Foxer

I always have a bottle of melted-styrene-in-MEK sitting on my workbench. I have used it as body putty, casting material and just plain bonding agent. I like using it, but it does have it's down side. One is the shrinkage as the solvent evaporates, though I only use it for small pieces and it's not a big factor for me. I've used it to cast door handles and usually get 1 out of 4 or so to come out good. It also gets stringy when you pick a dab up and is not easy getting it to fill the mold easily. Bondic had none of the problems I mentioned when used for casting a small part. There is no shrinkage and it cures almost instantly (4 seconds under the light). Bondic is a fairly viscous liquid and does not flow really easily, but it does flow. It's not detrimental to jab it in the mold to get it into all the nooks and cranny's .. like with a toothpick. There is no rush since it will stay in liquid form forever until it is exposed to the light.

I would suggest something to adjust the tension so you don't widen narrow bodies. hat bar would have way too much compression on a body unless it's adjusted just enough securely hold the body and not damage it. A long machine screw with a wing nut drilled about mid point along the length should give the control you'd need. Of course there's this for non-doityourselfers .. top right in the photo Thanks for the great tutorial on how to make this. You gave all the details on what to get.

This is the Desoto grill from the Mercury on the Merc Woody

It's relatively expensive to be used as a body filler replacement, but for really small jobs it seems to be better. You should roughen up the surface it's to be applied to first with sandpaper.

That's what got me started on this but it's not the same stuff .. just cures the same way. It's close to styrene in hardness, maybe slightly harder. It sands well.

I'd think they would be a little light to balance a newly painter body on. I can see they would be a large cup, but I'd be a little nervous. Maybe just need some beer to weigh it down.

A roof rack has been suggested a few times here but I've been thinking no .. I wanted a smooth body. And also thinking I was going to put the spare tire on the rear as the Merc Wagon has but with a larger tire and the mount from the Chevy truck that donated it's frame. Now my thinking is adjusting to this roof rack idea. A simple and clean one for sure with the tire (or two) up there. I have also been looking at woodies with the rear door smooth with no tire mounted and really like the look. .... thinking. ......

Here's my latest use of Bondic ... I made a bumper from aluminum tubes and needed to finish off the open ends. Normally I probably would have plugged the holes with some body putty ... let dry overnight.. and then sand flat and paint. These I just filled the hole with Bondic and let it form a raised bubble shape then hit it with the light. I didn't sand or touch it before painting this time. The ends are just perfect to me with their rounded shape. Nothing could have been as easy.

Another test. I did a cast of the 59 caddy tail lights from the AMT Merc. I just remembered I didn't put the original in the photos but no big deal. I colored one red with a Sharpie and added some BMF .. quickly as you can see. The gloss as they came out of the mold got dulled by my tight grip on them as I drilled a hole for a brass rod holder. The Bondic wasn't as soft as I though when I drilled .. harder than styrene it seemed. You can see the dullness on the clear one. I sprayed a quick Testors One Coat on the red one to shine it up .. no reaction from the spray. The red one got a couple small air bubbles that must have been my stabbing the liquid with the applicator to be sure it went all the way into the mold. It shows in one photo as a bright white spot. Test Results: PASSED!

I started this thread as a continuation to crazyjim's thread Anybody tried Bondic yet? I've been using this product in my building whenever is seems it will do the job easier and better than what I'd normally use. This is a light-cured liquid plastic and cured after 4 seconds of exposure to the included light. I'm going to paste here my replies from jim's thread and will be continually adding to it as I find new uses. This will let me edit the thread topic to reflect new additions. The Bondic came and I had a good test as a quick casting compound. I can't afford to use resin because my casting needs are few and far between and doesn't justify what would be 30 years of casting resin for a few hubcaps once or twice a year. I have resin probably 20 years old sitting on a shelf .. I know .. it's too old. So I chose the front VW logo from Revel's Samba kit. I bought the kit just for that separate logo to use on a build of my Dad's '56 Bus that I couldn't paint the cast on logo to my satisfaction. I did all this today! I made a mold with RTC silicone 2 part Mold Putty (this IS 20 years old too but still works). I filled the mold the logo with the Bondic .. moved the application pen around the letters trying to not get any between them. It has a nice consistency ... a little thickish but flows out and levels well. I nudged it around with the tip to get it evenly placed. Then a 4 second light application ... well, I did it for about 10 seconds to be safe. Then I pulled it from the mold! It just popped out easily .. no stick to the mold at all. A part of the outer edge was missing .. so I put it back tight in the mold and added a small drop at the missing area. Cured it and popped out. Couldn't tell where I patched it! Here's a link to the Bondic web site This photo shows the logo after I sanded it a bit. It sands like plastic. The material is a bit flexible ... you can bend it without breaking. I also cut out some with the knife where it spilled over the mold. Easily trimed like plastic. This is after a coat of primer. It does need a little light sanding, but I'd call this done and useable. Very nice! So, I feel Bondic is another good tool to add to the arsenal we usr building cars. It's quick and easy for those little things we NEED! I haven't tried it yet as a bonding agent ..

Here's my latest use of Bondic ... I made a bumper from aluminum tubes and needed to finish off the open ends. Normally I probably would have plugged the holes with some body putty ... let dry overnight.. and then sand flat and paint. These I just filled the hole with Bondic and let it form a raised bubble shape then hit it with the light. I didn't sand or touch it before painting this time. The ends are just perfect to me with their rounded shape. Nothing could have been as easy.

wow .. where have I been?? ... this is such a great build thread .. got my popcorn and soda .. .....

That is beautiful!

Just one pic .. tie plate for the bumper extensions made from .005" brass with 3/4" scale bolts ready to be mounted. The bumpers are painter Metalizer Gun Metal. What do you think of the rounded ends on the bumper tubes? Was the easiest thing I ever did with my new "tool of many uses!" .... a drop of light-cured Bondic

Welcome to the forum, Mike. Of course, we all remember how expert our pre-teen builds were, but now that we are older and wiser we're still learning with each build!

Oh so weird .. but can't help but love it!

I'm a Testors Metalizer devote for about all my plastic metal parts. I use it as it comes from the can, polished and clear coated depending on the look I'm going for. Their Aluminum Metal Plate is used more than any as I love the look of it. And it goes on so well over anything .. smooth as silk. I'm an "orange peel expert" with gloss paint and have never had to worry about it with Metalizer.

Please, please .. 1/24!! I'd still like to see yours come together Martin!

there's 3 things .. time, money and quality .. pick 2

gunmetal sounds pretty good to me .. of course it's abused with rust showing!

I assume you know that the Revell 49 Mercury Custom has that grill in it. An aftermarket place for just the grill would be nice ..

Very effective weathering .. placement, texture and color.

Holy Cab! .. those tires are bigger than the body .. YES!

I'm still planning to do the body flat black with very distressed wood. Any thoughts for the bumpers? They will just disappear if I do black, though maybe gloss black would bring them out.

Here's some tube bumpers I made and brackets notched to fit the tubes "welded" to the frame. I'll add a thin bracket to the rear ones with a couple bolts ... they will show below the body edge.