The bottom line is: The thinner you can keep it, the better it is.

The only issue I've had with "Bondo" is the size of the tubes. Once you open it, it's going to start hardening. The solvent in Bondo is also pretty aggressive as far as polystyrene/ABS is concerned. Make sure you are using "spot" putty and not the stuff in the tub that you use a spatula to apply.

Any Bondo I ever used came in Cans with small tubes of cream hardener. If the stuff you buy in tubes has the hardener pre-mixed in and hardens on air contact, that would explain why it hardens up for you so quickly. I would go to an auto parts store and look for the stuff in cans with the small tubes of hardener. It will last a long time, as long as you don't get hardener in it! The only disadvantage is you have to mix it yourself.....and you better be ready to boogie once you add the hardener.

Rich

[chuck]

Bondo Spot Putty/Glazing compound comes in tubes and there is no mixing. The two part stuff (aka body filler) is meant for more filling more substantive materials and it excludes plastic from that list. The combination of solvent and cure heat release will turn light weight modeling plastics to a lump of goo.

There are other spot glazing compounds you can find at auto finishing suppliers that are suitable for scale modeling. You just need to read the label to make sure it's plastic compatible. The tubes are usually larger than Tamiya so the price per volume seems like a better deal. If you only get to use 10% of the tube before it's useless the value drops considerably. The really annoying part about the auto stuff is you can feel that the material at the bottom of the tube is still pliable but there is no easy way to get at it. Since the hardened stuff is designed to grab to most other materials it grabs quite nicely to the inside of the tube neck and makes a nice plug.

[jlong]

If you're just filling seams, cracks, pock marks, etc. glazing putty is far easier too work with and that is what it is meant for. Commonly used by tinplate restorers.

[pennsy484]

Thank you for all the recommendations.

I did get the bondo, and yeah, I see that I pretty much need to mix up half the jar at a time, and even then, it seems like the other half isn't going to last. I'll hold onto that unopened and it'll probably come in handy some day. T

he spot filler and the glazing compound sound like they would be more regularly useful for me. I am going to stock up. Like good tools, its nice to have them around for when you need them.

As to the current project, it turned out that I was able to sand it just a bit more and the seams were filled and smoothed adequately just by the epoxy that I had built up when I set the piece in place.

Even though the seam turned out really well, my impatience got the best of me again. I need to re-sand the roof. I sprayed the flat black over the enamel primer too soon and got some orange peel going on.

Next will be to paint the body red oxide (scale coat II is what I have), and then apply the decals. I haven't actually done decal yet. I did the dry transfers on another project and liked working with those, but cannot find dry transfers for a PRR cabin car. I really dislike when you can see the seam around the decal. I am concerned that I am not going to be happy with the result. But I do want to give it a try. On the other hand, if anyone knows a source for O scale PRR N6b cabin car dry transfers, please do tell!

[pennsy484]

Rich, yes, the little can I got has 2 separate packs of hardener. I am glad to hear that when I do use this, if I just use one half, then the other half without the hardender mixed in will keep for a bit. Its funny, I don't mind blowing money on trains, but I hate wasting glue, paint, and stuff like that. Sometimes I need to force myself to just throw out extra paint because I will have it mixed for part of the layout and then I end up feeling the need to use up whats left and end up f'n up another part of the layout by misusing it there. I'll probably end up with some kind of ill fitting bondo rock outcropping on my layout one of these days.

[pennsy484]

Here's the seam, across where the green pointer is. I am pretty happy with it.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/49205964@N07/d7253b

[Roy]

pennsy484, It is possible to post your hosted photos directly:



The board software limits the image size, but you can continue using the [URL] pointer for those who need to see the biggest, highest-resolution version.

[E7]

Maybe in the future we (and I'm not excluding myself here) should describe the product we are referring to rather than give some trade name which makes multiple products.....as in being less ambiguous.

Rich

[Roy]

Maybe in the future we (and I'm not excluding myself here) should describe the product we are referring to rather than give some trade name which makes multiple products.....as in being less ambiguous.

Rich

If you give the specific product number, as well as the brand name, you can likewise avoid ambiguity.

[E7]

If you give the specific product number, as well as the brand name, you can likewise avoid ambiguity.

No doubt about it, that's the BEST case scenario, but I haven't owned any Bondo in years! Since it was mentioned, I do remember it giving off heat when it was curing (hardening)!

[Roy]

If you give the specific product number, as well as the brand name, you can likewise avoid ambiguity.

No doubt about it, that's the BEST case scenario, but I haven't owned any Bondo in years! Since it was mentioned, I do remember it giving off heat when it was curing (hardening)!

That would've been the two-part variety, mainly for use on sheet metal. It can't be used on plastic. The Bondo that can be used on plastic comes in a tube, no mixing required. It's called spot putty or glazing putty/compound.