Bondo

[Ivan]

I am not the greatest at body work, and am not terribly knowledgeable in such. I am a fair hand at painting since I used to paint the cabins on my model helis.

 

So, on my first gen, I have been repairing the cracks with some plastic epoxy that I found. It melts the plastic a bit before setting up. Only problem is there are some gaps and voids that need filling in.

 

So, is there a specific kind of filler I should use on a plastic substrate, that is flexible? From what I know of regular bondo, it is hard and doesn't handle flexing too well.

 

Thanks

[chabicheka]

check this out.

 

http://plastex.home.att.net/

 

click on " search" above, and punch in..PLASTEX... and you will see some threads regarding your problem. good luck.

[Redneck]

Bondo is fairly flexible but it is better suited to dents than filling cracks. you would be better off using the glue you used for the repair or similar to fill the cracks.

[Ivan]

Uh, I don't think I made myself understandable.

 

One particular place is where there was a bit of mismatch on the repair, and now I have to fill in a place that is an 1/8 inch deep and taper it out over a few inches to blend the contour. Other places are where stuff rubbed into the plastic and made gashes that aren't cracks. No need to bond the parts together, just fill in some low spots. Also the epoxy is a tad bit harder than the original plastic, so it is very tough to sand it smooth with the original substrate.

[BuddyRich]

I have made a putty with basic ABS filings and ABS glue. Both available at you local HD or Lowes. Your body panels are ABS if I recall right

[Rocket]

Uh, I don't think I made myself understandable.

 

One particular place is where there was a bit of mismatch on the repair, and now I have to fill in a place that is an 1/8 inch deep and taper it out over a few inches to blend the contour. Other places are where stuff rubbed into the plastic and made gashes that aren't cracks. No need to bond the parts together, just fill in some low spots. Also the epoxy is a tad bit harder than the original plastic, so it is very tough to sand it smooth with the original substrate.

 

The plastex can do that too. I'm going to be using some, to re-build the normal profile on a set of fairings, where they were damaged. But Buddyrich's method should also work, on the ABS plastic.

 

[Redneck]

Uh, I don't think I made myself understandable.

 

One particular place is where there was a bit of mismatch on the repair, and now I have to fill in a place that is an 1/8 inch deep and taper it out over a few inches to blend the contour. Other places are where stuff rubbed into the plastic and made gashes that aren't cracks. No need to bond the parts together, just fill in some low spots. Also the epoxy is a tad bit harder than the original plastic, so it is very tough to sand it smooth with the original substrate.[/quote [color=Blue]That's what bondo is made for just follow the instructions on the can. Use a block to sand it make sure you apply enough the first time. Use long smooth strokes with the sanding block avoid putting a lot of pressure on the block because it will cause the part to flex and result in an uneven surface. If the contour has an inter curve you can use thing like a piece of a broom handle with sand paper wraped around it avoid useing sand paper with your fingers.[/color]