Bondota

[SHINTON]

As much as this goes against everything we normally do, Dad and I did some "back alley" work this weekend on my 85 Toyota.
Why? Because it really does not make sense to fab up lots of new metal for every rust hole on a trail rig that I am gonna end up putting against a tree or on its side anyway!

Another reason it...we want to see how well it DOES hold up when I do hit the proverbial tree. Bondo gets a really bad rap at times but the stuff is pretty incredible, and after the 46 Willys rebuild, it literally holds up over 30-50 YEARS in some cases!!

So here is the concept. Yotas all seem to rust out along the body seams on the beds, mine is no exception.

S104u spent a bit of time and really did a killer job on replacing and welding in a panel on the passenger side. He also did a bang up job welding the shortened bed on the rear, those welds were BEAUTIFUL!

I am trying to get this truck ready to paint...and quickly and see other excuses above.

You will see we spread the bondo onto a piece of newspaper, and applied that to the large holes. We allowed it to setup for a few minutes and then peeled it off.

We kept applying the bondo to the smaller holes (using cardboard a few times for small holes to keep it in there) until everything was filled in.

We kept filing it all back down, and shaping it with our sander, etc. Dad will be doing the final shaping this week - re-adding the crease on the body and prepping / putting it all in primer.

Paint job should be in the next week - will update this thread then!

 

[SHINTON]

More pictures of the process...

 

[SHINTON]

And more

 

[topless toy]

That is a cool trick, but I have used the stuff that is fiberglass gel with the hair in it. Man does it work good at clinging onto the holes and is very quick when filling in large spots. Another good idea is to por-15 behind the iner bed panels to keep the rust away.

 

[SamHintonSr]

The ol'grump with the gray hair says

Yup!!! The fiberglass with the hair + some rust inhibitor probably works just as well as "welding in a metal patch." It is just that "we CRAFTSMEN" can not bring ourselves to admit that we would ever do sucha thing - I have fixed holes bigenough to put your head through and saw the car 3 years later and it looked good AND the owner (who knwe how I fixed it ) was very happy.

 

[jeepn-jason]

I use duraglass and rage body filler religously on projects at work. I dont do bodywork but fiberglass kickpanels, doorpanels, speakerboxes ect. Rage brand body filler will sand a billion times smoother than bondo brand in my experiences. Its not that much more money either. Using fiberglass mat would have been another solution on those holes as well, and that stuff is tough as nails. As long as the rust has been treated...ie gone, it should hold up for a very long time. Cant wait to see the final product.

 

[olejunky]

I use rage and rage extreme and havent found anything i like better. I use it on everything i do anymore

 

[SHINTON]

Some more updated pictures - all the holes are filled in and primed! At some point in my near future, lots of sanding, priming the whole truck and then painting!!

To recreate the body crease, a piece of wood is taped in place and then the body filler layers are "built up" to it, creating that little ledge!

 

[SHINTON]

More pictures

Matches the original crease, NOT "show/perfect" but certainly gives the right illusion. You will notice the crease / "body line" where the two parts of the bed meet goes all the way to the lip of the wheel well. That too is just a mark inserted into the filler and then a bit of sanding.

Those little touches makes it look closer to normal, less likely to "see" it and know it is filled in with bondo.

 

[SHINTON]

Ready for final sanding and then painting!

 

[SHINTON]

More sanding and the first set of stripes on there!

Behind the stripes on the rear of the bed will be silver. In front of the stripes / the cab, etc will be white.

Have not done it yet but the "bulge" in the hood will be silver as well with thin red/black stripes around it.

 

[OracleMSU]

Wicked. I'm definitely feelin' the design. Nice clean lines, retro look. Need to see this thing when it's done.

 

[SHINTON]

A few little items to finish it!

Thin red/black stripes down the hood and repaint bumpers / rails black. Finally TRD Offroad stickers going on the rear.

But otherwise she is about done!

Sure came a long way from the dirty white & rust motif.

 

[Reid]

looks much better than when you started.

 

[Dylan W.]

Looks sweet Sam. Good job to both you and your father!

 

[SHINTON]

More pictures with the front stripes finished, bumpers repainted and the TOYOTA repainted on the rear.

 

[Bobby D.]

looks much better than when you started.

x2

 

[drkelly]

The truck looks great Sam!

 

[spraypaintman]

dude! that's what that truck needed! looks new now

 

[SHINTON]

Some Before / After pictures!!

Thanks for the compliments!! This is alot like BUG in that when you get real close you can see the flaws, but man does it look pretty in the pictures!!

(We call it a 10 foot paint job, looks REALLY good from 10 feet away)

Sam Jr

 

[SHINTON]

...heh.. just thought of a name for it


BONDOTA!

 

[RatLabGuy]

unf, now it's gonna be alot harder to beat up up offroad...

 

[SHINTON]

Is anyone actually ON dial up anymore...if so I apologize...

Drove it home Saturday, got the grill mounted, added some diamond plate on the front bumper, installed the toolbox, etc.

As far as beating up off road, that is not really an issue, would have spent a LOT more time on it if I was worried about dents!

 

[Reid]

sam, that looks great.

 

[GotWood]

I liked it before. To nice to tear up now