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Is "Spot & Glaze" putty good for anything anymore?

9K views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  kenseth17 
#1 ·
I found a tube of Bondo "Spot & Glaze" putty that is still usable, but I seem to remember reading people saying to not use it. Problems with it shrinking and cracking? I believe this is laquer based primer in a thick form, isn't it?

Is it of any use or should I toss it?
 
#7 ·
Here I am, the heretic as usual. The main problem with that kind of material is that it is basically very thick lacquer primer, with all of the shortcomings inherent with lacquer, mainly that it shrinks and will absorb solvent from the topcoat, swell, then shrink again. This stuff does have one nice thing going for it, and that is it sands beautifully, like butter. I have found one use for this stuff, and I have not seen too many people use it this way. When you have finished off an area of plastic filler, there are normally quite a few pinholes, some large, some small. Filling all the visible pinholes with polyester putty can still leave "constellations" of tiny invisible pinholes that will suddenly become visible after the first coat of primer. So after the polyester putty and before primer, a tech can scrape an extremely thin layer of lacquer putty over the entire filled surface, go away and do something else for a couple hours, then block the whole thing with some 180 until the only putty left is in the micro-pinholes, and prime. Guess what? I've never had a shrinkage problem with this technique, due to a variety of factors, one of which is the filler tends to "wick away" the solvents and won't allow the putty to stay swelled up. Now, I'm not saying that anyone ought to use lacquer putty, just that it can be made to work with conscientious procedures and and awareness of its shortcomings...
 
#8 ·
bondo body putty

I have used this stuff lots of times with excellent results. It's especially good for going over areas with bondo, when you need to get an area perfect. I also use it to fill small door dings. It does not shrink.

You can get best results by applying the putty, sanding, then applying some primer, sanding, applying a bit more putty, and so on. This layering effect works great and lasts. I used it extensively on the vehicles below.


 
#9 · (Edited)
crashtech said:
Here I am, the heretic as usual.
Jimminie Crickets crashtech, I had to go to my big dictionary for that one. :)

You havn't proven to be so unorthodox to me in the past, this one sure is. Here is one or you, archaic, how about antiquated? But I think the most accurate description would be, obsolete. :spank:

Holy crap, I havn't done that since 1978! No kidding, I have not seen that procedure since my first full time job doing used cars for Cliffs autobody. A shop that was built out of an old barn with a gravel floor. In the winter we would have to park the cars all over the place at different angles to avoid the water dripping on them from the leaking roof.

No, everyone else is right, there is NO PLACE FOR THAT JUNK in autobody repair in the 21st Century.

If you have pin holes AFTER polyester putty you are doing something seriously wrong. You have to WANT to get pin holes in that stuff.

OK NEWBES, just to be sure, a believer in Scientology will DIE because he doesn't believe in antibiotics, that doesn't mean the SCIENCE doesn't exist to prove them wrong. :nono:

I am sorry Crashtech, there is NO REASON TO HAVE THAT JUNK IN THE SHOP. :spank:

Nothing personal. :thumbup:

Tab, layering putty, primer, putty, primer goes against EVERYTHING we know about these products. If you don't have shrinkage you are magical, a walking talking magician.

"Perfect scenario" top 100
1. Metal finish, 2k prime, block,sand, paint.
2. Metal finish, 2K prime, block, 2K prime, sand, paint.
3. Metal finish, 2K prime, block,2K prime, block, sand paint.
4. Near metal finish, skim coat polyester putty, 2K prime, block,sand , paint.
5. Nice metal straightening, plastic filler, polyester putty, 2K prime, block, sand, paint.
.........................
..........
............
38. Decent job metal repair, plastic filler, lacquer spot putty, prime, lacquer spot putty, prime, ........
.......
......
100. Bang it with a rock and spread spackle on it then without sanding spray trunk spatter paint on it.

Nothing personal, we are chatting out in a neighborhood garage. Please, nothing personal. :welcome:

Brian
 
#10 ·
Pinholes in your putty. Lot has to do with how you mix it. Now some puttys seem more prone to getting them with, but if you induce air into it when you mix it, then you get pinholes. The metal 2 metal we use to use was bad for them, but once I changed the way I mixed, there was an improvement. If you just stir it to mix, you are getting air in the mixture. It should be mixed, hard to explain, by folding it over and pressing down. Not saying crash tech as mixing wrong by any means, I can tell he knows what he is doing, just a pointer that may help someone. I believe I have a tube of 3m green spot putty packed away somewhere, really old. Anyone is welcome to have it if it is still usable if I find it. I'll never use the stuff. So many of the 2 part finishing puttys sand so easily that no reason really to use the spot putty.
 
