Xnke Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 I'm at a loss as to how the bodyman before me got this much bondo to look so good. the only telltale sign was a fuel filler door that "just didn't look right." well, the scars run deep, and there is about 1/8" of bondo over a substantial amount of the quarter on both sides of the car. Most of it is just a skim coat, and in the pictures you see, I've either started to seriously reduce the amount of bondo needed, or finished it to the best of my ability (I'm good with 16g or thicker metal, i'm an armorer by trade. but the 72's 20g sheet is just a whole new animal as far as forming and shaping.) So, is this kind of damage ZG-flare able, mainly to cover up the worst of the damage here? The worst side...when I started, the bondo was ONE INCH THICK. now, it's down to a max depth of 3/16" in one spot, but I'm still not happy with it. Hopefully a pair of ZG flares can help me hide the damage. Sorry, this is the only picture I have. The bondo starts at the top body line, and goes all the way down to the edge of the fender lip. At the apex of the fender, the bondo is 1/8" thick. SO, you guys think it can be done? Or is it worth the extra cost (2K$ or better) to take the bodyshell to the pros and have them rework the whole rear end of the car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psdenno Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Clean it up the best you can and add the flares. I have similar bondo over fiberglass on the wheel arches and will be doing flares. I live in a dry climate and it will be 20 years before rust pops through again - I probably won't care as much when I'm in my 80s. Dennis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dosquattro Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 I guess it matters how you want to mount the flares be it rivet,bolts or mold 'em on. I had bondo in some spots along the lip and I had to get longer rivets and washers to use on the back side. Otherwise it was just pulling through the bondo. This way the rear of the rivet would grab onto washer instead of just pull through the bondo being it had nothing to hold onto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 I don't think filler would be a problem if it weren't bondo. I wouldn't want to drill through bondo, but with some of the higher quality epoxy and fiberglass fillers should be no big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xnke Posted June 23, 2008 Author Share Posted June 23, 2008 Well, there is solid steel behind the bondo. No rust, I cleaned all the bondo and rust out and replaced what I could, but there i still a lot of filler. The newer formulation of bondo is quite a bit stronger, and I did use fiberglass filler under the top layer of bondo. I can easily fit in zip nuts to bolt on the flares, that's no problem, or actually weld nuts on and redo the filler. In the first picture, the passenger side, you can kind of make out a diagonal that runs across the fuel filler door, that's a brazed lap joint that came with the car. Hard to hide, but I think I can make it disappear too. Mainly, I'm just worried about the bondo being softer and the movement of the flares from heat expansion and body movement actually rubbing the bondo off, or something like that. In thin layers, I'm not too worried, but 1/8" is the max thickness for regular bondo. I've got fiberglass bondo in behind that, so it's only a skin of actual bondo there, but I dunno. On the other hand, using the flares should let me cut out a substantial section of the thickest bondo, which is why i am considering them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Sounds like it might be a non-issue. I don't have too much experience in this area though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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