Wanted to share a new way I learned to peel bondo from sheet metal...this 70 Cutlass convertible I am giving new life to had a ton of bondo on it. Instead of sanding, I heated it until the paint bubbled and with a putty knife it scrapes off easily. Do it in a well ventilated area with a fire extinguisher near by, but it works great

 

You could do like my high school bud did. He had a 69 Chevelle that we thought was pretty clean.


I'd often go home with him after school and wait for my ma to pick me up when she got off work, so I wouldn't have to ride the school bus (side benefit was I got to drive home). On the way from the high school to his house lived a hardheaded German shepherd who would chase the car every afternoon, barking and nipping at the tires. Charles got tired of that.


One afternoon when the dog came out, he opened his door and whacked the dog in the head with it. Dog went spinning out thru the side ditch. This went on for about a week (note I said hardheaded dog), until one afternoon when we got to his house we found a chunk of bondo big as your hand and two inches deep missing from that door.


So yes, there are many ways to get rid of body filler!

 

I looked at a 70 convertible here in texas that had a 1/8" to 1/4" layer of bondo all over the car. This car Had sheets of bondo peeling off of it just sitting there.

 

if you can, get the heat behind the filler, takes less heat that way. be careful not to warp the panel worse than it is

 

That's the method that we used in my Dad's garage when I was growing up. Warm it up with a heat gun, and it just pulls right out. It doesn't work too well with tiger hair though.

 

For thick bondo in a panel that you know is already bent, another good way is a sharp wide blade in an air chisel. Braaps right off.