Bondo Hog

[Noviceguy]

Ok so yeah i'm clueless but have allot of determination and willingness to listen I went through the 101 dvd good basic I have started on my 66 GTO and was told by my local guy I needed a bondo hog to strip a couple of panels i'm willing to buy the ness tools to do this thing right but do I really need a 300$ tool to grind out some filler ? my fenders need to be taken down and a spot on the trunk he reccommends I take the whole car down to metal I know the hood and full qtrs have been replaced there were a few small cracks where someone got carried away with filler do
I need this tool and do you reccommend stripping the whole car the tool is a 6" Ingersol Rand bondo hog..as always thanks for the input.

[James M]

Most bodymen called it a "mud hog" but some call it a bondo hog. What they are in reality is a geared orbital air sander. The actual mud hog has an 8" pad. The two originators of the mud hog is mainly National Detroit with their ND900 geared orbital 8" sander. But Hutchins makes their 8" geared pad sander called the "Eliminator". Both are excellent for removing paint but a Makita 9227 electronic variable speed buffer/polisher works just as well as the mud hogs and the Makita buffer actually removes material faster than the National Detroit ND900 mud hog. The geared orbital ND900 does a really good job "hogging" down filler which it is best suited for but there are better tools for stripping paint like the Hutchins 8" geared pad sander Eliminator and the Makita 9227C buffer/polisher. Several companies copied the design of the National Detroit ND900 "mug hog" like Ingersoll Rand and Sioux (among others).

National Detroit also makes a 6" geared orbtial pad sander called the ND9600 that is a decent tool but with very limited uses. Its main claim to fame is working smaller spots of filler (too small for the 8" ND900). The 6" ND9600 geared pad sander is really not well suited for stripping paint as a primary tool.

I strongly suggest you strip the whole outer sheet metal surfaces down to bare metal, then start fresh from there with a couple coats of epoxy primer then any filler work or block sanding. If you leave any of the old paint and filler on that car then they will serve as the foundation for your new paint job. If there are any problems at all with the existing paint/primer/filler etc then anything you apply over that will only magnify those problems, like paint cracking, bubbling, peeling, chipping, flaking off etc etc etc. If you were going to build a new house then you for sure would want a good solid foundation. The same goes for restoring an older car/truck. You need a good solid foundation to build your new paint job on. The only sure way to do that is strip the whole car outer surfaces down to bare metal. Extra work but you know what you got when you're done.

[Len]

Ok so yeah i'm clueless but have allot of determination and willingness to listen I went through the 101 dvd good basic I have started on my 66 GTO and was told by my local guy I needed a bondo hog to strip a couple of panels i'm willing to buy the ness tools to do this thing right but do I really need a 300$ tool to grind out some filler ? my fenders need to be taken down and a spot on the trunk he reccommends I take the whole car down to metal I know the hood and full qtrs have been replaced there were a few small cracks where someone got carried away with filler do
I need this tool and do you reccommend stripping the whole car the tool is a 6" Ingersol Rand bondo hog..as always thanks for the input.

The car should be stripped then filled, primed and painted. The tools that James M is talking about are great for professional shops that need to move work through the shop more quickly but are not necessary if you are only doing a few cars per year. The Makita 9227 can be used at both ends of the job by stripping off unwanted coatings when you start and again at the end by polishing the paint to a smooth, glossy finish. The Makita is an electric machine and won't overwork your compressor.

Link


Stripping Combo used with Makita to strip your car
LINK

If you want to level the filler quickly without a lot of hard work you can apply the filler and wait until it starts to harden then use a cheese grater to level it before you start sanding. Leveling the filler with a cheese grater eliminates a lot of dust and a lot of sanding because it cuts the filler quickly and cheaply without the need of expensive tools. After you level the filler using this method you allow it to harden then finish the leveling using a sanding block and sandpaper.

Cheese Grater Link


Sanding Blocks and Boards (and Mud Hogs) Link

[Skalabala]

The DA that I use ownes filler and paint with a P60 pad on it!!
But the one I have is a 6"

[Noviceguy]

I already own the Makita one of the first tools I purchased would you recommend starting with 40-60-80 grit ? The weird thing is I can see no reason for all the filler there was no rust and no dings or dents some pretty heavy scratches but does not warrant a 1/4 inch of filler again thank you guys for all the help it is greatly appreciated just an ol g-pa trying to do a car to pass on to his grandson think it will be cool to see him go to the prom in American Muscle instead of the tired ol limos

[Len]

I already own the Makita one of the first tools I purchased would you recommend starting with 40-60-80 grit ? The weird thing is I can see no reason for all the filler there was no rust and no dings or dents some pretty heavy scratches but does not warrant a 1/4 inch of filler again thank you guys for all the help it is greatly appreciated just an ol g-pa trying to do a car to pass on to his grandson think it will be cool to see him go to the prom in American Muscle instead of the tired ol limos

90% of the stripping that we do is with 80 grit on the Makita. The only time we use a more coarse grit is when we are removing lacquer or when removing thick body filler and then we switch to 40 grit but most stripping is done with 80.

[Noviceguy]

Thank you for taking your time to help us out I really do appreciate you sharing your knowledge the Mkita is a 7" sander I see 6 and 8 inh disks available do you carry the 7s ? hope not to stupid of a question just don't see any 7 inch discs Thanks Tom.

[Len]

Thank you for taking your time to help us out I really do appreciate you sharing your knowledge the Mkita is a 7" sander I see 6 and 8 inh disks available do you carry the 7s ? hope not to stupid of a question just don't see any 7 inch discs Thanks Tom.

The 7" backing plate that comes with the Makita is for mounting a hook and loop wool polishing pad, when you want to use a different size pad OR do a different job you need to purchase the appropriate size backing plate. Most sanding disks (for this type of work) come in 6 and 8 inch and either stick-on or hook and loop.