what doesnt stick to bondo?

[AndyL]

Thanks lx - I'll have to see if I can find some and do some more testing here...

Yeah I was pulling off before cure to ensure it came off - maybe I'll try trusting the release agent and letting them cure fully before removing...

Off to the garage for more testing...

 

[upndown]

Hey Andy, I get what you're trying to do! But before you get any deeper..Make sure the HO understands that after all your time and effort=MONEY ( get it in writing! ) When it's all said and done, those doors may still end up looking like ***! Can't squeeze blood out of a Turnip.

As far as replacement we can only replace with what's available, One of the reasons I'm spending more time Fishing than Working is telling my customers.." Sorry I can't get that Anymore " Don't back yourself into a corner..Good luck man!

 

[Danver]

Would something like this work? I'm thinking maybe after the bondo is just setting up but not dry yet. It would be a pretty small time window for it to work.


http://store.xiemclaycenter.com/Art-Roller--Wood-Grain_p_34.html#

Or maybe instead of trying to get the texture in the bondo use a high-build primer like they use in body shops and roll or press the texture into that instead while it is still soft.

Just tossing out random ideas at this point.

 

[KANSASBOY]

Are you trying to remove your mold when the bondo not dried??? try like Elmer's glue for release agent then tape hot glue to hold mold in place till bondo go off.

 

[Dirtybird103]

I personally would let the bondo dry then pencil on a design that looks like the rest, then scrape it in. You could also try this on the stamp- rust-oleum never wet.

 

[texasOFT]

Check with a cement contractor to see what release agent used for stamped concrete. It might worki.

 

[bran1har]

ive tried bondo over lead filler and it doesn't stick well. maybe give us some pics

 

[Lhorn]

I'm thinking maybe after the bondo is just setting up but not dry yet.

I think this is key. Waiting for it to get just hard enough might make is less likely to stick. HOw about aluminum foil between the stamp and the just hard enough bondo? Wonder if dusting the semi set up bondo with talc would make it less prone to sticking?

 

[Danver]

Curious as to how this ever turned out.

 

[AndyL]

Nothing to update - ordered a bunch of release agents... Patiently waiting for them to arrive...

 

[Gerald O]

Get you some silicone rubber mold making compound. Bondo won't stick to it. You may need to lightly wax the garage door section that you are taking the imprint from though.

 

[ZRX61]

ive tried bondo over lead filler and it doesn't stick well. maybe give us some pics

Why would you fill with lead & then finish off with bondo? Just use one or the other.

 

[keelan]

It's 4 dings. How about chalking it up to "character" and leaving it alone?

Alternatively, it seems to me that a 1/2" hole could be drilled in the back of the garage door, the polyurethane foam extracted using a variety of creative techniques, then a similarly creative variety of tools could be used to gently massage the bumps out from the back side. It would be much easier to bondo over a 1/2" hole, and re-texture that after the bondo has set with a little hand carving.

Also, what about just bondo'ing over the dents, then carving the bondo after it has set?

 

[Daniel Dudley]

Try blue masking tape. Tape it over the surface and burnish it on. Apply bondo and pull from tape after set. Apply tape to bondo mold and burnish it on. Put bondo on surface and press in your mold.

Use anything for release agent. Bondo doesn't like to stick to blue tape. Scotch or 3M makes a really thin blue painter's tape. I use this often to recreate moldings on wood work.

 

[PugetDude]

IMO, the window for successfully embossing the almost-cured Bondo is too short. I''d suggest a different approach.

The guys who make the embossing rolls for garage door panels (Roehlen and Stamco) just engrave the woodgrain pattern (in reverse) on a pair of emossing cylinders. It's mostly acid-engraved through a wax blanket now, but these rolls all used to be hand-engraved.

You might try just smoothing a coat of Bondo over the depression, let it set up, and then use a sharp set of woodworking chisels, V-gouges, and a rifller file to "carry the grain lines " thru the patch. Shouldn't be too difficult to get the "can't see it from my house" finish you're looking for. Study the surrounding grain lines, you'll see they vary in width, are interrupted, variable depth, etc. (you might even choose to make the one or more of the patches "knots" and feather them into the surrounding grain.)

It would be pretty easy to practice this technique. Drill or whack a golf ball-sized hole in a piece of textured OSB or cementitious siding, fill it with bondo and start engraving to match the grain lines. (might need to leave it just a tiny bit high to give you room to work with) Bondo is relatively soft, so you should get pretty good results with just hand pressure; you're not talking about doing a very large area.

Good luck.

 

[CTyankee]

IMO, the window for successfully embossing the almost-cured Bondo is too short. I''d suggest a different approach.

The guys who make the embossing rolls for garage door panels (Roehlen and Stamco) just engrave the woodgrain pattern (in reverse) on a pair of emossing cylinders. It's mostly acid-engraved through a wax blanket now, but these rolls all used to be hand-engraved.

