Bondo on my Birmabright

[parrie]

Ole Daisy has several small (ugly) bondo repairs that I am going attempt to repair. Does anyone have a suggestion for removing the bondo w/o damaging the birmabright? I had someone suggest water-blasting. Any thoughts?

[I Leak Oil]

Chemical strippers usually do a good job on removing plastic.

[parrie]

Thought about chemicals but was affraid that it could possibly damage the aluminum. Maybe i'll have to experiment on one of the trashed panels.

[jopa]

removing bondo

i had quite alot of bondo in my 109 rear tub. I found a drill with a large wire wheel worked pretty well. It ground through the bondo to bare aluminum pretty easily.
I just left the dents when I repainted as bondo does not work well on thin body panels that flex/move/bend...Good luck. John

[amcordo]

Can bondo be done nicely on a series? I have some dents and grinds on mine and I was wondering about that...

[cedryck]

I would not suggest wire wheel, as it pulverized the bondo dust and then your breathing that snot.
I found that chemical stripping would loosen bondo, and then with a sturdy puddy knife I could go at it.
I also discovered that a product called Zip strip, essentially a strong basic solution the consistancy of maplt syrup, will not harm the Aluminium.

[jp-]

A sharp rap to the backside of the panel (in the center of the bondo location) will often pop it right out. Bondo doens't stick too well to the aluminum in the first place.

[parrie]

Thanks for the input guys...already did the "smack" to the back side that did dislodge the majority of the thickest layers. Looks like I'll have to resort to the chemicals and sanding the rest.

[busboy]

Thanks for the input guys...already did the "smack" to the back side that did dislodge the majority of the thickest layers. Looks like I'll have to resort to the chemicals and sanding the rest.

You might want to look at the back side first, often people drill a bunch of holes in the panel so the bondo WILL stick.

[cedryck]

Some one used a huge amount of bondo on a door I have, not only was the bondo patch unnecessary, but they did not even sand it well, so it looked like s*%^$.
I found after bending and folding aluminium panels that a good flat hammer, and sheet metal block do quite well to flatten a dimple, or ding in panels.

[Kiloengineer]

A blow torch and a spatula work well too. Just heat up the bondo a little and then scrape it right off. Much cleaner than chemicals or sanding. Wear a mask anyway.

[I Leak Oil]

Thought about chemicals but was affraid that it could possibly damage the aluminum. Maybe i'll have to experiment on one of the trashed panels.

I use a product called "aircraft stripper". I get it at any parts place around here. Has no ill affects on the base metals, steel or aluminum. Works great.

[hankster110]

Heat gun with the paint scraper that came with it, and a manual wire brush seemed to do a good job on an Austin Healey roadster with an alloy body in our shop. The Healey is a lot curvier than a Land-Rover, the Rover should be a piece of cake by comparison.

[busboy]

I use a product called "aircraft stripper". I get it at any parts place around here. Has no ill affects on the base metals, steel or aluminum. Works great.

I use the same stuff but I don't know if you have noticed that when the weather is very dry as in low humidity the stripper tends to dry too fast and doesn't do as good a job yet on humid days it performs much better.

[I Leak Oil]

Yup, if you leave it on too long it gets dry which makes it a little more work to remove, don't leave it on long enough and it's not as affective. I usually do this type of work in the summe when it's humid anyway.