Top 10 Bondo Mix Tricks For Success From Can to Car 

Nylon cutting board FTW for mixing. It flexes just barely enough that when youre done you can bend it and all the dried bondo cracks and falls off. Stay gold.

This is one of the most thorough and straight to point videos I've watched.

Great tips. I bought a smooth, glossy 12”x12” tile from the Habitat thrift store. I use it solely for mixing Bondo. When the residual Bondo is dry, It scrapes right off. A remnant piece of smooth, glossy marble also does the job.

This video is EXCELLENT! Very well done and clear demonstrations.

One thing I also do is, at the point that the hardener is about 95% mixed, I grab a fresh, clean spreader to help ensure no unmixed hardener exposes itself as you’re applying to the object.

Thanks Brian, it's the small things that, done right, make all the difference.

Right to the point. Thanks for not blabbing for 10 minutes.

I like to use a long drywall knife (it comes with a long handle that screws onto blade for knocking down spray textue). On slightly curved surfaces like a hood the knife will flex a little so you can reference off the flat areas and scrape/feather all the high spots in the bondo making it flush with the panel. Less sanding is a big time saver

You forgot one. Tip 11. Don't keep your filler in a pile. Keep it spread thin, like you had it, on your board to increase working time. If left in a thick pile it will kick quicker.

That last tip was super helpful. I didn't realize that before. I also didn't think about that tight coat. Great helpful video.

Man I so dam grateful for this because watching my dad all my life and to realize my dad has been doing it wrong all this time. Thank you so much for this video

That was really great. Without all the pausing and comments I wouldn't have absorbed it. Excellent editing. :)

*great video* 👍

Great video guys....ty for the tips on getting out before the "kick" and applying thinner coats fir way way easier sanding

I cut out the sides of those plastic cat litter jugs, (the ones with the smooth sides), to use as a mixing board instead of cardboard; it makes an approximate 9"x 9" surface. Since it's kind of flimsy, I clip it on to a clip-board, like the kind you write on; clip it down on each side so that it won't move. Those spring steel paper clips with the 2 little handles from the stationary dept. are cheap and work great. They come in different sizes; take your pick, they're still cheap. Once the filler sets, you can flex the plastic and the filler will pop right off. Smaller sections of the plastic jugs can be cut out to make good mixing surfaces for 2-part epoxy, like JB Weld. You can just throw it away when done or flex the plastic and the cured epoxy comes right off. Thought I'd share what works to my benefit; even though it isn't quite up to 3M standards for a mixing board.

Thank you for the amazing demonstration, I appreciate this.

best bondo video I have ever seen!!! Thank you for the solid education. I have a few projects coming up and I think I am much better prepared now.

that was a super video! nothing better than getting the tricks right from 3M! thanks for sharing I learned a few things.

Awesome. I had no idea about most of this. I have been using Bondo my entire life (since about 16) and this was some cool stuff! Thanks!

Always happy to learn better ways of doing things. I have a hard time figuring out how much hardener I need and it ends up curing too fast. Thanks!

This video pretty much answered all my problems that im dealing with

Cool video, Brian. Thanks.

Thanks for sharing. Big help!

I genuinely wish I discovered this video an hour ago before I made almost every single mistake in the worst possible way on my first bondo attempt on my Honda shadow front fender. I am going to make another attempt after I heal my pride lol

Thank you for this!

I learned a lot, and I brought it back to share with you! I wasn't paid anything to do this.

Very Helpful - Thanks.

store bondo cans upside down,if stored for a long time, the oil will be on the bottom and be much easer to to mix when it seperates,,

Very informative video thanks guys

great vid! in regards to mixing more or less hardener in hot or cold temps, my rule is to always mix the proper 2-3% of hardener ALWAYS! That ratio and timetable they give you is ideal for 75 degree weather. If its real hot outside you just have to mix a little less and work really fast and just build up as needed. if its really cold you just have to wait longer before you start sanding, probably 20-30 min. This makes the work more predictable and consistent no matter what the temp

Should be a tip about applying too thick, it will look like a muddy cracked riverbed and you'll have to start over. I already learned most of those lessons the hard way. Great video.