You might try just smoothing a coat of Bondo over the depression, let it set up, and then use a sharp set of woodworking chisels, V-gouges, and a rifller file to "carry the grain lines " thru the patch. Shouldn't be too difficult to get the "can't see it from my house" finish you're looking for. Study the surrounding grain lines, you'll see they vary in width, are interrupted, variable depth, etc. (you might even choose to make the one or more of the patches "knots" and feather them into the surrounding grain.)

It would be pretty easy to practice this technique. Drill or whack a golf ball-sized hole in a piece of textured OSB or cementitious siding, fill it with bondo and start engraving to match the grain lines. (might need to leave it just a tiny bit high to give you room to work with) Bondo is relatively soft, so you should get pretty good results with just hand pressure; you're not talking about doing a very large area.

Good luck.

For some reason the OP doesn't seem to want to go this route..or even acknowledge the suggestion...

 

[brucer]

let the bondo set up, dont do it when the bondo is wet... wait for it to cure, but not all the way until it gets hard.

 

[AndyL]

For some reason the OP doesn't seem to want to go this route..or even acknowledge the suggestion...

Because its extremely labour intensive, and a specific kind of artistic skil... And creates the biggest mess...

 

[Hdtheater]

I didn't see it mentioned, but Vaseline works well for a release agent for bondo.

-Eric

 

[keelan]

Because its extremely labour intensive, and a specific kind of artistic skil... And creates the biggest mess...

I asked this before: How many dents are you talking about?

 

[miguel sanchez]

Perhaps take plastic wrap (Glad) place over stamp, apply to bondo pull stamp off leaving plastic wrap and wait to dry.

This works !!!

 

[AndyL]

I didn't have any luck with saran wrap (or the Kirkland equivalent) - stuck and left pieces... But a ziplock seems to be thick enough to let go nicely... Thanks for that one!

As for number - in the 6-10 range, not a huge number, thankfully.

 

[RobSmith]

you can buy 2 part liquid silicone compound for making molds...It comes in different hardnesses when cured. Pour about a 1/4" layer over a good bit of the panel (with a release agent sprayed on)..let it set. Peel it off and use that as a stamp ! But leave it on the bondo until the bondo is set. Peel the silicone sheet off and your done !

 

[Blue XJ]

Not uncommon unfortunately, these ones are from a mfg'er that went under back in the 90s... Perfectly fine doors - just now have hail dings...

And two garages - both attached, one to the left, one to the right of the house... One's the shop one's for parking. It's a nice setup... Except in this scenario...

If they are that bad that they need to be repaired. Just file a homeowners claim and have the insurance get you two (or 5, I'm confused on your initial post) new garage doors.

 

[The Big M]

Couple of thoughts, just brainstorming really:

1- I don't know if it's any good, but maybe the UV curing bondo (or something similar) would give more working time before it starts to cure? Maybe work under a tarp and then shine a UV light on it once the pattern is stamped in? My concern would be how well it would bond with the door and how it would stand up to extreme temperatures.

2- Would something like a 2-part epoxy (i.e. JB Weld) give a better working time? Might be messy but you could just mask off the affected areas. Not sure if it can be painted successfully though.

3- How about coating the surface of your stamp with the fancy nano-coating stuff that's starting to show up in the home improvement stores? I don't know if it would prevent bondo from sticking specifically, but I would think if it's dried on the stamp beforehand it would be less likely to cause issues with paint adhesion later on.

 

[JakeKohl]

A boat repair technique is to make a silicone mold of the texture you need to repeat. In my case, it was some non-skid that had a mechanical triangle pattern in it. Wax the area and then spread silicone (good silicone caulk). Let the silicone setup and peel it up. Put your bondo on the surface (or gelcoat in my case) and press the silicone mold into it and let it cure. Peel off the silicone...done. If you're realy good with it, you can lock the silicone mold into the existing pattern and work it back down over the repair area for a seamless fix.

 

[PugetDude]

For some reason the OP doesn't seem to want to go this route..or even acknowledge the suggestion...

Yeah, I noticed. Unfortunately, none of the mold suggestions are going to make the grain lines line up- at best, he'll end up with a golf-ball sized woodgrain patch that that looks like a golf-ball sized woodgrain patch; the grain interruption and different texture will instantly draw your eye to them. It will be nearly impossible to get the grain lines to "flow" using a mold. The woodgrain pattern does repeat itself every 60-80" along the door (depending on the embossing roll diameter) but the base material is deformed by the dent so all bets are off.

Trying the "fill and engrave" method on a couple of pieces of scrap would take less time than posting all the reasons why it won't work. Might actually learn a new skill, part of the fun of tackling a repar like this.

BTW, this is how professional furniture refinishers repair wooden furniture- fix the problem, with filler or a wooden dutchman patch and and then blend the grain lines so it doesn't draw your eye.

It's not that difficult, I learned it one summer when I was in college working at a large furniture retailer- we'd run wooden pieces through the shop for a quick "touch up" when it came out of the warehouse before loading it on the customer's vehicle. Some of those "touch-up" repairs were pretty extensive (dents, dinged corners, etc.) , and we only had a half-hour at most; customers were usually standing at the loading dock with a load ticket in hand when we brought their freshly polished new furniture around the corner...