TheSamba.com :: View topic - Is bondo always the best option for rust holes ?

Tue Aug 21, 2012 8:40 pm

I plan on using it for my bug ?

Tue Aug 21, 2012 8:41 pm

No, cut it out and weld a patch in.

Tue Aug 21, 2012 9:39 pm

Calistylebugs wrote: I plan on using it for my bug ?

Have you been watching my thread? I did say something along the lines of "do as I say, not as I do".

:D

The best way is to cut and weld in a patch... but it is your car. If you really have your mind set on it (no welder, no skills, no time etc), you should at least remove as much rust as possible, by whatever means, and treat the metal with POR-15 or some other rust killer first. Fiberglass and or Bondo will fill the holes. Just be ready to face the music when people say something like " That's not the right way to do it, you idiot!" and "What the hell are you doing? ....you idiot!" or "What idiot did this to your car?" :shock: :? :( :cry:

:D

My sig :arrow:

Tue Aug 21, 2012 10:17 pm

dubllyou wrote: Calistylebugs wrote: I plan on using it for my bug ?

Have you been watching my thread? I did say something along the lines of "do as I say, not as I do".

:D

The best way is to cut and weld in a patch... but it is your car. If you really have your mind set on it (no welder, no skills, no time etc), you should at least remove as much rust as possible, by whatever means, and treat the metal with POR-15 or some other rust killer first. Fiberglass and or Bondo will fill the holes. Just be ready to face the music when people say something like " That's not the right way to do it, you idiot!" and "What the hell are you doing? ....you idiot!" or "What idiot did this to your car?" :shock: :? :( :cry:

:D

My sig :arrow: hahah ! I planned on using some por-15 to get some rust off I was thinking about using duraglass or rage gold fillers I have hopes that it will last me through
the rest of high school lol !

Tue Aug 21, 2012 11:35 pm

It will, if you kill the rust first, and it'll look a lot better than rusty holes. You can always do it right later....or let the next guy worry about it. :D

Wed Aug 22, 2012 12:18 am

If you're going to go the filler route, use something like duraglass for its water-resistance. Still half-assing it, though.

Wed Aug 22, 2012 1:41 pm

Bart Dunn wrote: If you're going to go the filler route, use something like duraglass for its water-resistance. Still half-assing it, though.
thanks for the info ! :)

Wed Aug 22, 2012 1:42 pm

dubllyou wrote: It will, if you kill the rust first, and it'll look a lot better than rusty holes. You can always do it right later....or let the next guy worry about it. :D haha ! :D true

Wed Aug 22, 2012 2:53 pm

It will blister in weeks not months.

...just drive it.

Thu Aug 23, 2012 11:58 am

Why bother filling it? Just makin more work for yourself later or the next guy......

Thu Aug 23, 2012 7:26 pm

Rust is like cancer for cars, cut it out or it will spread. There are chemicals out there that will neutralize it but I trust them about as far as I can spit a cannon ball. Find a cheap used welder off craigslist or wherever and dig up some scrap metal to make your own patch panels if you don't have the funds for replacement panels. Pumping rust holes full of filler is a bad idea and WILL bite you in the ass. Not trying to be a jerk or anything, just speaking from experience.

Thu Aug 23, 2012 9:20 pm

fugazi885 wrote: Rust is like cancer for cars, cut it out or it will spread. There are chemicals out there that will neutralize it but I trust them about as far as I can spit a cannon ball. Find a cheap used welder off craigslist or wherever and dig up some scrap metal to make your own patch panels if you don't have the funds for replacement panels. Pumping rust holes full of filler is a bad idea and WILL bite you in the ass. Not trying to be a jerk or anything, just speaking from experience.
you make a great point ! I just don't have the proper tools to do it do body shops do it ?

