Exterior Sides Work Begins
This week at The Traveling Pheasant, with the exterior roof restoration complete, I embarked on the long journey of sanding down the entire exterior surface area of the horse trailer - focusing on patching the holes and chips to along the side walls and the wheel wheels. There was a lot of flaking, rust underneath existing paint, chips and dents that needed to be addressed in order to prepare for painting (The part that I am most looking forward too!).
The area along the fender steps and wheel wells were in the worst condition. The welding work we undertook worked wonders but there were still small holes that were rusted through and were fixable with Bondo rather than welding.
After getting a tutorial on how to mix the Bondo paste, I gave it my first try. Having never applied anything like this before, it took about two tries for me to get the feel for it and it was satisfying watching the holes disappear as they were plastered over.
Unfortunately, I was completely unaware that the strong potent smell, even with a mask, would trigger one of my excruciating migraines and it caused me to have to pause work for two days.
If you are wondering exactly what Bondo is, why it needs to be used with caution and some DIY tips for projects of your own, keep reading and check out the advice in the section below.
After my migraine days were over, I was able to resume work on application and sanding. I managed to sand both left and right sides completely including around the windows, edges and wheel wheels, patching the remaining holes...
Then sand that down and adding more as needed. It is a very circular process.
The 411 on Bondo
What is Bondo you ask?
It is an air-drying putty used to patch holes and scrapes on cars and boats that is produced by 3M. You mix the grey base putty with the reddish hardener paste to create what looks like pink calamine lotion (if you have had the chicken pocks, you know what I mean!) Once the harder is mixed in, you must work quickly to apply the paste before it to dry and will no longer spread.
Challenges
The need for speed is the first challenge. I recommend mixing small batches at a time that will give you enough to cover one area of your project to save from wasting materials when the product hardens faster than you can apply it.
The second challenge is that it has an extremely potent smell, and it contains styrene, a cancer-causing agent.
DIY Tips
#1. Protect your lungs
When we first starting to apply the Bondo over the sanded and rust treated areas, I wore only a regular mask, similar to what we all have to wear because of COVID. Unfortunately, as I am prone to migraines, the smell knocked me out of commission for days.
Live and Learn Tip: Wear a respirator! This protects not only from the smell but from harmful fiberglass particles when sanding.
Since then, I have enlisted the help of my dad and step-dad to put the Bondo on for me so that I can avoid that kind of pain again. I also purchased a respirator to help filter out the harmful toxins and particles.
I have also learned that if I wear one of the dust masks underneath of my respirator and breath out of my mouth (the sensors that trigger the migraines for me are in my sinuses) that I am ok to work with the material on my own.
#2. Don’t press too hard
On my first try, I found that I was pressing so hard with the scraper in an attempt to get the paste as thin as possible that I was pretty much removing all that I had just applied.
It is a delicate balance that after a few go-arounds becomes easier to find the feel. You want to apply a thin layer to allow it to dry faster, but you also want to leave enough product for it to fill what you want it to! It is best to apply thin layers, sand down and then fill in any areas that still need work with a second, third or even forth coat (depending on the depth of damage).
#3. It will not cover rust
Another noteworthy tip is that Bondo does not stop rust and should not be applied to a rusted surface. The affected area should be removed of surrounding paint (bare metal is best). This process not only helps to provide the best surface for adhesion but will usually remove the rust all together.
You may find like I have, that once you begin sanding the rusted area that appears to be a pinpoint, actually continues a good distance under the paint. It is important to act like a surgeon and put in the effort to remove the entire affected area. If you put Bondo over a rusted area, it will continue to rust and eventually make it’s way through the patch and to the surface.
Once the area is paint free, if there is any additional rust left, treat it with a rust inhibitor and let dry to avoid having to do the work all over again. This is the process that I have done and so far, I have not had issues but only time will tell!
#4. Ensure the area is properly clean
I discovered this after attempting to Bondo two rust dented areas about 5 times. As the rusted area was small, it was easy to have some of the inhibitor get on the surrounding clean metal. I recommend using a q-tip with degreaser to go around rusted area to ensure the clean metal is actually clean and free of any inhibitor.
Live and Learn Tip: The rust inhibitor will only work on rusted metal – any liquid on clean metal will affect the Bondo adhesion.
Making Progress
I think that my favorite part of that process is the spray paint primer over the freshly sanded area. To see a smooth clean coat over an area that was once riddles with damage is just so satisfying!
On the downside, once the paint is applied, this where it becomes painfully clear if you missed any dents or scrapes in the sanding process. Unfortunately, there are areas that I will need to revisit next weekend. Stay tuned to see the hilarious way that I kept track of areas that needed to be revisited and the new projects we tackle!
Respirator on and forging ahead,
Heather
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