“ I want to make sure you understand,” exclaimed long time
Burbank resident Charlie Miller while dropping off his late model Chevy Tahoe
at Burbank Body Shop for collision
related repairs:” I don’t want any Bondo on my car and I want all original
parts.” Charlie is not the only customer to express this sentiment about Bondo
in recent years .What’s wrong with Bondo?
Major manufacturer of automotive related products, 3M
developed Bondo to replace toxic lead filler used in vehicle repairs in the
past. In the old days craftsmen who used to be called metal men repaired most
metal panels on an automobile. They used a process called metal finishing to
repair damaged panels. It took time and real skill to repair a panel by metal
beating using special tools. At the end of the process lead filler was used to
smooth out the panel before it was refinished. It was a laborious and hazardous
to a man’s health process. A discovery of putty Bondo filler was a huge
innovation in collision repair industry. You can compare it to invention of
sliced bread.
Much easier in application Bondo significantly reduces time of
repair and exposure to toxic hazards for body men. So what is wrong with Bondo?
Unfortunately because of the ease of application, some of
the unscrupulous repairers decided to forgo Metal finishing process and use
Bondo as fix it all method… In other words instead of repairing a metal panel
first, they would simply fill the damaged area with putty Bondo. With time and moisture excessive amount of
Bondo on automobile cracks hence the term Bondo crack. It has become such a
widespread problem that automobile resellers and some sophisticated consumers
use magnets to check for Bondo on vehicles. Magnet will stick to metal but not
to Bondo.
Just like with fine vine Bondo is great in moderation;
abuse it and expect troubles, in other words to avoid problems keep Bondo use
to its intended specifications.
Want to learn more check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bondo_(putty)