What an amazing video!! I've struggled with bondo for years! This has been so informative!

They have been saying don't mix on cardboard for years and every shop i have seen people still mix on cardboard with no problem.

Thanks!

good job thanks for the video i love it

yep I have been doing it all wrong. great video!

Brian You Rock!! I will use this!! How is the shoulder? been on my prayer list

good video

Is bondo going to seal out the steel from rust like a rust preventative paint or 2k epoxy? I feel like it wouldn't.

Ok great tips....to clean up board and spreaders, obviously use spreader and board edges to remove kicked bondo before it gets hard, and right after take a can of brake clean on a rag to clean off what’s left. Brake clean takes it off just as acetone or lacquer cleaner and the aerosol brake clean is more convenient and faster. Do your clean up as you wait for the bondo to setup to either cheese grate to shape or sand.

Thanks for the info. I suck at applying Bondo...

that makes sense now... the first batch i mixed up on a new scrap of luan... it never hardened... the second batch on the same scrap and same ratio cured just fine.

For every 10 degree increase use about 10% less hardener to avoid too fast curing.

One thing to add is a full face industrial respirator and work in open air.

I always use cardboard but I always put down a thin smooth layer of bondo on the cardboard and let it get it hard. Then I work off of that layer with my bondo

What is the trick for not clogging up your coarse sandpaper after the bondo cured? Wipe it with thinners first? I think cheap bondo does the clogging worse?

Bathroom Basin hand printing solution..... Plzz show ur hardner chemical and color

Does Bondo work on a cracked plastic bumper?

Tip 11, a dust mask does NOT filter out uncured filler (Bondo) fumes. An organic vapor cartridge respirator should be worn while mixing, applying and during curing.

old timers like bondo original over new wave fillers

i hate Bondo, mainly because i haven't been using it right, leaned some tips I'll try them out. thanks Brain.

Gotta have an aluminum sheetrock mud hawk.... So much better than cardboard or a flat piece of random junk.

I use cardboard all the time if I aint got none ill use a sheet metal then grind the bondo off when I reuse it. That pad is great to use but cardboard is cheaper and always laying around in the shop. I havnt had a come back due to body repair using cardboard

No on prop 22

Once polyester kicks the shape can't be changed even if it's still tacky.

Huh, I never realized that bondo was made by 3m

I am not even lying when I say this my dad used bondo once to fill in a hole and it was too big so he put tree bark in the hole and put bondo over it and he painted it after and you couldn't even tell the difference 😂😂😂😂

If you know 3M, they're hyper ethical. Check out their awards and policy here → solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/businessconduct/bcmain/ I share this as I find it interesting. They're pretty charming. It's like 45 tiny personable companies under 1 umbrella parent that encourages sharing, playing nice, being creative, no guns allowed, tell the truth etc. Fascinating concept for a HUGE corporation! I felt like I was in Canada.

Nice info. Oh and um what's Reese's number!? Jk!

Thats way to much hardener for that much bondo.

Would be nice to mention what to use instead of cardboard, instead of just saying don't use cardboard. The word "Whack" when describing a mix doesn't provide any actual information. Does it mean it doesn't adhere? Doesn't dry correctly?

Coming from a pro. I can see many ways this guy messed up. Mixed to much filler didn’t spread in all directions up down side to side.

After it kicks, STOP TOUCHING IT Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.

If you follow me on Instagram (link in the description) you'll already have seen some of this. Chrisfix and I went to the 3MAutoBootCamp to learn more about the latest tech. and products, but we also learned some great tips for using some of the old school favs.

Tip #2 It is "Leech" not "Leach!"

Dude that’s not salmon color. Salmon is pinkish in color not beige

*Never had a problem using cardboard.*

Too many people talking at once. great .... other than that!

Cool FOOSE key chain man. This is the corniest video...

Looked like a lot of irregularities and pin hole in that spread to me!