I just finished my first go with Bondo. I figured I'd dedicate my learning curve for bondo and a "$50 paint job" on my left rear fender. The fender was really pretty clean except for a few minor dents and about 18" of rippling. After spraying a light coat of primer (yes, I got out the shaker can) I can see where I need to put in a little extra effort. There are a few minor pits and some areas I need to feather better from bondo to metal. Also the ripples are now subtle "waves" I can feel more than see. Should I finish with glazing compound or a skim coat of more bondo. I guess I'm not sure if glazing compound works well spread over relatively long areas or just for filling in the pitting.
You'll soon get advice from a real bodyman here but I'd say a skim coat . It depends on how far you've sanded it allready with the long board . Remember too , feather coats of two different colors of primer will rapidly show the low & high spots as you sand it .
Steve, Here is how I train my new beginners. On AD fenders you are basically working with an egg as far as contour goes. After the metal is close enough to fill with 1/16 to 3/32 (don't like to go with 1/8 or thicker) then cover the WHOLE fender with a coat of filler but don't cake it on. Now go diagonally 45 degrees one direction and 45 back the other. Where the scratches cross the angle will be 90 degrees. Keep this up till all the undamaged areas start to show gray through the filler. This will mean the filled areas will only have a 1/16 layer even though the whole fender is bondo colored. Buy or make a flexible block that holds a long file paper and use this in real long strokes to blend together the areas done with the the hard block but DO NOT try to shape with this. If you have to spot fill some areas then primer heavily on top of the bondo and adjoining area BEFORE you start sanding. As you then sand the filler you will be able to see when you are near grade because the scratches will go from the filler to the primer. When in doubt leave the filler feeling a bit high because you can always bring it down to blend in after you continue to apply primer. If it's low you have to start from scratch. One last suggestion is if you like doing this have the nearest mental institutions number on speed dial.