Fri Aug 24, 2012 8:53 am

Small holes are good for drains when it gets flooded! Just Master Series it and it will be fine. The next owner can blow it all apart if he feels like it? :roll:

Fri Aug 24, 2012 2:03 pm

I think we can all agree that bondo is definitely not the best way to deal with rust holes. But as a way of making it look better in the meantime, I think it's a viable alternative. Nobody likes looking at it, I know I don't. Since I don't like the clown colors on my DD either and it was full of crap and not sticking anyway, I decided to just primer it for now. I chose to just cover up all the holes with bondo temporarily even though I know eventually it'll look like crap again. I can either do it the wrong way again later or, if time and money allow, I can do it the right way. I fail to see how it makes repairing correctly later any more difficult. Those panels are just as easy to cut out and replace later, bondo and all.

OP: It's your car, do it the way you want. Bondo isn't the right way, but learning how to cut and weld on a car you may want to keep awhile isn't necessarily the right way either. It's a little easier to mess it up with a welder than it is with plastic body filler... and definitely more work to fix later.

Body shops will do the work for you but you may need a bigger wallet... and you won't learn as much that way.

JMO

:?

All that said, Mike Fisher is right. Rust holes do make excellent drainage! :D

Sat Aug 25, 2012 7:52 am

Glenn wrote: No, cut it out and weld a patch in.
x100

Wed Aug 29, 2012 3:34 am

If u have to use filler, clean/metal prep any rust,make sure it's dry before applying the filler. Most important is to 'completely' seal the backside from moisture as that causes the blistering. Not a permanent long time solution but will do ok until a re-paint etc down the road.And don't let filler that has primer on it get wet either, it's NOT waterproof.Any hole larger than apencil needs some form of support from behind until it set up, remove the part that oozes thru before sealing.

Wed Aug 29, 2012 4:23 am

If done properly it can last quite a while. My Father had a "71" BMW and the hood was completely rusted through all the way along the front edge. My bondo repair lasted 10 years before he got rid of the car and was still looking good. I removed all of the rust that I could and used rust converter to kill of the stuff in behind. It was painted straight away and not left in primer. Even though it can last for a while it's still temporary and the rust will return one day. Weld it up if possible.

Sat Sep 08, 2012 10:51 pm

A lot of guys cave in the area around the rust hole so that it's like a plug or bridge hen it dries. That way the area around the rust holds the filler so it take longer to show up. It will fall off in a chunk one day too most likely. Patch panels are the best way.

Sun Sep 09, 2012 8:25 am

I used to live in the rust belt (NY-VT-MA) and had to deal often with people that could not afford a proper welded in patch to pass inspection. THese cars were temporarily repaired with the "newspaper and bondo " technique.It isn't "correct" but it will work for a while...After all plastic does not rust.

As mentioned above, we ground out as much rust as possible, cut off the loose pieces, and cut a piece of newspaper to cover the hole. The edges of the hole were tapped inwards so we had at least 1/8 inch fo filler plugging the rot. We spread catalyzed duraglass on the side of the newspaper that contacted the metal, and applied the paper like a big bandaid to cover the hole. A rough grind once hardened, then another application of duraglass to fill any further low spots was done.

Final finishing of any pits, grinder marks, etc, was done with regular filler, then the vehicle was painted and sent away. I did a Subary wagon for a buddy like this, and took a virtually worthless junker to looking very nice and it lasted another two or three years of daily use before it was sold..with no more rust spots.

You can't do this for structural parts like frame rails, I wouldn't patch a frame head this way or the tunnel. In the rust belt properly welded in patches often bubble and fail a couple years down the road anyway due to the salt and moisture that cars there are exposed to all winter long, so plastic can actually last longer in some cases. Metal patches need to have the back side protected as well or better than front sides or rust returns quickly.

It is a never ending battle to stop rust, and I am convinced there is no way to actually stop rust on a daily driven car in the rust belt. We can slow it down to a manageable pace with complete panel replacement and the use of inner panel coating with oils or rustproofing. Arid climates like AZ and some of TX are much kinder on cars, and a welded in patch on a car that lives there will hold up a LONG time.

Sun Sep 09, 2012 9:08 am

I've also seen Great Stuff used as a backing for rocker rust repair. Cave it in and cheese grater it then wipe it. It'll come back in a few years. In Ohio I've seen new cars with rusty inside wheel wells already, less than a year old.