jegner Site Admin
Joined: 30 May 2003 Posts: 2144 Location: Texas, USA
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Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 10:51 am Post subject: NOVEMBER Tip: Fillers |
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Bondo is a generic term for polyester automotive body filler, and is a brand name, tossed about by folks in the USA. It is a great material for use in filling all sorts of imperfections. This month's tip refers to alternatives to this wonder material.
Bondo is a great material, but dang stinky, and hazzardous to breath fumes, or dust, so caution must be made when working with it. If you can, try using a less nasty smelling material when working on your molds. I have found that wood filler works great! Don't get too much at a time as the stuff dries pretty fast. It is great to work with, sands easily, is pretty cheap, and you can add layers upon layers of the stuff. A cousin of wood glue, this stuff is great for filling cracks, or surface imperfections, or even patching that broken part.
Downsides are the strength of the wood filler is not near as great as bondo, but both don't hold up to abuse. So, use it when you need to fill in a crack or surface blemish. It works best on a painted or prepared surface.
Another options is super glue filled with baking soda or talcum powder. But this is messy and expensive. Super glue dries pretty fast but you do have time to mix in some of the talc, and it works ok to fill in a gap.
Still another filler option is dry wall mud or spackeling. Used for home construction this stuff does shrink and crack, and is not very strong, but if you need a filler, and need it quick and on the cheap, try this stuff. |
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