#11 ·
I don't usually quote myself, but:
crashtech said:
Now, I'm not saying that anyone ought to use lacquer putty
What I am saying is I pesonally can use it on a repair, and would defy anyone to tell me whether I had used it, and where the defects are. But anyway, what I need to do here is play to the crowd, so folks, don't try this at home, it is at MARTINSR says, an antiquated product that will 99% of the time cause you nothing but grief!!! (Is that better? ;) )
 
#13 ·
kenseth17 said:
Pinholes in your putty. Lot has to do with how you mix it. Now some puttys seem more prone to getting them with, but if you induce air into it when you mix it, then you get pinholes. The metal 2 metal we use to use was bad for them, but once I changed the way I mixed, there was an improvement. If you just stir it to mix, you are getting air in the mixture. It should be mixed, hard to explain, by folding it over and pressing down. Not saying crash tech as mixing wrong by any means, I can tell he knows what he is doing, just a pointer that may help someone. I believe I have a tube of 3m green spot putty packed away somewhere, really old. Anyone is welcome to have it if it is still usable if I find it. I'll never use the stuff. So many of the 2 part finishing puttys sand so easily that no reason really to use the spot putty.
If you ask it to do too much, fill too much, that too is a reason you could get pin holes. Evercoats Metal Glaze and Glaze Coat are pretty hard to pin hole UNLESS you try to make it do too much.

It should be PRESSED into the panel on the first pass and then on the second to make a little build, spread it, but ADD some pressure. The final product should be VERY thin, a 1/16" MAX before sanding. The only time I see pin holes is the "squirtout" at the edge of the spreader over the edge of the end of a panel or something like that. Where it is WAY too thick you will get pin holes, but not where you keep it thin with pressure.

You laid out the mixing well, fold it and press down squishing it out. I use two tools, cleaning it off one with the other, back and forth spreading it on the mixing board with pressure just like on the panel where it will be applied.

Brian
 
#15 ·
MARTINSR said:
LOLOLOLOL, Crashtech, if we were in that garage in the neighborhood now is about the time I walk over to the fridge and grab you one of my GOOD beers. :thumbup:

Brian
Mmmmmmm, beer! Cheers! :D

Hey, FrankR, I thought of a use for that stuff. If you live where you can burn stuff, just sqeeze it around in the burn barrel and it will help light the fire! :evil:
 
#16 ·
Putty

If you guys have ever worked on a newer car, you will soon see the need for an easily sand-able filler. On the Honda above, I just finished filling a small dent in the right rear fender. The metal was so thin that it kept popping in when I tried to sand it smooth. Sanding a two part filler perfectly smooth in this area of the car was impossible. I was glad to have the putty.

Body putty works excellent for small dings and imperfections in the paint itself. I think that people have problems with shrinkage only because they don't allow the putty to fully cure.

Also, when it's 100º+ in TexAss, you only have seconds to mix and apply the two part filler. I guarantee that you will get some bubble, pinholes. Putty is perfect for filling them.

Ya'll worry to much..... :D
 
#17 ·
Tab, the metal wasn't ready for filler, that is why it was flimsy. I work with this stuff every day. It is seldom I work on anything older than five years old and mostly import.

You certainly don't need spot putty to work on them. If your polyester putty is kicking too fast, back off on the hardener. Polyester is thermosetting so super accurate mixing isn't as critical as say a urethane or epoxy.

Something like Metal Glaze or Glaze coat sand just as easy as the spot putty. This is digging WAY back in my memory banks of course, I have not sanded on stroke on spot putty in 20+ years.

I had a flimsy panel the other day and pulled out my shrinking disc just to firm it up. I still used filler, but in a quick minute the panel was firm for the filler.

Brian
 
#20 · (Edited)
I've worked on a few newer cavaliers. Let me tell you there isn't much to the metal on these. Take a finger and push and you can literally see the metal move in. I didn't have any real problems with regular or finishing filler getting it straight, but it takes a gental hand. Welding on that sheetmetal is fun. I did some filling of the holes from the factory spoiler. All was going well until the very last one to fill. Warped the trunk, and I had to pry and pound to get straight again as well as get rid of some oil can after the fiascal. Talk about po'd. Quite a difference from the 60's cars that have around 18 gauge sheetmetal to work with. If it pops in with a little pressure and stays in or pops in and out, you obviously have some stretching to take care of like Brian and the others said.
How about the high build primers? should they not take care of any pinholes or small scratches and be fairly easy to sand out..??
Yes, but pinholes sometimes I found you need to take your finger and smear the primer while wet into them. Put on enough coats and it should sand out, or catch this in the first round of primer, and sand and apply more primer.
 
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