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spakle verses bondo

| Posted in Construction Techniques on December 19, 2004 09:30am

One of my GM friends told me his painter uses bondo. I know it’s harder than spackle but for trim nail holes which is the best, not necessarily the easiest?

thanks

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Replies

  1. WayneL5 | Dec 19, 2004 10:07pm | #1

    I've never tried Bondo.  But, spackle is porous so it shows as a tiny dull spot unless it's spot primed.  Bondo won't be porous.

    1. jms | Dec 20, 2004 12:04am | #2

      Thanks. My friend didn't mention that point as I already primed the boards b4 installing them.

      1. jrnbj | Dec 20, 2004 07:11am | #3

        Bondo for big holes, spackle for nail holes (so many kinds of spackle, you'll have to figure which one you like best)....myself I like painters putty, which is just window glazing putty with a different label....warm up a marble sized ball, rub in & rub off the excess. Note (Know?) that you can usually "see" a small dimple after it's all painted out, but only if you're looking for it...(if you're gun nailing then the fill is less noticable, though some brands of finish nails seem to leave shreds of the collating strip plastic, which can mess things up).....I can run through & putty & prime (oil base is better but I've used latex too) before a harding filler has dried & the sanders out...

        1. jms | Dec 20, 2004 04:59pm | #5

          Thanks. Curious, why do you like oil better? I'm just coming up on the choosing and water based is sooooo much easier, but I'd use oil if it's better in the long run.

          1. jrnbj | Dec 20, 2004 05:25pm | #8

            painters putty is oil based, just seems to work better w/oil primer.....IMHO bondo on nail holes is overkill....takes a lot of sanding to make sure the bondo doesn't telegraph through the top coat....

          2. jms | Dec 20, 2004 08:29pm | #10

            Thanks. From the little I've used it, it does require lots of sanding.

  2. woodguy99 | Dec 20, 2004 02:56pm | #4

    We use bondo (or Minwax's version,"premium woodfiller") most of the time, b/c it doesn't shrink or flash.

    1. jms | Dec 20, 2004 05:01pm | #6

      Thanks. By "flash" do you mean it is dull when painted?

      1. woodguy99 | Dec 20, 2004 05:09pm | #7

        Either dull or shiny--just that it doesn't look like the rest of the paint.  Bondo always seems to paint up well, tho.

        1. jms | Dec 20, 2004 08:27pm | #9

          Thanks.

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