Using bondo to fix wood, and repainting over

2/3/2013 at 10:15:18 AM

Make sure you clean out rot and use non-shrinkable bondo.

Degruyter home improvements

2/3/2013 at 10:16:46 AM

Hi there.

This is a workable repair for wooden boats, so should work for your home project.

You first have to gouge out as much of the rot as possible, then paint the damaged area with very thinned out polyester resin a couple times so it soaks in. Thus you will have a binder surface for the bondo application. Otherwise, dry wood will suck the resin out of the bondo and you will end up with a really poor fill.

You can make your own economical bondo by adding baby powder (talcum) to resin.

2/3/2013 at 10:17:49 AM

Hi there,

In response to your question, the answer is yes. Over the years I have used bonding in many paint grade applications. Bonding dries rapidly, has little to now shrinkage and can be sanded out to a feather edge. This is not to that using bonding is an excuse to make poor quality joints or worse in paint grade work. But for repairs that are unavoidable, bonding has been used in cabinet shops, and for exterior mill work repairs for years.

Derek

Cousins Renovations Inc

2/3/2013 at 11:14:14 AM

You can; but like any patch work it will last for a short time; the best thing to do is to cut out and replace.

2/3/2013 at 10:15:52 PM

Best is to cut out rot and replace it with new.

2/4/2013 at 12:15:40 AM

Thanks all for your replies!

I am faced w/ another scenario....the corners of the facia wood got caulked before painting....but now winter comes along, and many of the caulked areas seem to have expanded or something, and I can see the gaps again in the wood.

How do I fix this when it's summer time....just fill with more caulking? Or would I use bondo in those seams too?

Thanks