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Pudding Or Putty?


fry61

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hi,

after watching far too many episodes of 'american hotrod' i took in a lot of information about the way they do bodywork. They actually do lead work for certain applications, which involves melting lead on the metal and smoothing/sanding it flat (prob explains why they are all crazy).

 

They also use copious amounts of body filler. They seem to just spread it all over on quite bad surfaces and flat it back and take most of it off again. Then once happy etch prime then prime. Flat it back. Eventually colour coat a few times then wet sand it all to get a glass finish. Ends up perfect but i guess when you have 4 guys working on it for weeks then it should come out pretty good.

 

 

Not sure about powder coating body filler though, would the heat not affect it?

 

HTH

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I think you can only powder coat metal. The powder is electrostaticaly held on the surface. I would go for lead loading if there are big dents/holes but ignore any minor imperfections in the parts being coated as it flows well and is quite thick. Tends to fill the pits and valleys but sticky out bits like weld splatter show up badly. Grind them off.

 

Nigel

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Lead might have a bad name right now but it is the best most permanet way to spot fill. You don't use that much but you are adding metal which is harder and bonds better than plastic fillers. However it takes some skill and time to do which is why plastics came into use (cheap quick and sometimes nasty).

 

Bondo is a polyester which absorbs moisture and isn't meant to fil anything more than about 3 mm's at most. So when you see an inch or so thick of the stuff you can guess that the whole repair is suspect. The metal filled stuff comes in two flavours polyester based and epoxy based. The epoxy stuff is just stronger (way stronger) bondo and has the same problems with moisture. The epoxy stuff can actually be machined but it is $$$$. If you use it it is like trying to file metal so you don't want to go overboard using it unless you enjoy a lot of very slow sanding.

 

When then put a skim coat of bondo or filler on over everything they sand probably 90% or more off. Usually they are doing it to get rid of pinholes or ripples.If the bodywork and prep are done right then this isn't a whole lot thicker than a few coats of primer.

 

FYI you don't want to expose any filler poly or epoxy to high heat. Anything over about 100°c is going to end in a mess. Powder coat temps are way above that.

 

Dave

Edited by Wragie
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In the old days we used celloluse putty to fill the minor dents & scratches before painting metal body-work; what is used to-day, I intend powder coating some kit & want to smooth fill before hand.

 

Most bodyshop will use something along the lines of Plastic Padding Stopper, Upol Extra or Gold which are a 2K chemical paste, Super fine texture ensure a smooth flawless surface and a perfect feather edge.

For mild steel and glass fibre and are suitable for infra-red and low bake.

 

3M sell a red stopper which is a 1K set up Acryl 05966, This is a nitrocellulose auto body repair stopper designed with good filling,sanding and drying characteristics for general purpose use in filling pinholes and scratches.

 

I don't think that these stoppers will take powder coating as where it has been applied you will end up with the feathered edges will just pickle up.

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It is possible to powder coat non- metalic; have seen a coke bottle "coated" think they put the earth electrode in the bottle; & I forgot to mention the metals I wish to blend smooth are aluminium & s/steel, thanks for your help so far.

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I wish to blend smooth are aluminium & s/steel, thanks for your help so far.

 

Then you will need to use Plastic Padding Galva/Ultima or U-POL GALV-X SOFT which are for filling holes and imperfections in surfaces such as stainless steel, aluminium, galvanized steel, GRP and some plastics. They will have a better adhesion to the parts than the other fillers but you will still them a good key first.

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