Curious, I am doing some detailing on my Waco. Has anyone ever used automotive body fillers with balsa? Does it work good? Sticks to the balsa well etc? Will it work as an adhesive?

I am making wheel pant pockets if you will. If I spread a thin layer of bondo on the pocket and then push the fiberglass wheel pant into it; will it provide a good strong hold?

Thanx in advance!

I would not recommend Bondo, its too heavy. Try another filler. I'm not sure what you are doing with the wheel pant. I'm curious how it will work out.

I too, would steer away from Bondo. It's acetone / toluenne based, and that might eat the wood. Also, it's a filler, not a bonding agent.

Epoxy & microballons for bonding / filler, or a 'Fill-n-Finish' wood grain sealer.. (But don't expect it to hold onto / bond with anything. it's just a filler.)

Epoxy & Microballoons sounds like what you want. Be sure to remove any 'gelcoat' and any paint. Scuff it up well for good adhesion.

Dunno what you mean by 'Wheel pant pockets' though..

(hey, were' all Canadiun!!)

To answer your first question: yes it will stick to balsa. Excellent for scale fillets and panel lines. I prefer to use Rage by Fiberglass-Evercoat over the Bondo brand, but both are polyester products. Rage weighs less. I don't recall using it as an adhesive, but it would probably not be my first choice.

Bondo will stick to balsa ok but the color shows thru covering . Bondo is polyester type & won't stick to fibreglass
& some plastic worth a hoot ,may even melt or warp plastic..

depends if the fiberglass is polyester based or epoxy based.older kits had gelcoated polyester based fibeglass resin and bondo would fill the seems or imperfections.

Hughes,

I know what you are trying to do, and yes the Bondo will work just fine. The Evercoat is a little lighter, and will work well too. Since you are not going to be using the plastic bread sack covering on your WACO, you can use it easily, and when you prime the parts out, they will color coat without bleeding through.

Bill, AMA 4720
WACO Brotherhood #1

The bondo won't hurt the balsa at all, and as for weight...how much are you really gonna use??? Other than that, mix up some balsa dust with wood glue for a good filler. If this is a large mock-up you're making... carve it out of rigid foam(not epp) and coat it with 30 minute epoxy. Other than that, Pictures of what you're doing would help explain the project much better.