MANGO Posted January 21, 2004 Report Share Posted January 21, 2004 I have a black 89 I picked up from its old owner and the passenger quarter panel he mentioned got into crash so he had it fixed. The fix judging from the way it was feathered in with the rest of the body actually wasn't too bad. This was a while back so by the time I got it, the Bondo (don't know if it's poor mixing or application, weather, what have you) has cracked, much like the look of a dry river bed cracking, smooth on the surface but all cracked up. I took it to a body shop to get an idea. I was told that it cannot be fixed but rather a new quarter panel from the salvage yard needs to be cut and then have that welded to my car as a new quarter panel fix. Which obviously means lots of time consuming work, let alone money. I was told that they cannot Bondo over existing Bondo (which I agree, I don't want them doing that) and they cannot remove the old Bondo since (as his speculation) that Bondo could stretch from the edge of th rear bumper to the trailing edge of the door jamb. Now my question is, is he just being lazy, not wanting to take up the work of removing the old material and molding in new Bondo there or is he pretty much correct? MANGO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandoknight Posted January 22, 2004 Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 I have redone a few motorcycle gas tanks that have been dented and bondoed, and yes it is possible to remove the old material (bondo) with chemical strippers and a putty knife, but it would be very messy and time consuming. Everyone that owns and operates a business is doing it to make money, the shop you went to is know different. In my opinion they sound like they are doing you a favor. If you are really looking to have a great car for few years, that actually looks great, bondo is never the answer. bondo is a quick and easy way to cover up bad things. a little bondo alright to cover small dings, but too much will crack and break. I am sure that you can find a shop that would do a rebondo to the car, but it would only be temporary and you most likey would have the same thing you have now. they right way is seldom the quickest or easiest. thanks Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burton Posted January 22, 2004 Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 Â Bondo should never be over 1/8 inch thick. If yours has more than 1/8 inch, thats why it cracked. If you strip the old bondo with a grinder to see how much is in it, that will give you a better idea. My Quest had bondo 1/2 inch thich in places because whoever did it was too lazy to pound out the dent. 2 hours of work and I had removed the old bondo, popped out the dent from the inside, filled with new bondo, sanded and primed. Of course that little bit of work saved me however many hundreds of dollars it would have cost to replace. You might have the same situation on your hands. Remove the bondo and see for yourself before you hand over your hard earned cash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86keeper Posted January 24, 2004 Report Share Posted January 24, 2004 I totally agree with both of these guys. The only way is to remove the dent as much as poss. If the area is double walled & you cant get behind it to beat it out, then drill a series of small holes in the large dent area & pull it out as much as you can, or cut & weld as they said. I have never done alot of body work but the TSI I just purchased & repaired had bad rust & I welded new peice in myself. Took a little more time like they said but worth it. 86keeper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANGO Posted January 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2004 What kind of ball park figure am I looking to shell out to : 1. Get a rear quarter panel from the salvage yard? 2. Get that quarter panel welded on by a body shop? Thanks MANGO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burton Posted January 24, 2004 Report Share Posted January 24, 2004 If you have them find the panel, weld and paint it, it will be alot of loot. If you find the panel and have them just weld it on it might be a couple of hundred. You would have to do the bondo work and priming and paint, but it will be much cheaper. Also, shop around. If you find the right shop that ian't busy you will get a better deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starion88esir Posted January 24, 2004 Report Share Posted January 24, 2004 Any bondo is too much bondo. But seriously, anything more than a slight ding or whole from taping is too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burton Posted January 24, 2004 Report Share Posted January 24, 2004 If the damage is in the whole 1/4 then replace it. You are right about it being the "proper" way to fix it being welding a new piece. However if you have the patience and ability its much cheaper to do fix it yourself. Mine will not be perfect as it had 127 door dings, a dent in each fender and rust holes in 4 places. Should turn out beautiful all things considered. Any area of damage smaller than a basketball is getting woorked out and filled before I will send it to a body shop. Â I an actually starting to paint it today. I will be posting pics in my resto thread here and maybe under b.s. too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UltimateLurker Posted January 24, 2004 Report Share Posted January 24, 2004 1. There are no new quarter panels. 2. I have a nice used one for sale if you need it. 3. These guys are telling the truth, remove the old bondo, work the area until it's as flat as possible, re-bondo correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev Posted January 27, 2004 Report Share Posted January 27, 2004 Use a 3M rotobrush disk to remove all old paint and bondo. Just attach it to an angle grinder and go. That bondo will come off of there no problem but it will be like a dust storm as it comes off . You are looking at about $150 for a good panel at a yard (I know a yard up here in PA that can cut you off a good non-rusted panel btw) and you probably are looking at $500 to remove the old panel and weld in the new one. That doesn't include paint. kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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