How To Make Bondo Dry Faster

• #1

If not enough hardner is added, I assume this will somewhen dry out by itself/???

Does heat assist, if that seems to be the case?

(And what's the right ratio to add together of the hardner? - The tube seems small for the contents of the can)

Information technology's also a little old - Does that play a cistron?

Thank you!

• #3

My mix is gray from the can - With a blue tube of hardening liquid...

• #4

You mostly mix it until information technology has a consistent color - ordinarily kind of a salmon colored pinkish. I haven't seen the blueish. Information technology will start to "rubberize" pretty quick and information technology does get warm. Normally it'southward pretty hard and good for sanding within fifteen-20 minutes.

As for it being old - does information technology however odour actually bad, kind of a petroleum odor? If so, it's probably ok. That stuff reeks!

• #7

Been a few days - And even so a petty bit pliable...

I had not used it or mixed information technology in a while, so was a bit conservative with the hardener...

Will rut assist this at all (i.e a few passes with a heat gun), or will that not do annihilation?

• #8

Oestrus generally volition help, but in your specific case not in the sense of giving information technology a few passes with the old heat gun. Call up a more stable application of heat over a longer flow of fourth dimension.

Generally if you could place information technology somewhere warmer it will aid catalyze and spead upward the cure. Or in your instance any potential cure it might take left. For case if you had a deck or someplace where you could let it prepare out in the sun for a period of time that could assist.

Or in my brothers case he has a utility closet that contains his hot h2o heater, washer, and dryer. That room is always a good x degrees warmer that the rest of the house. We had some sometime resin we used every bit structural filler inside some stuff and we just sat the items in that room for a few days and they cured. This was resin that originally had most a xxx min set two hour cure.

- TGM

• #9

Full general guide-
Pea size ball of hardener to golf ball of filler.

If you are using old filler, which is a little dry out, you tin can mix a bit of fibreglass resin into the mix to thin it up a bit as well.

• #13

Aren't nosotros talking about a chemical process rather than "drying"? In that case, setting it in the lord's day or a warm place works non because it's "drying" (evaporating h2o) simply rather the heat is helping the chemical reaction. I doubt UV has anything to exercise with it.

I guess the difference is academic, though. :lol

• #xvi

A lot of good communication here folks. I have been in the car body repair field now for over 25 years and accept never used bondo that was more than than a year old. The stuff is just way to cheep to keep information technology around that long. And information technology always is more of a pain in the rump to revive information technology with fiberglass resin considering you lot end upward with a material that volition cure harder than it would have before. So exist prepared to sand a bit longer if yous go this route.

My thoughts are if your bondo hasn't hardened in an hour or so that y'all should just scrape it off and effort over again. As said earlier in other mail service'due south, it could be just to quondam. Either the hardener or the bondo itself, or both.

My rule of thumb for calculation the hardener is if you have a round pile say the size of a drinking drinking glass coaster. Just run a bead across the center near the width of the shaft of a Q-tip. Mixing is also important. You demand to end upwards with a uniform fifty-fifty colour throughout the mixture.

And if I may add together but 1 last thing. If when you are spreading the stuff and it starts to kick on y'all, just seize with teeth the bullet and quit. Toss it out and make another batch and you will exist glad y'all did.

DS

• #18

And so is the bottom line that if left alone without any hardening agent (or non plenty) the base will not set - always??????

• #19

I'm sorry Terryr, I don't want or need to pick on yous or others who are simply messing effectually with, "bondo". But the methods that you have just described are only a band aid kind of approach to the material. And should in my stance never be taken as a workable method of working with automotive type fillers or fiberglass, again IMO. I don't want to upset you or anyone, but y'all must consider what y'all want a textile to exercise earlier you use information technology. So be prepared to waist some practicing how to use information technology earlier you commit information technology to a projection.

My Father always said to his two sons, "If y'all don't build it with your best effort, don't build anything larger than a garbage can."

RIP Dad
Dan Rock
1936-2006

• #xx

Non a bother to me... And I am not experimenting with calculation any fiberglass or annihilation...(Perhaps other conversations went there)

I simply want to know - If bondo is set to cure, without enough hardening agent...

i.e. volition it harden by itself? (regardless if enough hardening agent was placed)

Source: https://www.therpf.com/forums/threads/body-filler-bondo-drying-time.32058/

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