So i was looking at my first couple of boards and laughing to myself about how little i knew about bottom contours and rails when i first dove into my shaping escapades.
But then i’ve been reading about people putting edges on boards with bondo and was wondering/thinking this could be a fun project to do with some boards i never should have built in the first place (ok that’s not true, it was good practice)
So i’d like to open a discussion about using bondo or a bondo-type product to reshape or recontour, etc.
Who’s done this before?
It seems easy enough when i think about it…like for setting up a hard edge on a soft edged board…set up a dam, fill with bond, reshape. That’s what i’m thinking anyway. Seems pretty simple in theory.
Some questions are…
Do i have to glass over it?
How rough should i sand the board before applying?
Is there a specific kind of bondo or similar product that people have had good success with in this application?
I’ve seen the spoon construction threads where spoon molds were built using bondo but i’m looking for more.
Like Mike said. I love the stuff. Learned more from Bondo than almost anything else. Was standing on the beach in Aruba with Ed Angulo and Rush Randle looking at a Phazer bottom sailboard. It had phazers next to the fins and Rush said to Ed, “I wonder how it would work without the phazers there.” Ed said we’ll have to make one when we get back to HI." I said, " why not just fill em in with Bondo." They just looked at each other with this, “Why TF didn’t we think of that” look. Sometimes simple is so simple you miss it … over think right on past it. Bondo is one of those mysto simplicities.
"Bondo" is totally unacceptable for marine filling applications. Automotive grade bondo is made with polyester resin and powdered gypsum (dry wall innards) The gypsum will soak up water where the filled area will eventually disintegrate. Automotive grade fillers containing gypsum usually have a pinkish tint.
Polyester Glass Filler is the marine alternative to "bondo". It is a polyester resin base however contains ground fiberglass rather than gypsum. You can buy this is different "coarseness" grades. The fine is for final filling and the stranded or "chopped" is for making repairs to polyester hulls or achieving a thick build-up. These products are often green or blue in color. It should be noted that the Bondo Company does make an excellent glass-based filler marketed under the Bondo name. Another proven product is MarGlass â„¢ that is available from automotive finish suppliers.
Maintenance->Putties, Sealers, Misc->[b]Filler[/b]
Versitile putty repairs scrapes, gouges, dings and dents Quick, easy, permanent fiberglass, wood or metal repair. May be mixed with coloring agent. Formulation: Polyester putty Recommended Usage: Repairs to dents and scrapes in wood, fiberglass, stucco, cement, drywall and some metals Color.
Maintenance->Additives & Fiberglass->Coloragent
Match colors like a pro with these coloring agents For use with polyester or epoxy resins, fillers, or putties. These tints also work well with nonskid coatings. Use with West Marine Gel Coat or Evercoat Polyester Gel Paste. Also may be used to tint polyester or epoxy resins, fillers and putties.
Greg, I have been meaning to ask you forever about a board you did for one of your team riders with Bondo. It had a strip of Bondo on the bottom of the tail shaped like a duck tail. I know it was only one of several of your experiments. Would have been about mid 90’s maybe? I was into sailing at the time and was very curious.
BTW guys, don’t forget about Bondo on fins. You can really alter shapes for a temporary “what if”.
Shine the bondo - Make your own, and it will be better and cheaper.
Take glue of choice - RR being my preference - mix in glass bead/Q-cell till thick enough to “stand” on it’s own, and apply. Even when “hard” it’s easy to shape w/surform - sand smooth. I usually “finish” w/resin, if I have some going off, or spray coat w/quick dry lacquer (what ever I found that doesn’t melt eps… I have it around just to be safe.).
Just got through doing some adjustments on sharp tail rail edges… took some off from center end - towards tail, made for smoother round house type turns, a little less snappy, which is just what I was trying to achieve, so… More stoke!
I sell resin to a number of airplane builders who use it for fairing wings and fusilages. They mix microballoons in until they have this stuff they call “dry micro.” It has so much micro in it it feels essentially dry. They then spatchla this stuff all over the part and then hand sand the stuff true. The part is then painted. They use our stuff because it sands better than other epoxys. Bondo is quicker, sands better but is not as permenent. Mike is right about the regular Bondo being easier. He’s also spot on about which one to use when.
i swear by bondo-quick and esay.sands easy too.my friend PG tuned in his longboard spoon by making the board that was pretty much waht he wanted.surfed it, then decided bottom needed some fine tuning. layered it with bondo went out and surfed. would come in after a couple do some sanding and repeat until the board felt right- right amount of hull, right rocker.the board-as made-was probably good enough, but paul being paul, took the time to tune it JUST right, little by little…