bondo on bondo

[derek]

OK i have began to remove the paint from my tank to repair a couple dents to find bondo/body filler in multiple areas.Will body filler stick to it self?I want to make the surface smooth but to do so would mean some areas would have bondo on bondo. I fear what i would find if i begin to remove all the bondo.I have very little body work experiance and a limited budget .Any advice from what has been a very helpful group would be great.

Thanks Derek

[Anonymous]

Bondo is really just to smooth minor imperfections. A lot of persons glob that stuff on like it is a miracle cure. I suggest you try to do it right by shaping the metal and removing all that excess bondo. Then using bondo to smooth out what you could not get done. One of the easiest tools to use to pull out the dents is a welding stud puller. Not really the technical term but basically it is a stud hammer that welds the stud there so you do not have to drill a hole put on a dent puller and all that jazz. Simply weld the stud to it use provided slide hammer than grind the metal back to even. Very simple and the tool sells for about 100 at Harbor Freight Tools. However if you must cheat completely remove the old Bondo and replace. Just don't park your bike next to mine, just kidding. Feel free to email me for details.

[crayonjota]

Bondo is really just to smooth minor imperfections. However if you must cheat completely remove the old Bondo and replace. Just don't park your bike next to mine, just kidding. Feel free to email me for details.

Listent to this guy, cos he is making a lot of sense! If you are going to take the time to do this job, do it right. It is all in the preparation. Take the tank down to bare metal and start from there.... If you are not up to spending money on pulling the dents out, may I suggest in the deepest dents, fill with fibreglass type filler as it is much stronger than bondo (and harder to sand down too!) fill the dent to just below the surface level and skim with bondo afterwards for the "best" shade tree results..oh, and post some before/after photo's for the hall of fame! CJ

[rodcwer]

i don't think i would be drillin holes in a tank to use a dent puller, gas and bondo don't mix.just my experience

[KennyJ]

To answer your question, yes, Bondo will stick to Bondo! Just rough it up a little bit and smooth it on.

Kenny

[80gs1000e]

Take her down to the metal! I just did this and my tank is now all shiney metal, waiting for me to bondo the little dents. I stripped my tank using stripper last week to find that I had bondo under there just like you. A friend suggested a spongy grinding wheel for my cordless drill and that made getting that bondo off a heck of a lot easier than trying to sand it. Ground off all the rust underneath too. After the bondo was out I used a power sander on the entire tank and finally its ready. Washed it down with some denatured alcohol. Spend the extra time and complete the job. Then start fresh! Good luck.

[derek]

OK thanks for the input .Ive gotten the dents worked out with a heat gun and bending some steel rod to work the inside while heating they came 95% out .One of the spots thet had been filled was were the emblems were .I appreciate the concern for the quality of the repair in general i agree .This is a first attempt at any body work for me so any info was good info .
derek

[Anonymous]

sounds like you made a very wise choice